Buying a Home · Straight answer from Kathleen
How much house can I afford?
You can afford what your lender says you can afford, then trim for your real life: the payment that works on paper should also survive your actual spending, savings goals, and the way you want to live.
Also answered on this page
- What monthly payment should I plan around?
The lender's number is the ceiling, built from your income, debts, and credit. The smarter budget is one that leaves room for property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and the life you moved to the coast to live.
A useful exercise: add the full monthly cost, principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA fees, and decide what payment feels comfortable rather than merely possible.
Get the preapproval to set the range, then we match the search to what genuinely fits. Buying right now is better than buying the most house a calculator allows.
On the North Shore
Massachusetts property taxes vary noticeably by town, and condo fees on the North Shore add another monthly line. Two similar listings in different towns can have very different true monthly costs, and I help buyers see that difference before they offer.
Still wondering
Ask your own version of this question.
Every situation is different, which is why Kathleen asks questions before she answers them. Send your details and she will reply personally with advice specific to your move.
Buying a Home
Ready to make a smart move?
The answer that fits your situation usually needs one more question from Kathleen. That is what the conversation is for.