Written by Omid Jalili

Lots of people want to get into their first home but they don’t really know what they can afford. There’s no shame in that, but you need to have a trusted Toronto mortgage broker on your side so that you can find the right fit between getting a nice place you’ll be proud of and one that won’t break the budget.

Here’s a few tips.

Remember when it comes to your home, your monthly costs shouldn’t be more than 32% to 35% of your gross income. That includes the mortgage, property taxes and heating expenses. This number is called your Gross Debt Service (GDS) and it’s a great number your Toronto mortgage broker can work with.

The size of the down payment that you save will affect the size of the mortgage that you get as well. The bigger the down payment, the less you have to pay back and the smaller your monthly payments. Consider the fact that while there is quite often a minimum for the down payment, that number often varies.

Take a good look at the other costs associated with property that you’re interested in as well. Heating and utility costs are a concern these days as the rates go up for both. Quite often calling a utility company to get an average of the cost of payments will help you to plan out the amount you can afford overall.

Finally, take a good look at the property taxes. Divide any total for the year that you get by twelve and remember to add that number on to the monthly totals of the other payments that you’ll need to make.

Getting a mortgage depends on being able to qualify but you need to do some calculations on your own to make sure you’re not getting in over your head.