Adult Financial Literacy Guide | Page 26

Home Buying Your First Home Mortgage Shopping For most people buying a house will be the biggest financial investment that they will make. In most cases, it will require getting a mortgage. Before shopping around you need to know how much you can afford. A realistic budget is very important. Some questions you need to ask yourself before and during the mortgage shopping process include:  How much of a down payment do you have?  What price range for a home is within your budget? Have you considered all the costs involved with owning a home, such as mortgage payments, utility costs, property taxes, and maintenance costs?   Photo credit 401(K) 2013 via Visual hunt CC BY-SA Are you expecting any big changes that will affect your household budget in the near future? For example, do you plan to start a family or add other expenses, such as car payments, that would affect your budget? For a step by step guide on mortgage shopping visit the following link: http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/Eng/resources/publications/mortgages/Pages/BuyingYo -Acheterv-9.aspx House Expense Worksheet The following four pages include a Housing Expense worksheet for you to look at for both the one time expenses and on going expenses. The worksheet can be found online using the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/mortgages/ planning-housing-budget.html 26