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Welcome to the Math Essentials Wiki page for our Home Buying project that will take us to the end of the first semester! On this Wiki, we will be communicating and sharing ideas, thoughts, challenges, and ways to improve the home buying search. So, let's get started!

December 1st, 2011: What do you currently know about what it takes to begin your search to buy a house? Share ALL of your ideas here, now!

You have to know how much your house should be.The other thing is that you should know how much you should but on your loan also on the downpayment. Find out how much the % should be on your house. The other thing is that you should know how much mortgage you should put on your house. How much your house will cost.When you put something down on your loan and your downpayment you should put some money on your loan and your downpayment. you have to have good credit score so you can get a % on your home.You have insurance on your house and you have to save some money for that. And the math skills you need to have is working with money and paying off loan of the house you need to know how much you pay off of the loan and the down payment.And the other math skill you have to find how much your house cost then you need to find how much % you need to put on your house and you have to do some math problems to pay off your loan and you downpayment.

One, you need to have good credit, which should be A+ credit. Have your bills paid on time and all caught up before you start to look for a house. This is important because you don't want to buy a house without A+ credit because people won't sell you a house if you're behind on your bills. You also need a loan and a down payment to buy a house. You get a loan from the bank, but you have to pay it back when you're done. You have to plan ahead of time when you buy a house, like what neighborhood you want to live, how many bedrooms you want, what you're looking for on the inside of the house, and to make sure you don't have roaches. Make sure the fire alarm works good, the heat and water work properly, and make sure that everything is fixed up and in the right order. It's also important to make sure that you live in a good place for your kids to go to school.

First of all you should know when it’s the right time to buy a house and when you have a good enough job to get the money to pay for a house. When this is figured out you can pay for a house. You should then figure out if you can afford to pay for the house you wish to have. Then figure out the % you should have on your loan and your down payment. You should also have insurance on your house and save money for that as well. You should make sure your bills are paid after words to pay off your house every month. So don’t spend a lot of money on things you want and spend money on what you need for your house and yourself. The house payment should come first before anything else. When you’re on your own you need to worry about payments for yourself. So it’s your life in the world so you need to live it all you can so pay your house bills and other bills and your life will go swell.

You need to figure out if you buy a house that reaches your budget. You need to find out were you want to leave. You need to know what kind a loan you need.


 * December 5th, 2011 **
 * Good morning, prospective home buyers! We embark upon our journey today. Each day, there will be a brief communication from me with helpful hints, thoughts, web sites and such. Let's go! **

[] (make sure you hit the "NEXT" button to view all 10 mistakes http://www.advantageccs.org/blog/wordpress/index.php/housing/how-much-should-you-spend-on-your-first-house

__**DEFINITIONS:**__

Fixed: Does not change; in a mortgage, fixed rate means the percentage rate on your loan stays the same for the length of your loan.

Variable: Changing; in a mortgage, variable rate means the percentage rate on your loan MAY change over the course of your loan, or after a specified time.

Mortgage: Your house payment/debt, based on your loan amount and the amount of your property taxes.

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__**Shared ideas of what needs to be answered in order to answer the ESSENTIAL QUESTION:**__

- What percentage of the house cost should be borrowed from the bank (loan)?

- How much should you save for a down payment on a house?

- How does your credit rating impact the home buying process?

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__**Things that impact what decision you make in house shopping:**__

- Neighborhood - Access to leisure, stores, restaurants, other interests - Income / Career Choice (how much money you have or make) - Family size - Size of yard / play area - Pets - How long are you planning on living there

__**DECEMBER 6th:**__ SIMPLE INTEREST

I = PRT I (Interest.....how much extra you pay for borrowing money) P (Principle.....how much money you borrow) R (Rate.....the interest rate charged to you for borrowing money; this is expressed as a percentage, but you need to calculate it as a decimal: 2 PLACES TO THE LEFT!) T (Time.....how many years your loan is for; if it is not shown in years, you must change it to years)

EXAMPLE:

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/how-much-home-can-i-afford2.htm (HOW MUCH HOUSE CAN I AFFORD)

CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR THE SIMPLE INTEREST ACTIVITY! http://www.thatquiz.org/tq/previewtest?R/K/O/V/96541193298139)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHhvgrHyJxkn (HOW MUCH HOUSE CAN YOU AFFORD?)

__**DECEMBER 8th**__: Debt vs. Income (Debt to Income Ratio!)

HELP QUESTION: How are your job and gross income important when researching the home buying experience?

Mortgage-Magic: D2I (Gross Income) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syy_y4FMOT4

what i learned today was your gross pay should be between 28 to 33% of your monthly income. if you can pay full on your home recommend a 15 year mortgage and you monthly payment no more than 25% and then make a 20% down payment on your home.

DID YOU KNOW Mortgage calculators will give you a rough idea of what size payment you can expect, but often they're lacking other essential information like the cost of property taxes and the effect of variable interest rates. The best way to find out what you can qualify for and how much it will cost you is to talk to a mortgage broker or lender.

Like roughly 25% of homeowners in the USA, I find myself owing more for the house than it’s worth.

What Did I Learn Today? Today, I have read a lot of things about having bad credit also, the things that might stop you from buying a house. You’re not alone. Buy home owners are there with you .Lenders and other financial experts used to suggest that buyers spend no more than three and-a-half times annual salary on the price of a house, resulting in monthly payments between 28 and 33 percent of gross monthly income { before taxes}.

__** DECEMBER 9th: **__ **Continue exploring the idea of gross income, debt, and debt to income ratios.**

**HELP QUESTION: What do these terms mean and what __specific numbers__ will you be using for this project?**

**WEBSITE HELP:** [|www.wiscareers.wisc.edu] (why question(s) would this website help you figure out)

Gross income- It is how much you make before taxes.

debt-something is owed or that is is bound pay.

debt to income ratios-

i did't find out yet what numbers we should be using on your gross pay and debt but it did find out how much you should could use for debt income ratios is 31%:D

http://www.cepr.net/calculators/hb/hcc.html FASHION DESIGNER: ENTRY:$34,610 My monthly gross in come will be $2,884

WWE Wrestler Entry $40,000 Gross Yearly Income $3,333 Gross Monthly Income


 * DECEMBER 14th, 2011 **


 * By now, most of you have discovered mortgage calculators. Plugging in numbers seems easy, right?! However, what you need to understand with mortgage calculators is that each of the fields that ask you to enter a number (of dollars, years, percentages, or whatever) stands for a PURPOSEFUL number. In other words, you need to determine WHERE and HOW you come up with the numbers that you enter into a mortgage calculator. **


 * You have already figured out monthly gross income; you researched career choices and determined what their entry level pay average is. You have also played around with the cost of what your house might cost (but you now need to decide how you came up with these numbers). Continue to research the HOW and WHERE part of coming up with numbers as you go along. **


 * Keep a complete notebook of websites, notes, and numbers. Also, explain what your notes mean, so that when you look back at them, they make sense to you......and so you can explain it to others (especially ME!). **

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson8/index2.htm = When to invest in a house =

How do you know when you're ready to own a home?
**TIP: High costs mean you should be prepared to stay put.** Except in a roaring real estate market, it usually doesn't make sense to buy a home you'll own for less than three or four years. Reason: the high transaction cost of buying and selling property means you could lose money on the deal. If you do make money, you'll pay capital gains taxes if you're in the house less than two years.

Marshanette Harris

https://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgage/Home.do?td=

You need to fiqure out how much propety taxes will be. so that means like the land you own and even were your house is planted on i found out you could have a 15 year or a 30 year.

but if you use a 30 years to pay off your house i will be less money to pay off but i you use a lower years that would be more money you would have to pay off

It would take too long to get 20% of a down payment. 10% is a more realistic percentage for a down payment.


 * __DECEMBER 16th, 2011 __**


 * Each of us has now found different information that we are able to use to make our search more specific to what we want, based on the financial life that we have assumed. Before beginning today, take up to 10 minutes to discuss thoughts with classmates, as some people have a better understanding of what is needed than other people. REMEMBER: for every NUMBER you use for calculations, you need to be able EXPLAIN what the number means and how you decided on that number! **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0J0Ygn20NI (Home Buying Tips: How to Buy a House)

Essential Question: How do I determine my monthly payment?

BONUS Essential Question: Besides the sticker price of the house, what other costs do I need to pay for, or be prepared for, when I buy a house?

http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/06/22/real-costs-home-ownership/

> planning.
 * 1) **Payment-option loans** - These loans give borrowers a slate of options when it comes to payment. These options include making an interest-only payment or a smaller minimum payment. Like interest-only loans, these mortgages can be flexible, but can also catch the unwary borrower by surprise when the loan amount increase rather than decreases.
 * 2) **Fixed-rate mortgages** - These are considered the most traditional and stable loan products, and are calculated so that a borrower's monthly payments will entirely pay off the loan with interest during the loan's lifetime. As the name indicates, a fixed mortgage locks in a particular interest rate when it is first originated, and this rate remains the same throughout the life of the loan. Fixed mortgages can carry higher interest rates than other types of loans, but their stability makes for easier long-term financial

You need to figure out what your proptey taxes are.

How long are you going to live in your house for

what are other cost are you going to have beside your house

How do you fiqure out you monthly payments of your house

http://www.nw.org/network/comstrat/manufhsg/documents/ManufHsgOVERHEADS-Section05.pd f

If my house is 300,000 then my down payment would be 30,000. **Mortgage Repayment Summary** $575.77-Monthly Payment. $207,277.73-Total of 360 Payments

$64,777.73-Total Interest Paid Apr, 2045-Pay-off Date

$112,500.00-Total Tax Paid $0.00-Total PMI Paid

Monthly PMI-0 Monthly PMI Payments of $0.00 Each

May, 2015-PMI Pay-off Date

**Monthly vs Bi-weekly Payment** $575.77-Monthly Payment $287.89-BI-weekly Payment

Apr, 2045-Monthly Pay-off Date Apr, 2036-Bi-weekly Pay-off Date

$64,777.73-Total Interest Paid $41,741.48-Total Interest Paid

Total Interest Savings: $23,036.25

income is $50,000 a year, or $4,166 a month. Their housing expense ratio of 28 percent yields a monthly maximum of $1,166 mortgage, insurance, and taxes ($4,166 x 0.28 = $1,166). What I did Last week Friday was that house buying is very important

in life. Cause Home buying is a series thing in life that’s why we need

to learn about home buying. And also talks about taking out loans

from banks which banks take out taxes and insurance. Thats why

it’s very important to learn about house buying. Because it’s a dead

series thing to learn about. That’s why everyone should learn about

home buying at all times.

http://www.amerisave.com/?source=3979&gclid=CLqp2fyxjq0CFUHRKgodI025mQ

okay so what i found out was that you have to find mill rate and assessment rate and then you have to divied by 12 because there is 12 months in a year. house x Assessment Rate x Mill Rate= then divide by 12

Mortgage rates are inherently complex, seemingly impossible to understand from a consumer perspective. Fluctuations in mortgage market rates are certainly not random, though; a great many factors determine the present market rate at any given time. Discerning the principle contributors and understanding how they affect mortgage rates can help you calculate logical predictions for market changes--a valuable skill for consumers to determine when to buy, when to sell and when to stay put for optimal returns. **Market Demand** Consumer demand is the head of all market-driven models, and mortgage rates are no exception. The more consumers want something, the more expensive it becomes, and the housing market is certainly no exception. When consumers are not interested in buying, housing prices drop, and mortgage rates fall right alongside to drum up more interest. When consumers interests piques, prices increase and rates goes up to compensate. **Market Availability** Even when demand is high, market availability can hinder booming interest. As with buying, the housing market goes through regular intervals of high and low selling periods. When homeowners are more interested in staying put, the market sees a decrease in available homes, and mortgage rates coincide. When more more homeowners sell, market availability goes up, and rates increase once more.

**Market Investors**

The flip side of the consumer is the investor, who invests in the securities that fund every bank’s mortgage lending venture. Investors want the highest possible return on their investment, and thus, the highest interest rate available. This obviously directly conflicts with the consumer drive for lower interest rates. Banks must find a steady balance between consumer-and investor-desired rates; when mortgage rates drop too low, buying increases, but investing decreases, leaving less available reserve to cover lending. When the opposite occurs, investing increases while buying drops, and investors see less return. **Economic Health** The economy’s collective “budget” also plays a large role in the changing mortgage rates. When the economy enjoys regular cash flow, lenders see this as an opportunity to draw more to draw more revenue. Rates typically increase, because consumers have more money to spend and a regular desire to spend it. Conversely when the economy begins begins to suffer, the economy sees reduced cash flow, and lenders struggle ability, which stimulates the economy by increasing cash flow once more and brings the process full-circle. **Federal Reserve System** The Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve or “Fed”) is a central bank in the United States that, among other things, exercises significant influence over the status and practices of private financial institutions. Through the bank’s monetary policy, the Federal Reserve not only influences the current interest rate at any given time, but also defines the reserve amount that each bank must have on hand and how much of that reserve each bank may lend. When monetary policy increases private reserves, interest rates decrease in an effort to stimulate spending and growth. Conversely, when policy decreases reserves, interest rates increase and, while the goal is stabilization, spending often drops off.