creating a budget. help!

hi all,
my fh and I are just starting to talk about buying a home....superrr beginning stages. Right now, we're trying to figure out a budget. So I have some questions for you helpful ladies. now...I do realize that answers to these questions can vary greeeeeeeeatttly...but any general input you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

1) is there a general rule about the maximum % of a household income that should go to a mortgage?
2) with the crazy cost of homes on LI, I imagine that young couples are putting less on the down payment.....or is 20% still the norm (gosh I hope not!!!)
3) We've been living in a tiny apartment in nyc for a few years so we are a little clueless as to what utilities might cost month to month in a small (2 bdrm) house on the north shore of LI.


Thank you so much in advance :)

This may some answer questions for you:

http://doityourself.com/mortgage/whatsizemortgage.htm

Remember the golden rule to pulling credit.

If you want to go to a bunch of places to pull credit... make sure you do it all at the same time.

If you have your credit pulled five times within a 30 day period. That puts less of a hit on your credit score compared to having your credit pulled once a month for five months.

Multiple credit inquiries during the same period of time is OK because the creditors will know you were simply 'shopping for a good rate'.

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Posted by LIbride77

1) is there a general rule about the maximum % of a household income that should go to a mortgage?
2) with the crazy cost of homes on LI, I imagine that young couples are putting less on the down payment.....or is 20% still the norm (gosh I hope not!!!)
3) We've been living in a tiny apartment in nyc for a few years so we are a little clueless as to what utilities might cost month to month in a small (2 bdrm) house on the north shore of LI.

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To answer your questions.

1) 28% of your GROSS salary is the norm for the most that should go toward the mortgage and related mortgage fees (like taxes). Some places will allow as much as 35%.

2) You can put less than 20% down. You will pay PMI if you do this unless you piggyback a second loan like an 85/10/5 loan which only requires 5% down.

3) The only utilities you might have trouble determining are heat/water/electric. Prices for stuff like cable and phone can easily be found online.