No blatant solicitation allowed.

[This message has been edited by Jim Erickson (edited 09-27-2004).]

Hello, I am thinking about buying a home in California...now reside in Texas. How likely would a bank be to give me a loan for a home selling for $450K. Here's my scenario: My yearly salary is 105K. I have one monthly debt of $277. I rent a condo right now. My expenses are minimal, and I have one credit card that is paid off. I would be buying this home by myself. I am in the medical field, a salaried person.

With a 20% Down Payment of $90,000, a mortgage of $360,000 at about 4.25% Fixed, amortized over 30 years, your payment would be only $1771 plus Taxes and Insurance and your other monthly payment of $277 should put your total monthly housing and debt service at less than $2800, or only 32% of your monthly income.

For approval, you want that 32% (your debt service ratio or mortgage "back-end ratio") to be as low as possible. My numbers are just based on guesses . . . . you can be much more precise using the real numbers for taxes and insurance which would be associated with the specific property to calculate a very accurate "back-end ratio".

So the odds are in your favor . . . . provided that you also have good credit. Good luck.