A recent survey by Fair Investment has found that 44% of women questioned are homeowners paying a mortgage, compared with just 37% of men.

It’s interesting considering the fact that the average female salary is 25% less than the average man’s wage. Sharon Bratley indicated that the news is surprising in more than one way. Firstly, women are earning 25% less than men, which is interesting, especially given the fact that women are taking on more managerial roles. Secondly, it is interesting that more women than men have a mortgage. This is becuase more women are choosing to have a career which enables them to buy a home.

A number of factors, such as the cost of the house and the type of mortgage you get, are important here.
In general, you need to have enough money to cover three costs:

1. earnest money – the deposit you make on the home;
2. the down payment, a percentage of the cost of the home,
3. the costs associated with processing the paperwork to buy a house.

When you make an offer on a home, your real estate broker will put your earnest money into an escrow account. If your offer is accepted, the earnest money will be applied to the down payment or closing costs.

Closing costs paid at settlement – average 3-4% of the price of your home.

HUD homes can be very cheap. When a homeowner with a HUD insured mortgage can’t meet the payments, the lender forecloses on the home and HUD pays the lender what is owed. HUD takes over the ownership of the home and will sell it at market value.

Use mortgage calculators to see what amount of mortgage you could pay every month. If the amount you can afford is less than the cost of homes that interest you, then you might want to wait a bit longer. You can also contact a real estate broker or a HUD-funded housing counseling agency since they might help you evaluate your loan potential. A broker knows what kinds of mortgages are offered by lenders and can help you choose a program that might be right for you. It’s also a good idea to be pre-approved for a loan. That means you apply for a mortgage before you actually start looking for a house. This will let you know how much you can afford to spend. Pre-approvals speed up the process once you find the home that you like.