Types of Homes
This type of independent structure features no shared walls or utility systems, giving you maximum privacy but total responsibility for maintenance.
What is a Single-Family Home?
When renting an apartment, landlords care deeply about income. Most landlords require you to earn at least this many times the monthly rent.
What is 3 times the monthly rent?
Name two of the five defining characteristics that qualifies an expense as a "major purchase".
Costs more than 1 month of take-home pay; can't pay fully in cash; used for longer than a year; uses over 30% of credit limit; requires a separate savings plan.
Unlike a vehicle, which loses value, buying a home is a long-term commitment that builds wealth because properties generally do this over time.
What is Appreciate (or Build Equity)?
A score of 800+ is considered "Excellent," but a score falling between 580 and 619 is classified as this
What is Poor?
This real estate strategy involves buying a multi-unit property, living in one unit, and renting out the others to help pay your mortgage.
What is "House Hacking"?
When buying a home, this specific document from a lender tells you your true budget and signals to sellers that you are a serious, qualified buyer.
What is a Mortgage Pre-Approval?
A brand-new car immediately turns into this type of asset the moment you drive it off the lot.
What is a Depreciating Asset?
To avoid making impulsive "wants" purchases, use this specific calendar rule: waiting a set number of days before spending your cash.
What is the 30-day rule?
When budgeting for a home purchase, you must budget for the full "PITI" payment. What do the four letters in the acronym PITI stand for?
What are Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance?
When you buy a condo, you own everything inside your individual unit, but share collective ownership of the building's exterior and common areas.
What is "Walls-In" ownership?
In addition to a down payment, a homebuyer will owe money at the very end of the deal for things like legal, appraisal, and title fees. These are known as what?
What are Closing Costs?
To save money on major appliances or electronics, look into these certified products because they include warranties but cost 20% to 40% less than new.
What are Certified Refurbished products?
Taking on this type of specific financial action right before trying to buy a house can ruin your loan approval by spiking your debt-to-income ratio
What is taking on new debt (like a car loan or new credit cards)?
These specific government-backed loan programs are great for first-time buyers because they require low down payments and accept lower credit scores.
What are FHA loans (Federal Housing Administration)?
Beyond just the monthly mortgage loan payment, condo owners must pay a separate, recurring monthly fee to cover the upkeep of shared spaces like lobbies and gyms. What is this fee called?
What is an HOA (Homeowners Association) fee?
In New York State, landlords must legally return your apartment security deposit within this many days of you moving out.
What is 14 days?
When shopping for a major purchase like electronics or appliances, doing this simple task across multiple retailers to ensure you get the best deal.
What is comparing prices?
You can often deduct this specific recurring fee from your annual income taxes (a tax perk for homeowners).
What is mortgage interest?
If you move or buy a home outside of the USA, your U.S. credit score might not transfer, and you are far less likely to find this common, stable type of American mortgage loan.
What is a Fixed-Rate mortgage?
A condo's overall financial value doesn't just depend on you; it can actually drop if these specific people neglect their units or fall into financial trouble.
Who are your neighbors?
hen buying a multi-family property with existing tenants, you must obtain these specific certificates to legally confirm their current rent amounts and lease details.
What are Estoppel Certificates?
Name two non-vehicle examples of major purchases.
Appliances, travel, kitchen remodeling, HVAC systems, furniture, swimming pools, PCs, phones, or college tuition.
When comparing investments, your team notes that a house builds long-term wealth on two fronts simultaneously: the home's value goes up, while your loan balance does this.
What is goes down (or is paid off)?
Buying property abroad (like in Europe) introduces a brand-new risk because shifts in this metric can suddenly make your monthly payment much more expensive than you planned.
What are Currency Exchange Rates (or Currency Fluctuations)?