Home Buying Financial Readiness Check

Prompt

Assess my financial readiness to buy a home and build a preparation plan.

Current financial picture:
- Combined household income: [AMOUNT]
- Current savings (total liquid): [AMOUNT]
- Monthly take-home after taxes: [AMOUNT]
- Monthly debt payments: [AMOUNT]
- Credit score estimate: [SCORE OR RANGE]
- Current rent: [AMOUNT]
- Employment stability: [DESCRIPTION]
- Target home price range: [RANGE]
- Target purchase timeline: [MONTHS OR YEARS]
- Market: [CITY OR REGION]

Conduct the assessment:

1. **Affordability Analysis** — Using the 28/36 rule, what home price range can I actually afford based on income and debt?

2. **Down Payment Analysis** — How much do I need? 3%, 5%, 10%, or 20% — implications of each. PMI math.

3. **True Cost of Homeownership** — Beyond the mortgage: taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance reserve (1-2% rule), utilities. Full monthly cost.

4. **Mortgage Comparison** — 30-year vs. 15-year vs. ARM. At [PURCHASE PRICE] with [DOWN PAYMENT], what does each cost monthly and over the life of the loan?

5. **Readiness Score** — Am I ready to buy now? Score on: down payment, debt-to-income, credit score, emergency fund, and job stability.

6. **Gap Plan** — What specifically needs to improve before I should buy? Timeline and actions.

7. **Hidden Costs of Buying** — Closing costs, inspection, moving, immediate repairs. How much to budget.

8. **Rent vs. Buy Math** — Given my market, how long do I need to stay to make buying financially better than renting?