With interest rates at all-time lows, your choice of Beverly Hills real estate has expanded. Even if your income hasn’t changed, you can now afford a much larger or nicer home than you could have afforded a few years ago according to your lender – but should you?

Your lender is looking at the monthly payment and saying yes or no, but there are two reasons to look beyond that approval:

First, your lender doesn’t know what else is important in your life. He or she doesn’t know if you look forward to an exotic vacation every year, or if you want to send your kids to expensive summer camps, or even if you love to indulge in four-star dining every Saturday night.

Before you agree that you can afford a specific monthly payment, look at it in the context of the ways in which you enjoy spending your money. Then decide if you want to afford Beverly Hills real estate and talk with your local lender.

Second, there’s much more to the cost of home ownership than the payment, the taxes, and the insurance. There’s upkeep to consider, and the larger the home, the more upkeep it will require.

You need to keep money on hand for emergencies like the furnace or air conditioning going out, and also for routine maintenance such as carpet cleaning and repainting now and then.

Think about this: If your new home has a large yard, will you have time to maintain the landscaping, or will you need to hire someone? If it has a 2-story entryway, will you be able to change the light bulbs in that beautiful chandelier, or will you need to hire someone? If it has four bathrooms will you have time to keep them all clean, or will you need to hire someone?

When you’re ready for Beverly Hills real estate, or if you’d just like to know how our market is doing, get in touch with your local lender. If you do not have a lender that you are comfortable with, I can refer you to several that I regularly do business with.

I’ll be glad to show you the market trends and show you what’s available in Beverly Hills today. And when you’re ready for that new home, I promise to respect what YOU want to pay. I’ll never urge you to spend more.