Excerpted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s Homebuying Step by Step The first step in determining the price you can afford to pay for a home is to get a clear picture of your current financial situation. Be aware of your monthly payments on any loans or credit cards, and of your total gross (before taxes) monthly household income. Lending institutions follow two simple affordability rules to determine how much you can pay. The first affordability rule is that your monthly housing costs ... Full Article...