T A B L E__T A L K What's going on with the International Monetary Fund? Share the latest on the global financial crisis in the Business and Personal Finance area of Table Talk   Search for business, personal finance and more at barnesandnoble.com Search by:  Keyword Title Author   R E C E N T L Y The Jordan Effect: What's race got to do with it? By Leon Wynter The colorblind world depicted by Madison Avenue isn't our racial reality yet -- but it's a step in the right direction (01/29/99) E-commerce: Don't believe the hype By Heather Chaplin Online shopping leaves me frustrated, bored and feeling like a schmo (01/22/98) Help! I have portfolio deficit disorder! By Daren Fonda My life fell apart after I discovered I could my check my stock's earnings and losses online -- whenever I wanted (01/15/99) Consumer retorts By Heather Chaplin The motto of the consumer warrior must be: Never surrender, never apologize and never forget there is no rational justification for $28 bank charges (01/08/99) Money talks By Heather Chaplin If you want to know if a woman is wealthy, check her pores, not her pearls (12/18/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Reluctant Capitalist archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Salon Columnists		HOUSE FLASH | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - To get a sense of just how much disappears down that black hole we call renting, check out one of the many mortgage lenders whose sites are springing up online. Plug in a few details and these calculators will make instant recommendations as to whether you should buy or rent. For example, if you currently pay $1,200 a month in rent, want to buy a house for $200,000, have $20,000 saved and will stay in the house for at least seven years, HomeShark says go for it. In those seven years, you'll spend $122,794 on rent and only $73,207 on mortgage payments. Of course, all of this is moot if you don't want to buy a house -- if you don't want to fix your own leaky toilet, if you don't want to be tied down to one place, if you don't believe in private property. If, however, your clock is ticking, here are some things to think about: How long do you plan to stay put? According to Robert Bruss, a real estate columnist for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, this is the first thing to consider. Prospective buyers need to stay in their new homes for at least three years in order to avoid eating the costs associated with the purchase, he said. The longer you stay, the more time the house has to appreciate in value. Do you have enough for a down payment? Not surprisingly, the down payment is the biggest stumbling block for first-time buyers. Ideally, a down payment should be 20 percent of the total purchase price of the house -- $40,000 on a $200,000 house. Such a hefty fee is not required, however. Down payments can be as a little as 3 percent -- or even zero in certain circumstances. Take note, though, because mortgage lenders tack on something called private mortgage insurance, or PMI, for mortgages that are more than 80 percent of the purchase price. It's insurance for them, and it can mean as much as $100 a month more for you. PMI can be renegotiated, Stepp said, once the balance of the mortgage has become less than 80 percent of the value of the house. How about closing costs? Closing costs cover expenses such as legal fees, credit checks and inspection services. These usually range from 3 to 6 percent of the sale price of the house, according to the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as "Fannie Mae." A $100,000 house with a 5 percent down payment of $5,000, for example, would have closing costs of $6,000 to $12,000. How much house can you afford? There are a number of online sites (listed below) that will approximate an answer to this question in about three seconds. Calculations are based on how big a mortgage you can afford, which is based on what your monthly mortgage payments would be, plus property taxes and homeowners' insurance. Generally speaking, that total should be within 28 percent of your total monthly gross income. Is your credit record and job history an embarrassment? Sadly, you need to consider past indiscretions. According to Fannie Mae, lenders want at least two years of steady employment. In terms of credit history, rent payments can suffice in place of anything meatier. A lousy history, though, can cause problems. Fannie Mae suggests taking time to improve your report by paying off debt and bringing delinquent bills up to date before applying. Bruss, the syndicated columnist said, however, it's not a matter of being able to get a loan, but rather of being required to pay 10 percent interest instead of 6.74 percent. SALON | Feb. 5, 1999 Online home buying resources Realtor.com E-Loan HomePath HomeAdvisor CyberHomes QuickenMortgage HomeShark - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.