Emma Jones is planning to move to Oxford, MS to start her new job at a real estate firm. She has not yet decided whether she wants to rent or buy a property in Oxford. Emma is not from Mississippi and is asking your team to help her make this financial decision. Her monthly housing budget is $1,900. This budget must cover housing expenses including rent or owners costs (example: mortgage, hazard insurance, property taxes, and Home Owner Association fees, if any). A good start of the analysis is to apply financial concepts such as the time value of money. Emmas contract is for three years and is renewable for three more. Her plan is to stay in the Oxford area for no more than 8 years. Even if her job continues to work out well, she will try to move from the location she selects to a different house. Emma has money saved for this transaction and plans to make a 20% down payment on any house that she purchases. Emma will make this decision purely based on financial motives. She is not worried about arguments such as you are throwing away your money when renting or it is better to be flexible and rent rather than buy.

Estimate the maximum house value Emma can afford to buy. Assume the mortgage that terms that Emma has is based on a fixed-rate, 30-year maturity, 80% LTV, with no points. The mortgage interest rate that she was quoted is 5.5% with monthly payments. Assume that property tax rate in the city of Oxford is 1.1% per year based on property value; assume the hazard insurance premium is 0.6% per year based on property value and assume $70 per month for maintenance. Determine the required monthly mortgage payment and the maximum house value she can afford if she buys.