answer:What is your income and your credit score? That is number one. Rule of thumb, the principal payment on a house will be roughly 10% of the cost of the house. So payment on the principal on a $13,000 house would be $1,300 a month. However to that you have to add interest rates, home owners insurance and escrow. I’m guessing your actual payments would be closer to $2,000 a month. Another rule of thumb, you can only afford a house that is about twice your annual income. $36,000 a year is not enough to buy more than about a $60,000 home, and that’s only if you don’t have other loans, like, car payments, etc. I will wait to hear from the others. These are rules of thumbs that I’ve always used as my standard, and they seem pretty accurate to me.