Got some great advice for Househunting

[munchkins 0]

may or may not help someone but we are working with a company in FL who works with many ex-pats for pre-approval and 2 months before we are due to fly he will work on that for us.

As we will be putting approx 70% down and my pension is already paid into my US bank account each month, he ssays we will have no trouble.

[daisy16 0]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone.

I have nothing to add since we KNOW our credit sucks. We're waiting till the end of 2006 to start looking at purchasing a house, that way I'll have a year's worth of credit history and my hubby will have a year's worth of GOOD credit history. We're being very careful making bill payments on time or early, no "NO money down" deals, etc. This really sucks because I love plastic money and have never had to worry about my credit rating before. I still have my Canadian credit card though

[JubJub 0]

Be careful, going with stated income doesn't mean you should make up a number for your income. There is always the possibility that the loan will be audited, in which case you may still need to show proof of that income. And stated/no doc loans will always cost a little more in interest rate than fully documented loans.

If your credit isn't crash hot, then often an FHA loan can be had, they generally go on your last two years of credit (on time bill payments etc). It's an alternate way of showing that you are worthy of monthly payments

[Fandango 1,439]

Be careful, going with stated income doesn't mean you should make up a number for your income. There is always the possibility that the loan will be audited, in which case you may still need to show proof of that income. And stated/no doc loans will always cost a little more in interest rate than fully documented loans.

If your credit isn't crash hot, then often an FHA loan can be had, they generally go on your last two years of credit (on time bill payments etc). It's an alternate way of showing that you are worthy of monthly payments

The problem isn't the credit, the problem is a sparse work history...only since Sept of last year. I'm the USC, so I'm the one that 'matters' from the loan perspective, as he won't have US credit to qualify with me.

I would never make up numbers...but if he gets a job, then I can count his income with my own so we could also qualify for a nicer house.

You can pay PMI upfront in one lump sum, then it's usually about 1%

Damn.. it must be different in FL because if it was only 1% I would have gone down that route..

Don't know if that's just a FL specific thing. I actually just learned this not too long ago when I went to see that financial guru Suze Orman speak. She never specified it was 'FL' only...she just said that everyone paying monthly PMI was stupid, cos they coulda paid it upfront, lol.

Seriously, she's a nasty piece of work, but was very infomative. She spoke to us with a bit of disdain like we were all lowlifes or summat....that was my whole group's take on her. We named her 'Cruella DeVille'

Dunno if you can switch it not, but I suppose it's worth looking into.

[flipside 0]

Dunno if you can switch it not, but I suppose it's worth looking into.

I'm not paying PMI because I went with an 80/20...

[JubJub 0]

Depending on the size of your loan, it could be quite a bit. In my case, if I didn't put down 20% my PMI would have been $480/month, on top of the mortgage and taxes. My broker recommended that I do an 80/20 loan. This is basically 100% financing in 2 loans, 1 for 80% and one for 20% and no PMI. I had the 10% left over that I would have used as a down payment to cover closing costs and buy furniture & stuff.

PMI was estimated to be $480 per month? That seems very high. Did you have a jumbo loan? FWIW my PMI is about $45 per month.

Of course you have no worries with your 80/20

[flipside 0]

Depending on the size of your loan, it could be quite a bit. In my case, if I didn't put down 20% my PMI would have been $480/month, on top of the mortgage and taxes. My broker recommended that I do an 80/20 loan. This is basically 100% financing in 2 loans, 1 for 80% and one for 20% and no PMI. I had the 10% left over that I would have used as a down payment to cover closing costs and buy furniture & stuff.

PMI was estimated to be $480 per month? That seems very high. Did you have a jumbo loan? FWIW my PMI is about $45 per month.

Of course you have no worries with your 80/20

Yes, over 500k..

[rebeccajo 14]

........ I actually just learned this not too long ago when I went to see that financial guru Suze Orman speak. She never specified it was 'FL' only...she just said that everyone paying monthly PMI was stupid, cos they coulda paid it upfront, lol.

Seriously, she's a nasty piece of work, but was very infomative. She spoke to us with a bit of disdain like we were all lowlifes or summat....that was my whole group's take on her. We named her 'Cruella DeVille'

Suze Orman is a moron. Her first book is called "Suze Orman's Financial Freedom".

My interpretation of the title is that financial freedom is what she now has since she snowballed herself into an expert.

[chri'stina 190]

Just wanted to share our home buying experience...

I think it's easier for immigrants to the US to establish credit than some people think. We have found zero difficulty in establishing a good credit score for Sujeet who has been in the US less than 2 years. It all started when I added him as a card holder/authorized user on my 2 credit cards, and it did make an impact. That was while he was still in India, and here in the US I'd get credit card pre-approvals sent to my house for him! I thought it was funny since he wasn't even in the country yet. So after he arrived here, he opened a credit card with a low apr, and started charging small amounts, then paying them off in a month, and etc. Now he has a good credit score.

We got many pre-approvals for a mortgage even though he only had about 1 year work experience in the US so far. And Sujeet did all the investigation for mortgages in his name, not in mine (I'm the USC). I have an even better credit score than Sujeet and I am the co-borrower for the loan, but Sujeet is the main borrower, who is not the USC and has not been working here 2 years. Sujeet makes a decent salary and that is one reason they say it's ok, they only asked what career he had in India before coming here. Also, we are going through the first time home buyers program, which is giving us a low APR of 5.59 fixed 30yr rate.

My advice to anyone who has good credit in the US...and if you have credit cards(and are responsible with them!), add your spouse/fiance as an authorized card holder even before you start the visa process and before they are in the country. It did make a big impact for Sujeet's credit.

Edited March 13, 2006 by stina&suj

[flipside 0]

Wow.. 5.59 fixed is an amazing rate! Did you get that recently? And through which bank if you dont mind me asking.

[chri'stina 190]

Wow.. 5.59 fixed is an amazing rate! Did you get that recently? And through which bank if you dont mind me asking.

The rate is so good because we are doing the "first time home buyers program" here in Florida. We are going through American Home Mortgage(there's a local office here). I don't remember the name of the bank, I don't have the details at hand. But because of it being a first time home buyer program, the interest rate is low. You have to make less than a certain amount to qualify. In our county, you can't make more than $53,000 per year. This is info about it:

Florida Housing recently made $77 million available statewide in low-interest mortgages for first time homebuyers at a 30-year fixed interest rate of 5.59%. Eligible applicants could receive down payment and closing cost assistance in an amount up to $25,000 in certain high cost counties. Teachers, firefighters, healthcare workers, police officers and veterans could be eligible for a lower interest rate of 5.19% through the Community Spot Loan. Florida Housing has set aside approximately $7.5 million for the Community Spot Loan.

Review the First Time Homebuyer Brochure and other program information on this website then contact one of our participating lenders to determine if you’re eligible. You could be on your way to homeownership!

First Time Homebuyer Program

Florida Housing’s First Time Homebuyer Program provides low interest, fixed rate loans at 5.59% and down payment and closing cost assistance to eligible first time homebuyers purchasing new or existing homes.

The proceeds from the sale of both taxable and tax-exempt single family mortgage revenue bonds are used to finance these 30-year, fixed rate mortgages for low to moderate income homebuyers. In addition to providing low-interest rate loans, this program also offers credit counseling resources and deep subsidy second mortgages.

Eligible applicants include individuals who don't own their current home, don't claim their mobile home as real property, haven't owned a home within the past three years, have established credit worthiness, and have an annual income that does not exceed program limits. To request a brochure, call us toll free at (888) 447-2977 or download the brochure below. To search for participating lenders in your area, select the List of Participating Lenders link on the left.

[Fandango 1,439]

Stina, that credit info that you shared is great to know! thanks so much for sharing.

It scares the living ####### outta me that it's all gonna be on me to get us a house, or wait 2 years, so I'm going to start adding D to my stuff now....great idea, thanks!

[kc456 0]

Our problem is not being able to get credit, but more the insanely high prices here. It's more economical to rent rather than buy.

[RaspberrySwirl 20]

Interesting thread.

Can I bump this with a few related questions about buying a house in general?

How do you figure out how much "house" you can afford to buy?

What's the process like?

I hear you need to get pre-approved for a mortgage first and then.. what happens?

I have like no clue whatsoever, I've lived with my parents and then rented a dorm room and now D. and I are living in an apartment.

D.'s worried about how expensive houses are but right now with our pay raises over the last year, we're making a bunch more than we were and I'm thinking it's about time to look into having a place of our own.

His dad owns a concrete/building company and they have a few houses on the market or whatever that they're trying to sell so they can still make a profit out of and his dad showed him the houses but D. got the feeling that his dad was trying to hard to sell one to us. (I think they build like basements for people's houses but these got foreclosed and the bank is trying to get rid of 'em so they can pay the company for the building costs)

Yeah sorry for the rambling. I guess I'm just wondering about what the process involves and how much money we should have saved beforehand and maybe first time buyers deals and such?

Thanks a bunch if you read all this

Edited December 28, 2006 by RaspberrySwirl

[Kez/JWolf 6]

We just closed on our first Condo last friday... our mortgage is in my name (non-usc) with my husband as co-borrower as he cant work because his is disabled... we had no problems getting a good mortgage and we went with a first time buyers programme.. 100% at 6.2% fixed.. we did get pre-approved as this saved a lot of time once we had found the condo we wanted... it only took us 4 weeks from initial offer to closing...

Good Luck to all who are house hunting.

Kez

If anyone in the North East is looking for a good Broker just PM and I will send you the details...