Got some great advice for Househunting

[Fandango 1,439]

Wanna say first of all that I was mistaken when I made this first post, and going stated is not at the same rate as verifying. Duh. I was misinformed...sorry guys! Turns out it would be like an extra point on the rate :/

As I've said, I'm not a lender so I was only relaying information given to me at the time....

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?

Well first figure out how much house you NEED (not want, but need) then go to an agent and look at what those are going for. You might also decide to look into fixer uppers if you're handy. But knowing what the mkt in your area is like is crucial. Sometimes it works out that first time home buyers get exactly what they WANT but other times, they have to lower their expectations just to get into the housing market.

]What's the process like?

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

The agent that you go to would most probably have contacts with lenders he/she works with. Or you could try your own bank. A pre-qualification and a pre-approval are two different things: a pre-qual only goes off what you say; ie 'I make x amt'. Nothing is verified but your credit score. It can be done over the phone. The lender would then give you a letter saying 'based upon information, yadda yadda yadda'

A pre-approval is what you want to go for. It's a formal application for a loan. The lender will ask for pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, etc. It's nowhere near as quick as a pre-qual, but it's more solid. Be sure you are dealing with a reputable mtg co.

This is where you should be talking about rates, payments, etc. You can ask the mtg co or bank to break it down so that you can buy a house based on not going over a certain figure for monthly payment. Then you will see all the options presented to you...what programs are available, how much of your own $$$ is reqd, etc. Here in FL, you can shop around for a mtg for a certain length of time....ie...several lenders could pull your credit and it won't lower the score. Check with your own state and lender for the time frame if you want to shop around for the best rate.

You should also check into the taxes and how much they will be once you buy a home and the home's value is reassessed. Here in FL there's a 'save our homes' amendment which says that taxes on your home (I believe it's only for homesteaded homes btw) will only go up a minimal % each year.. So theoretically, if someone was living in a home for like 20 years that they bought for hardly nothing....then they sell it for fair mkt value....sometimes the taxes can more than triple. Because the home will be reassessed once you buy it. I know lots of customers here in FL go 'oh look, they only pay $600 a year for taxes' and I'm all 'yeah, but they've lived in the home for 40 years' You can check with the county and get a clearer picture with them. The lender can estimate taxes, but again...it's an estimation.....so my personal theory is to go to the person who really knows the best....and that would be the property tax appraiser.

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

Also, anyone planning to buy a home in the not too distant future should also be concerned with their financial health....pay off credit cards, save as much money as possible, and don't make any large purchases...ie a car with payments. If you're not ready to buy right now...you could ask your lender for tips on what you can do to make your financial health better for when you are ready.

I keep wanting to stress that I am not a mtg broker or a lender....this is just ancedotal information which might help point ppl in the right direction to speak to those who are qualified and licensed in your state to help you.

Good luck everyone!

[JSP 0]

Just been reading the thread, and I thought I'd post my concern here.

My fiance has been umemployed for a long time, and I'm assuming here credit score isnt that either. What chance will we have of buying a house over time, when I move to Florida to be with her and I am earning. Assume I have an average job and my income would be the majority of our overall wage together. Is buying a house going to be virtually impossible because I have no credit score?

[JSP 0]

Just been reading the thread, and I thought I'd post my concern here.

My fiance has been umemployed for a long time, and I'm assuming here credit score isnt that either. What chance will we have of buying a house over time, when I move to Florida to be with her and I am earning. Assume I have an average job and my income would be the majority of our overall wage together. Is buying a house going to be virtually impossible because I have no credit score?

^ Assuming once I've worked for a while and saved money etc....I really just need to know how difficult it would be establishing enough credit to qualify for a mortgage.

[RaspberrySwirl 20]

Wanna say first of all that I was mistaken when I made this first post, and going stated is not at the same rate as verifying. Duh. I was misinformed...sorry guys! Turns out it would be like an extra point on the rate :/

As I've said, I'm not a lender so I was only relaying information given to me at the time....

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?

Well first figure out how much house you NEED (not want, but need) then go to an agent and look at what those are going for. You might also decide to look into fixer uppers if you're handy. But knowing what the mkt in your area is like is crucial. Sometimes it works out that first time home buyers get exactly what they WANT but other times, they have to lower their expectations just to get into the housing market.

]What's the process like?

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

The agent that you go to would most probably have contacts with lenders he/she works with. Or you could try your own bank. A pre-qualification and a pre-approval are two different things: a pre-qual only goes off what you say; ie 'I make x amt'. Nothing is verified but your credit score. It can be done over the phone. The lender would then give you a letter saying 'based upon information, yadda yadda yadda'

A pre-approval is what you want to go for. It's a formal application for a loan. The lender will ask for pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, etc. It's nowhere near as quick as a pre-qual, but it's more solid. Be sure you are dealing with a reputable mtg co.

This is where you should be talking about rates, payments, etc. You can ask the mtg co or bank to break it down so that you can buy a house based on not going over a certain figure for monthly payment. Then you will see all the options presented to you...what programs are available, how much of your own $$$ is reqd, etc. Here in FL, you can shop around for a mtg for a certain length of time....ie...several lenders could pull your credit and it won't lower the score. Check with your own state and lender for the time frame if you want to shop around for the best rate.

You should also check into the taxes and how much they will be once you buy a home and the home's value is reassessed. Here in FL there's a 'save our homes' amendment which says that taxes on your home (I believe it's only for homesteaded homes btw) will only go up a minimal % each year.. So theoretically, if someone was living in a home for like 20 years that they bought for hardly nothing....then they sell it for fair mkt value....sometimes the taxes can more than triple. Because the home will be reassessed once you buy it. I know lots of customers here in FL go 'oh look, they only pay $600 a year for taxes' and I'm all 'yeah, but they've lived in the home for 40 years' You can check with the county and get a clearer picture with them. The lender can estimate taxes, but again...it's an estimation.....so my personal theory is to go to the person who really knows the best....and that would be the property tax appraiser.

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

Also, anyone planning to buy a home in the not too distant future should also be concerned with their financial health....pay off credit cards, save as much money as possible, and don't make any large purchases...ie a car with payments. If you're not ready to buy right now...you could ask your lender for tips on what you can do to make your financial health better for when you are ready.

I keep wanting to stress that I am not a mtg broker or a lender....this is just ancedotal information which might help point ppl in the right direction to speak to those who are qualified and licensed in your state to help you.

Good luck everyone!

Thanks Lisa!

[rebeccajo 14]

Just been reading the thread, and I thought I'd post my concern here.

My fiance has been umemployed for a long time, and I'm assuming here credit score isnt that either. What chance will we have of buying a house over time, when I move to Florida to be with her and I am earning. Assume I have an average job and my income would be the majority of our overall wage together. Is buying a house going to be virtually impossible because I have no credit score?

Unemployment doesn't affect the credit score. Not paying your bills does. If she has kept things current her credit won't be harmed in anyway.

[DDL 1]

As for it being financed by USC only, yep, we found out today that I def cant be on the loan agreement, and its likely I wouldnt even be on the Deeds for the house.

I am a USC, my husband is UK citizen.

I bought a house in May 2006 based on my credit/income (did the 80/20 thing that someone else has mentioned here). The note and mortgage are of course in my name, as was the original deed. After closing, I just drew up another deed (it's nice being a paralegal) wherein I conveyed one-half of my interest in the house to my husband.

Denise

[vanee 13]

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.

That's helpful to know. How long do you need to have a US credit card for to establish credit?

[rebeccajo 14]

"Establishing credit" is a bit vague. It will take more than one credit card to have built a file upon which a mortgage lender will make a decision.

However, one credit card, used wisely, should allow you to do some other borrowing. Done wisely and conservatively, you can build a file nicely.

I've often felt that purchasing some furniture for your home, or entertainment equipment, or some of those other short-term financing options are good ways for those with little or no credit to get started. The interest rate on this type of financing is usually high, so a smart plan of action would be to take the financing and keep it open long enough to show a good payment pattern and then pay it off early. Say in 6 months or so.