Want to Purchase A Home? Tips for Couples or Singles

[mccoyred]

As far as a program goes, check out http://www.homenow.com/, DST's home ownership intitiative.

Some things I would advise:

• Don't make an offer on the first thing you see. When it comes to buying a home, your first instinct is not always your best.
• Only buy a fixer upper if you TRULY like doing that kind of work yourself and you have the time. Buying a fixer upper with the intention of bringing in a contractor to fix it up is a waste of money.
• Ask your home inspector as many questions as you need to; after all YOU are the one that has to live with it. BTW, don't let anyone tell you not to get a home inspection; it is your protection.
• When touring a home, always take someone with you (spouse, friend, family member) besides your real estate agent. Even confer on the side if you need to do so in order to make sure that you didn't miss something significant.
• Also, it may seem rude to look in closets and stuff but do it when you are touring a property; it can save you some unpleasantness down the road.

Good luck!

[PinkPop]

Yes, I hear NACA is very good. You have to qualify though. You have to earn less than the median income for the city your buying the house in or something like that. And if I'm not mistaken, after you buy the house you have to attend x amount of workshops. Which is good by the way. Nothing more spectacular than gaining knowledge(correct knowledge) and then spreading it around.

[SummerChild]

Hi Soror. I may be mistaken. It looks like NACA does not have an income limitation, but they have a max loan amount limitation. Do I have this backwards?
SC

Originally Posted by PinkPop

Yes, I hear NACA is very good. You have to qualify though. You have to earn less than the median income for the city your buying the house in or something like that. And if I'm not mistaken, after you buy the house you have to attend x amount of workshops. Which is good by the way. Nothing more spectacular than gaining knowledge(correct knowledge) and then spreading it around.

[SummerChild]

Even though a good real estate agent will provide one with comps, here is a link if you want to see the amount that homes in a neighborhood sold for - https://ingdirect.homepricemonitor.c...ByLocation.jsp

you can type the address into google and trulia.com will tell you the number of bedrooms, etc.

[jubilance1922]

Great thread SC....I'm also looking to buy my first home, and unfortunately I make too much to take advantage of any local govt programs.

I'm going to check out that NACA org.

A soror of mine also told me that Countrywide Loans has a program for first-time home buyers, either a lower interest rate or no closing costs.

[Infamous12]

Great thread SC, I'm looking to buy a condo by the end of the year.

I'm attending a first-time home/condo buyers course tomorrow night and will post any 'new knowledge' up here for all.

*If anyone has any pertinent questions they want to know, send them to my PM, I'll add them to my list to ask*

[SummerChild]

Thanks Infamous12! It's already after 7pm your time so I guess I won't send you a pm at this point. Thanks in advance for posting what you find out.
SC

Originally Posted by Infamous12

Great thread SC, I'm looking to buy a condo by the end of the year.

I'm attending a first-time home/condo buyers course tomorrow night and will post any 'new knowledge' up here for all.

*If anyone has any pertinent questions they want to know, send them to my PM, I'll add them to my list to ask*

[SummerChild]

Great. I'm glad that it's a useful thread. Yes, it is a drag to not be able to take part in the government programs. Shoot, what makes them think that we have all of this money to make a downpayment, etc. I will look into countrywide. I just found a problem with my credit report that I pulled (I haven't seen it since 6/06) so now I have to try to take care of that. Meanwhile, I'm trying to start trying to pre-qual so this is going to hold up the process b/c the problem makes my score lower than usual.

I wonder if there is a way to just use income for the loan qual. Is that a stated loan? Have to look that up.

What do you guys think of 80/20 setups? I'm scared of interest-only loans so that's not an option. Thinking about the 7/1 ARMs too.

Anyone have any experience with any of these?

SC

Originally Posted by jubilance1922

Great thread SC....I'm also looking to buy my first home, and unfortunately I make too much to take advantage of any local govt programs.

I'm going to check out that NACA org.

A soror of mine also told me that Countrywide Loans has a program for first-time home buyers, either a lower interest rate or no closing costs.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

What do you guys think of 80/20 setups? I'm scared of interest-only loans so that's not an option. Thinking about the 7/1 ARMs too.

Anyone have any experience with any of these?

SC

I'm in the process of buying my first house (a townhouse). So here's a bunch of random thoughts:

I am doing an 80/20 loan with seller paying almost all of the closing costs (always keep in mind closing costs- they add up!). I have a good salary, but most of my money has gone towards paying down my higher interest rate student loans. Keep in mind that the 20% of the 80/20 loan is going to be at a higher interest rate. I am going to probably do 6.25% fixed rate on my 80 % and 7.99% fixed on my 20%. I could've gotten a 5.75% 5/1 ARM on the 80%, but in weighing my options it didn't look best for me in the long run and would've required me to pay a point at closing. (My goal is to try to keep closing costs down). But I have an excellent credit score, so your mileage may vary

EDUCATE yourself! Homebuying for Dummies is pretty good and explains all the mortgage options in detail.

First advice is get your credit in line, you mentioned you had caught something.

Get recommendations from friends, family and colleagues regarding mortgage brokers. A broker looks at all kinds of different options for you and shouldn't have a specific loyalty to any one bank. Mine is awesome. I am very happy with my rates compared to another friend who is doing an 80/20 as well through another broker.

You're going to be nickled and dimed on stuff, so make sure you have some cash accessable. You will also likely need to put in carpeting, and you're going to want to paint, decorate, etc. You're also going to want/need furniture. It can be a money pit. But don't go hog wild, take your time.

Make sure your realtor knows what you're looking for, what you like and don't like. Look at several places your first time out. Be willing to walk away from a property. Don't be blinded by the good things- be excessively nitpicky.
Take someone along who knows a lot about home repair (I took my dad) or even just another person to be an extra pair of eyes.

The negotiating process is annoying. Be willing to walk away from any property. There's always another property out there for you, particularly since the market has been turning into a buyer's market, at least in my area.

Since this is your first place, keep in mind resale potential. Buy in a good school district and neighborhood. If you can afford it, buy a bit more than you need. For instance, I'm buying a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath place. I could've gone in a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath but the resale will be better in my area on the 3 bedroom. As will having 2.5 baths as opposed to 1.5.

When it comes time for the home inspection, ask your realtor to recommend someone who is VERY detailed. You want someone who is very detail oriented and will explain everything to you. Do NOT miss your home inspection, some people don't go, but you should. You can learn and ask questions. Mine took 3 1/2 hours and the place isn't that big.

I just had my home inspection this weekend, and that's when it really hit me that this is going to be my home. You think the negotiating is over after you come to the sales agreement. Nope. There's more that goes on after the home inspection. That's what I'm dealing with now- it needs a new furnace and some electrical work.

As you're getting your act together with your finances and credit, spend a lot of time on realtor.com and other homesites and see what things are going for.

If your county has an online property assessment website, check out a sampling of houses in your neighborhood to see what they're assessed at for tax purposes, what they've sold at, etc.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I know this was a rather random post.

[Conskeeted7]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

I wonder if there is a way to just use income for the loan qual. Is that a stated loan? Have to look that up.

What do you guys think of 80/20 setups? I'm scared of interest-only loans so that's not an option. Thinking about the 7/1 ARMs too.

Anyone have any experience with any of these?

SC

A stated loan does not require information from your credit report or verification of income to approve you for the loan. Because of the high risk lenders take when not checking these areas, the interest rate is typically much higher. However, these are good options for people with liquid cash but trouble getting conventional loans because of their credit or self employment.

80/20 loans typically allow you to get a larger amount by breaking the loan amount into two separate ones. This also avoids PMI because you are not borrowing 100% on one loan.

Interest only is an option if you are certain that you are either moving before fairly soon or that the house will increase in value pretty steadily and rapidly by the time you plan to sell. Otherwise, you will be in a situation where you have not paid anything on the principle amount when you sell. Therefore, it may be difficult to come out on top when you list and deal with lower offers in a buyers market like we have right now. However, it has been successful for people who are able to get a property well under appraisal and market value. They can then sell and not have to worry about the unreduced principle amount.

I hope I've helped. I'm in the process of buying my 2nd home and selling my 1st. So, I'm right in the midst of all this right now.

[PinkPop]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

Hi Soror. I may be mistaken. It looks like NACA does not have an income limitation, but they have a max loan amount limitation. Do I have this backwards?
SC

I'm not sure. I thought they had an income limitation and then I just read on their site that they didn't but then I also read this:

WHO DOES NACA HELP?

To qualify for NACA's services you must have a household income lower than a specific percentage of your city's median income or be willing to purchase in a neighborhood that has been cut off from access to credit ("Priority Areas"). Income restrictions differ by NACA office location. You may not own other property, and you must live in the home while you have the mortgage you obtained through NACA.

So I'm not sure.

[SummerChild]

Hi Soror. Yes, that is confusing. Well, I know that I'm out for sure as I'm sure my income would push me out and the loan limitation also excludes me as I'm in Cali and those loan limitations are jokes for this area.

I hope it works out for you!

SC

Originally Posted by PinkPop

I'm not sure. I thought they had an income limitation and then I just read on their site that they didn't but then I also read this:

WHO DOES NACA HELP?

To qualify for NACA's services you must have a household income lower than a specific percentage of your city's median income or be willing to purchase in a neighborhood that has been cut off from access to credit ("Priority Areas"). Income restrictions differ by NACA office location. You may not own other property, and you must live in the home while you have the mortgage you obtained through NACA.

So I'm not sure.

[SummerChild]

This website is associated with a real estate agency that specializes in condos (loft and conventional) and townhouses.

They have a very informative set of pages that takes one through the process from preparing to shop to moving in. I have not seen anything so thorough, even in the book that I read on buying condos/townhouses.
The webpage is located at http://www.condosource.com/buyers/ and the steps in the process (from preparing to shop) can be found in the left margin of the page.

SC

[SummerChild]

Thanks McCoyred, I will look into this program. Also, thanks for the tips. I will be trying to take a friend/relative with me, if possible, and looking into all closets from now on. Is there anything in particular that I would be looking for in closets b/c things like damage from leaks, etc.?
SC

Originally Posted by mccoyred

As far as a program goes, check out http://www.homenow.com/, DST's home ownership intitiative.

Some things I would advise:

• Don't make an offer on the first thing you see. When it comes to buying a home, your first instinct is not always your best.
• Only buy a fixer upper if you TRULY like doing that kind of work yourself and you have the time. Buying a fixer upper with the intention of bringing in a contractor to fix it up is a waste of money.
• Ask your home inspector as many questions as you need to; after all YOU are the one that has to live with it. BTW, don't let anyone tell you not to get a home inspection; it is your protection.
• When touring a home, always take someone with you (spouse, friend, family member) besides your real estate agent. Even confer on the side if you need to do so in order to make sure that you didn't miss something significant.
• Also, it may seem rude to look in closets and stuff but do it when you are touring a property; it can save you some unpleasantness down the road.

Good luck!