House

I have an off topic question...how long did it take you to get your house and such...my boyfriend and I have already have some pre qualifications.

The story is, I got kicked out of my house (Makes me love my dad *cries*).
I have a little time, but not as much as I'd like...give me some ideas..also, what was required?

 

I wish I could help you, but I'm bogged down in that process as we speak and wondering pretty much the same thing! I just wanted to wish you good luck. Hopefully it all works out and you get a nice place.

 

we've found the place we want..its 4 acres...3 bed 2 bath house..99500

 

Nice! We were really trying to get this practically brand new 4BR 2BA doublewide on 5 acres, but it was about 20K out of our price range. Its thoroughly humbling when you can't afford a trailer, but I know it will all come right in the end. Make sure you post up pics of your new place when you get it.

 

tham where at im gana be ur neighber cause here its around 500,000 for half an acre

 

well before looking.. get prequalified..with a bank it takes a couple of weeks..keep in mind for you to look at a house for 100,000..you need to be prequalified for 110,000..closing costs around 6 to 8 thousand..a good realestate agent will get all inspections done quickly..still looking at about 30 to 45 days..and spend 200 dallors and have a lawyer present on closing day..as far as morgage rates make sure you get them fixed and not fluxuating..and you can pay around 60 bucks and get the rate locked in on the same day...me personally i would get a lot with two houses..rent one out and it would pay the morgage the bank will loan quicker on a money making lot..live there for two years..to avoid paying capital gains tax..sell it..pay off the bank..now you have really good credit..50 to 100 thousand for a down payment..and you can really live where you want............keep in mind a place with a rental unit on your property can save you .if you loose your job or get sick..you dont pay your morgage and the bank is more than happy to come for your house.

 

LMAO that's what I'm saying!

 

LockJaw answered it the best. and cannot stress this one enough

(as far as morgage rates make sure you get them fixed and not fluxuating )

 

I'm right in the middle of it myself..I got prequalified and still its going to be about 6 weeks from offer till close...I got the seller to pay my closing costs but the Earnest money contract was 1000...inspection is 250 and I had to put 3% down. Its a buyers market right now due to the high foreclosure rate.

 

we bought our first house and moved into it a yr ago this week.

i kid you not, we looked at 47 houses w/ my aunt who's a realator. the one we bought was the last one we looked at; over 14 weeks of looking at houses. *sigh*

like chia said, it's a buyers market. was around here last year when we bought. it just so happened, the house we got had only been up for sale for 3 days officially, and ads were only out for 1 day...we happened to be on the sstreet the day before the ads started running and saw the owners putting the sign in the yard. Put in an offer that night.

since it is a buyer's market, i'd suggest you tryin to put it in the contract to get them to pay closing costs, inspections fees, etc.; fireplaces and pools are probably going to be separate inspections, most 'home inpspectors' we called didn't do those two specifically, and duck the earnest money if you can ; if they want to sell the house, they should make it as easy for you to buy it as possible.

call the local police department, and ask about crime rates in the area (realators can't disclose that info, due to maybe being biased).

once we closed, they had 30 days to be out. we even got in a week early.

iono if me being engaged to the bank pres.' daughter helped speed along our financing or not, but that was a breeze; we had the 10% down (although with the market crumbling, a lot of national banks require 15, even 20% down); if you're not in the situation of doing that, your monthly payemnts might be higher once approve,d as you'll have your mortgage, house insurance, and mortgage insurance (due to lack of down payment) all lumped into one bill.

good luck. i'm sure your dogs will appreciate the space and freedom...they can have nice big spots and keep themselves runnin all day.

 

Kergin made a great point...Alot of financial institutions are asking for a large downpayment, I went with Wells Fargo first and they wanted 20% down...I was floored...anyway, I found a Mortgage lending Company and went FHA and only have to put 3% down and got my interest rate locked in at 7.25 which isn't the best but its not too bad.

Research a couple of different options...

 

First, find a mortgage broker that you can trust. There are many a programs for first time homebuyers out there that offer grants, pay the downpayments, etc. There are also programs that one can qualify for by buying in a rural area. For example, I financed my house 100% because a first time homebuyers grant paid an 8% downpayment on my house. Then I received a grant that's aimed at those living in areas zoned "rural." I bought my home in 2004 and was lucky to lock in at a 5.0% interest rate (which is unheard of these dogs--you're looking at 6.0% at the least).

Second, preapproval is great. It's major importance lies in the fact that when you go to put an offer on a house, if someone else is also putting an offer down, then the owner will take into account that you've been "preapproved" and taken the first steps at getting a loan vs. the other person who has not done any of it. It's very distressing trying to sell your home to have contract after contract after contract fall through.

Third, most people get preapproved for amounts that they cannot honestly afford. I was preapproved for $240,000 when I bought my house. I can tell you humbly that there was no way in hell I could've afforded that kind of mortgage. Which leads to the next point.......

Fourth, just because you get preapproved does not mean you'll get approved. I know, it's unfair, but when getting preapproval, they look at just some basic numbers. When you actually sit down to get the lown, they scrutinze every aspect of your life including credit history, debt to income ratio, how long you've been at your job, etc. I know several people who were preapproved for an ammount and although they tried to borrow much less, they were still denied. It sucks.

Fifth, don't ever ever ever take out an adjustable mortgage. I had one guy try to get me to do that 3 years ago and it didn't sound right to me then. If it sounds to good to be true, it is.

Sixth, don't try to buy/borrow outside of your means. Think reallistically. Having a forclosure or bankruptcy on your record destroys your credit and your life (at least temporarily on the life part).

Seventh, GOOD LUCK!

P.S. - Do some internet research on homebuyer's programs. Check out the HUD website and others similar to it.

 

Didn't really read all the post ,so dont know if this has been said,but don't go with an adjustable mortgage either,to many sad stories there,and things seem to be slowing down,so take your time and you'll get what you want and then some more.I use to live in N.C.,so I know its good there as far as getting what you pay for believe me I know ,wish I hadn't moved.

 

Okay,,, mine must have been quicker than most,

i picked up the phone called my banker and he told me to write them a check and i went ahead and okayed through the family to go in and redo the flooring and was moving in 2 weeks later,,

my interest flucuates but in 10 or 11 years its mine but i did put 10000 down (3 years ago)
but the inerest rate will only change every 3 years,, so far so good

 

Where I bank, and am approved for house loans, has a new program for first time home buyers. I was making about 700-800 a week, with a thousand in the bank after I paid all my debts, and was sure I couldn't buy without a co-signer. Filled out all the paperwork with a co-signer and turned it in. They looked at it, and said "this will go through, without a co-signer, if you want it to". Amazed, I had them put it through like that, and it went through with no problems (95k). When asked how on Earth they made it happen, they informed me of the new program, to which basically the only requirements were "make less than 55k a year" and "have a steady job". I got fantastic rates, ask if they have something similar where you are.

For how long it takes to find a house, forever. I've had two deals finished, when buyers backed out at the last minute. Always require a security deposit, from both sides! I've looked at probably 20 houses, and made offers on more than a few of them. The RIGHT place is hard to find in certain areas. In san fernando valley, I wouldn't hold my breath!

Good top-soil, tillable farm land here is about 5-7k an acre depending on location. If the site already has a permit, pre existing structures, septic, electricity, etc it's pretty close to 10k an acre on the high end.

 

Wow ,All these stories make me realize how lucky we were.We got a fantastic Agent who did everything,we didnt have to worry about anything but looking at houses and sign some papers at the closing.She got us approved,secured our loan ,did all the negotiating and eveything.We started looking seriously in october and moved into our house in november.To the OP,you might start asking friends and family to reccomend someone,thats how we found our agent ,And usually the agent can get you going in the right direction.

 

Here is an update...we are pre approved for the amount that they want for the house...i have a viewing tuesday morning...i will give y'all more information on the house later....the agent told me we could probably jew them down to 90 thousand....or 93000 if they pay the closing costs....here's hoping!