Hello everybody,
I bought a house in May 2007 and here is pretty much what I went through. I went to my bank and filled out the application for a loan in March 07. I closed in May 07 not quite 2 months of waiting for everything to be done. When I bought my house my FICOs were 609, 621, and 608. I only qualified for a loan because Rural Development lowered the score needed for a RD backed loan. The loan officer at the bank told me they had lowered the score needed from 680 to 620 and they used the middle score. Lucky for me that was the highest. If it was 2 points lower I would not have qualified. Anyone looking to buy a house should consider a RD loan. Also all it cost me was around $350 for the termite inspection and home inspection. I also got 6% fixed rate mortgage. Pretty good rates for having crappy credit, huh? Anyway, if you are looking to buy a home ask for a Rural Development loan. Never hurts to try. Hope this helps someone.

Postman

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I?m thinking of getting a new house but I don?t know what to look for in a house. What should I look for when buying a house? Of course, there are location and the price but other than these two, what else should I look for?

YoYo11 response to Postman

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so your buying a new home...great..I don't own a home, but i'm an the insurance business and write the polices for many of new homeowners here in illinois. You would want the property to inspected by a top noch inspector. I know in writing insurance polices reports are ran (clues) on insurance reports. This could let the underwriters know of any claims on certain properties. I just wrote an insurance policy on a new purchase and after running the clue, a claim was paid out in a large amount due to the basement flooding. Of couse due to privacy laws I can't tell the new home owner this information. The seller sometimes is not honest.

I'm not sure what state you're from but consider:

**The price of insurance
**The price of property taxes
**General maintance of the home
**Extra not included in rent...e.g water bills...
**Get the property inspected
**Ask the prior owner is they had any, water damage, mold, fires etc...
If they say no and the basements floods ..I would have your lawyer
put a clause in the contact that the would pay for the damage if it happens
within the 1st or 2nd year.
**With the mortgage crisis make sure you get a fixed 30 rate.
**Make sure your credit /debt ratio is pretty good.

**When searching for a mortgage company/bank/finance company....do as many credit pulls as your can in the month prior. Don't try 5 companies one month, and another 10, a month later....this hurts your score...

Godd luck in your search..wish you well...

This is good information for me. I am looking to purchase this year and hopefully very soon so all this is very important for me. I'm wondering if you all have any ideas on who to apply with and if there are people who often apply online?

I forgot...

They also said that if you go with FHA they look at more than your
Fico. You should have a clean payment record for the previous year.
They look at your last 12 months of payment history...

If you get a good rep they will also lock in the interest rate. I have
heard of some people with bad deals were they thought they were
getting one interest rate and when they went to closing "Assuming
they read their paperwork..." had the shock of their life when the
interest rate changed..."

Re: Meya & Stef

I wanted to see which state you guys were in. I have two contacts for you that are both FHA lenders. You can check out Lend America, they have a program for 1st time Home Buyers and offer assistance with the down payment. The web site is lend-america.com and my contact is Bruno Dicarlo. 631-944-9800 Ext 1974. They are based out of New York but are nationwide. Now the thing with FHA is they dont give you as much money as conventional. This was my decision. I was in a bad renting slumloard situation and I had to move. I checked out homesdatabase.com and looked at the current housing market in August/07. Bruno got me preapproved to go looking. The problem is in the state of Virginia everything is SKY HIGH! So the amount that he got for me wasn't quite enough. But he's great and this company may be helpful to you. They have live video feed on the web site as well. "They are a direct lender."

I ended up calling a previous contact at Lincoln Mortgage LLC. They are mortgage brokers. I think my score at that time was eqfx615; exp630; TU625 and I had credit challenges dealing with a prior BK. She got me approved @ 0 down and included the closing cost into the loan.

FYI: "You can also use a little of your 401K and borrow from that without a tax penalty!"

I did a quick goggle search for Californa & New York but I'm not sure who you would call. I worked with a wonderful lady "Pam Keim" (304) 264-5950. On this side that office is bonded in VA, WV, PA, FL, MD, and DC. She could refer you to a affiliate broker in your area. "I trust pam with my eyes closed!" And even as a 1st time buyer she didn't get annoyed at all the questions I asked...

The think I like about using a broker is they have many programs they can shop for you to match your credit. They ended up sending me to BOFA at 6.5%. My experience was a great one and smooth. I found a house in late August and closed three weeks later.

Let me know if your want either of their email addressess...

Thank you sally, I have the link in my messages inbox from Meya. I appreciate you taking the time out to share with us and get this information. I will keep posting as I proceed with each step.

Okay.. so i sat up here and typed like 30 mins.. and lost everything.. so if you find it somewhere else here.. you can delete it.. LOL

But what I was saying was that, in 2000 in had a C7 BK, and I even had after bk late payments.. which is REALLY bad they say. My mid cred score is now 610. (fyi when doing home loans they average your score they take your middle score and bulid the loan that as well as your past credit record) I was offered a FHA loan of 6.35% and a conventional loan of 7.25% and that was before the intrest rate drop. So I'm sure you can start now. I encourage to have a home loan officer look at your information to see what you may need to get you started on that road of home ownership. Then look on line for homeownership programs in your state as well as your county. I know in MD.. two programs... the state offered up to 10k to assist with w/ closing and down payment cost. and the other was, AA county in MD did a rent to own program. The money you paid in rent went towards your closing cost and all the equity gained during that year of renting belonged to you the future home owner. Reach out to a "seasoned" realtor in your area to see what they might be able to tell you about available programs. The time would be now to look for a house. With foreclosure's at an all time high, and your strong credit score I'm sure you can buy a house cheaper than what you rent. I wouldn't wait until 2010, talk to someone now to see if you can do it now. Having 5% down is a great goal.. BUT.. if you can have the state, HUD, or other organization pay for it.. save that money to buy new furniture.AND let's say you have a house built some bulider's have alot of incentives if you use their lender. The grants are out there.. (i'm begining to ramble... let me stop.. i could go all night)

So to answer your question I began my quest of cleaning up my credit record i think was btwn feb & april of this year.. I've moved from the low 5's to the 610 midmark. So if I CAN DO IT, I KNOW anybody can.. LOL. I've pasted the reps information here. Sorry if its in the wrong place. He can assist in loans in 50 states. Now with the subprime loan thingy going on.. I'm not sure if they still offer this one program. But the program basically went like this, lets say you have paid on time for the last 12 months he can get you approved for a home loan. CHECK IT OUT. GN .. hopefully this time it post..

[Full name, address, phone number, and website link was sent to StephNY in her message box]

Thank You so much ladies. I really am trying to get all the ins and outs before applying. I will definitely keep you guys posted as I go through each process, so everyone can get a first hand look at the mortgage process for first time home buyers with past credit problems. Sally thanks for the information, if you dont mind can you send me a message with your Bank Of America reps info? I am currently looking into all the first time homebuyers programs in NY, so Im definitely on the right track. Again Thanks to you ladies, I'll keep posting as I go.

Oh Wow stephNY, Sally just mentioned something very important. I am aware of the Hud housing (home buyers), I have a link that you could go to and search for houses in your area and find all the questions to buying from hud, and credit info with them. I am about to put it in the resource as of tonight. I am so glad someone repsonded to your post because I am curious myself about buying a home. My goal is to purchase in 2010, but with high scores and good history on my accounts. Sally if you are reading, could you please answer this question for me? Are first time home buyers with past baddies hit with higher interest rates than first time buyers with excellent credit? What is the best financial status when applying for a house?

I am so happy for you with your house, when you close on it, let us know about it so that we can congratulate you out LOUD.

I think you should apply NOW. I have rep from bank of america.. who could review your information. He's great. He advised me of all of my options after reviewing my credit report. It's been a battle to repair my credit. But THANK GOD I'm here, looking to close on my house at the end of the month. Talk to your credit union or your local bank and ask them what you may possible need to get in that house. Don't let your past credit history hold you back.. Google first time home buyers class in your state or local city for first time home buyers program. Go to HUD.gov & Fannie Mae and look at the first time homebuyer's programs that may be available to you. They give money away, or well they use to prior to this subprime lending practices. RUN if you are offered subprime. I was offerd 6.35% loan at 6ish. Good Luck and God Bless in your travels..... sal

I need to know the ins and outs. I hear so much about prime and subprime and mortgage brokers my head is spinning. I am also still in the process of repairing my credit. I basically put myself on punishment from applying for new credit for 6 months. Which is about the time I will be applying hopefully. My scores are in the 680's now. I plan to put down at least 5 % of my purchase price. Can anyone give me some insight into applying for a mortgage with those scores?