My wife & I want to buy a Condo/home in West Los Angeles area. We have $10,000 saved.Do we have any options?

Question

We have mid-level credit but is there any options with that amount of money? We are tired of renting & would love to be putting money in towards a place of our own. If anyone knows anything we don't please help!

What about rent to own???

Answer 1

Add one or two more zero's then you may have a option.

Answer 2

What one considers mid-level credit is not necessary what a Lender looks at when purchasing a home. If you credit is 560 + anything is possible with a 100 percent loan.

There are other factors to consider, besides credit. Job time of 2 years, collections on credit report - judgements on credit report. All of these are taken in as a factor on getting a home loan. Credit can be worked on, by adding alternative credit. If you are paying regularly on a cell phone, auto insurance, rent, etc - these are called alternative credit.. All is not HOPELESS - ok - take a deep breath. If your credit score is 560 or higher, anything is workable, with a seller second - etc the higher the credit score the better. Lenders look at the middle score...of the 3 scores. If you only have 1 score or 2 scores (have seen it), it is still workable....but unless a lender sees the whole picture - credit - income - job time, etc - than you will not have a "true" picture of what you can afford - Hope this helps - There are also Government programs out there, but they too are looking for job time, etc.....They are not so much looking a credit - but the other factors are taken into consideration. With a government loan - collections and judgements will have to be paid (most ppl do not know that) but for FHA it is true...

Also:

It greatly depends if you need help with closing cost, (The seller could do Seller Help toward your closing cost). If that is the case, I normally tell my clients NOT to hackle over the price, since you are asking for closing cost help - especially if the home is thru a realitor, and the seller has to pay the realitor their fee which runs from 2-6 percent of the selling price, and you ask for 4-5 percent toward closing cost -assistance) Follow me so far??

Talk with a broker, a broker underwrites for many company's (I underwrite for 150 companies) so I only have to pull credit 1 time, and they look at my credit. A single lender (not a broker) has programs available, but they may not be able to help you and your situation, so you go elsewhere, and than that person pulls your credit (see what I mean.) If you shop, your credit is pulled and that is considered a soft pull, for a 30 day period. Just like shopping for a auto, it is good for 30 days. If you apply for a credit card, that is considered a "hard" pull and it drags down your credit score.

By the way, a loan application is called a 1003, and they will issue you a GFE (Good Faith estimate, with-in 3 days, that is per the RESPA laws, and the TIL (Truth in Lending). This will tell you the up-front closing cost (etc) associated with your loan. This is a estimate only - not the final - but it does help you figure things out.

Decided on the type of program (loan ) you are wanting. A 30 yr fix is still roughly at a 6.5 rate right now - but if you are needing a 90 percent ltv the rate is around 7 percent and a 95 ltv is 7.375 and a 100 percent rate is 7.5 ( This is a estimate only, since I do not know what your credit score's are....There are also, interest only loans - adjustable loans, option arms (where you pick the payment, from 4 payments, including interest only). Interest only are lower payments, but nothing is being paid on your home. Some self-employed ppl like the payment options, in a lean month when money is tight., they can pay a lesser amount.

Good Luck to you - A Broker, who cares, will go over it all with you and be in contact with you daily. The one on one customer service is important, to you, the client, to let you know the whole loan process

Answer 3

I think "someone" and "Kevin" have given you great advice, not because they mentioned the use of brokers but for the rest of their advice.

Someone is right on not letting eveyone run your credit. If you will shop around for the best rate, simply have the first mortgage company run your credit, get a copy and with that copy compare and shop around.

The other user mentioned FTHB programs (First Time Home Buyer) like CalHFA or Acorn. These programs have price limitations and other restrictions BUT overall they are very good for FTHB wil low-mid income that qualify for the program. As the other user mentioned they have a program where one of the secondary loans you dont pay them until you sell the property. But another option as mentioned before would be a competent mortgage company.

The money you have $10,000, save it for your closing costs. It will be of much better use for closing cost than for a down payment because with the prices in So CA, 10K wont make much of a difference BUT dont feel discouraged because as I said there are very good programs that can help. Just be careful and dont be taken by the first good offer.

My opinion for rent to own would be be careful because if you dont know what you are doing or read the contracts carefully you could loose ALL your money at the end and not be able to buy the property.

Take care

Answer 4

You're probably looking at the astronomical numbers of $250,000-1,200,000 for a condo in West L.A., Playa Vista, Santa Monica, Venice, MDR, or anywhere around there. Your $10,000 will probably cover closing costs and thats about it. You're looking at probably doing 100% financing.

If you do this, you can refinance after a few years and it'll lower your probably astronomical payments a little bit. I tell you from experience, unless you're both making a lot of money its not going to be a walk in the park!

You're BEST option would be to find the cheapest, oldest place you can. Then making sure to take out an additional $40,000 loan on the property, Have it remodled in 12-16 weeks with hardwood, travertine tiles, all new kitchen and bathroom with new appliances. This should drive up the price an additional $150,000 or so from what you paid for it. You'll end up taking home about $60,000 after costs and you'll really have somewhere to start from then. Heck even do this 2-3 times if you can deal with leaving in a war zone crap hole semi-demolished home for a year to make your dreams come true.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

$10,000 most likely will not cover the cost of a Condo in Los Angeles, as I have a relative who bought a condo in southern CA 10 years ago at a price tag of over $200,000. It has now increased in value to over $600,000, and it's a mid-range condo. Realistically, there's not going to be a condo for under $50,000 in LA, but I wish you the best of luck on your search! I'm sorry I could not be of more help.

Answer 7

You need to get pre-qualified for a loan, that will tell you how much you can afford.

There are 100% financing programs out there, that your mid level credit scores sound like they can qualify you for. After that it's really about your monthly DTI (debt to income ratio). If you make enough monthly to cover the payments, then your in good shape.

Get with a mortgage planner that can help analyze your specific situation and find out what options are available to you. Then you'll know how much you can afford and shop appropriately.

Answer 8

call a mortgage broker
then call your bank
then call another mortgage company

we are just bought our first home the 1 thing I just learned is to shop around
one thing motgage people will tell you is to not let anyone pull your credit
this is true to a point do not go out and try to get a car loan or a credit card
everytime someone pulls your credit it will take a point off your credit score BUT.... you can have other banks or mortgage companies pull your credit the credit bureau will see you are shopping for a mortgage (WHICH IS YOUR RIGHT BY LAW)and will only count it as one pull you have like a 14 day time period


when you do find a loan know how much your payment will be

find out first how much the mortgage guy is getting off the top

the worse your credit is the higher intrest rate you will pay you can help your credit score by finding a store like Get it now or a rent to own company but it must be one that does not pull your credit but will report it to the credit bureau we increased ours 50 points in 3 mnths like this and it gave us the intrest rate we wanted

good luck ask lots of questions

I like brokers because they can shop around to other lenders and find you the best deal

Answer 9

I think a good way to see what you can get for your money is to watch HGTV. They have a great show called What You Get For The Money. Different episodes show different houses in different regions of the US. It also shows the many different options that you have with the amount of money your looking to spend. No guarantee that West Los Angeles will be on the episode that you watch, but you could check it out. Good luck!

Answer 10

There are programs out there to help the first time home buyer. Check your city or county for them.

Also check out the California Housing Finance Agency. I received a bargain rate mortgage from them, including a silent 2nd and 3rd mortgage to buy my place. Silent means you don't have to make payments until you sell or refinance.

Ultimately, check listings to see what prices are, then go see a mortgage broker and see what they can do for you. They'll let you know if it can happen.

Answer 11

Yes there is possibilities but i think LA is not the place i found a website that has some really lovely houses with reasonable prices its www.foradvantage.com . Have a look you might be surprised. If not go to realtor.com they will have a better list.