Does anyone now what to do when you can't afford to buy a home, and you have excellent credit?

Question

Homes to expensive in local area. Pay rate not high enough to afford homes. Wife attending college, supporting wife and son. Excellent credit! First time home buyer progams stink, they do not help!

Answer 1

Wait till you can afford a mortgage Whats a couple more yrs? Then look in a smaller community a little farther out where housing is cheaper. Remember Only a fool tries to drink champagne on a beer budget. Also ,an old saying from the Bible in Proverbs :All things come to those that wait

Answer 2

Instead of a house... start thinking about a multi-unit property. A duplex can be a great choice... you only share one wall with a neighbor and the income that other side generates is considered part of YOUR income when the loan decision is made. I have a property I paid 240k for... I paid about 950/mo to live there all the while earning equity against the total value. Where else are you going to earn 6-7%/yr against the total value of a property while someone else is paying AT LEAST half of the principal/interest/taxes while YOU write off the interest on YOUR taxes?

One more thing... I rented this place before I bought it. When I was a renter I paid $1175/mo to live there... when I bought it my end of the mortgage was less than rent... you probably can't afford NOT to buy.

Answer 3

I might suggest that you look at a townhome, instead of a single family home. They are usually cheaper, especially if it's not new construction.

If your credity is as good as you say, there are a lot of zero down mortgage programs that aren't too bad. Stick with one that is a standard fixed rate or 5 yr (or more) adjustable rate. In MN, where I live, there are programs for people with good credit, lower income, where you might be able to qualify for monthly payment assistance. With some, you have to be careful of tax recapture guidelines (where if you sell or refi too soon, you have to pay a penalty) but if your wife has a few years left for school and your son is young, staying in the property for at least 5 yrs might not be an issue. They are not totally wonderful, but if it's a house you wnat, they might be worth it in the long run. (And if you sell after a couple of yrs, you could make enough of a profit that the recapture wouldn't "hurt" too much.)

You said your wife is attending college. Is she going for something specific like teaching or nursing? Is she not working at all? If she IS working, and it's in line with what she's attending school for, and she's got a history of working in the same line of work as her course of study, her income MAY be allowable to help you qualify.

Start with a reputable mortgage broker (not a lender.) Ask everyone you know, at work, your friends and family for their mortgage loan officer's name and go with the person who comes with the best referral. The broker will have dozens of lending institutions with 100's of mortgage programs and rates available to set you up with the best financing possible. Once you've gotten you credit FULLY approved (you've taken application, they've verified all assets, income and credit AND submitted your loan to an underwriter for credit approval) you ask your broker for a reference to one of their best real estate agents. With an approval in hand, you go, look at properties; find the one you want, make an offer, have an appraisal and title work done and BOOM, you own a house.

I hope you succeed in getting your home. I know how important it is.

Answer 4

The more cash you have, the faster you'll get that loan--Either way-- it'll take some time-- so my suggestion is: using that computer to compute how long it will take you to save some real money-- goal is 20% of the home cost for down payment--
When you have 1K-- put it in a short term CD at your bank or credit union-vow to not, NOT use that cash for anything but the home you want--- shop around for CD rates-- then start saving for the second 1K and keep it up--as you increase each 1K by adding to previous CD's-- the saving percent will increase-- i.e. 5K will pay a higher percent than 1K. After you have at least 3 months expenses in your SAVINGS ACCOUNT for emergencies and nothing else----cast your eye around at other ways you can sock away some cash---
look at your expenses-- not only how much but for what-- example-- I had a hole in my check book-- friend helped me list everything I wrote checks for and where-- located a grocery store where I'd go to wind down after work-- and buy cigs (still smoking then)-- and while there I'd buy "goodies"-- we found -- are you sitting down????? $200.00 a month! going down that hole-- without the cigs!!! Major eye opener. By the way-- when you said excellent credit-- you are telling me that credit companies like you-- you pay your bills within reason-- IF you are carrying a balance on a credit card------ bad boy!--- (see below)
When you begin to cast your eye on other ways to sock it away-- look closely at your utilities If you are lucky you will find a deal like mine. My power company allows customers to buy stock while paying the bill-- the plan here is initial $250 then "rounding" up amounts-- bill $75, I'd round up to $100.--As I saw the amount grow-- I rounded up more and more. Put the account in a DRIP-- dividend reinvestment plan-- company paid me dividends and I'd roll them automatically over to buy more stock or portions of a share--
BAD BOY section-- if you are revolving a credit account you are cutting your own throat. Couple of suggestions-- check the percent they charge-- call the highest companies and tell them that another company is charging you ?? percent and it's less than theirs-- most ( I said most) of the credit card companies will drop your percent to stay competitive. Get them all a lower rate-- then use a method I call the "waterfall"-- list all accounts, the total owed, the minimum required, the percent charged to revolve your account-- total up the amount per month you pay on those accounts right now. Decide where you want the money to go-- pay minimum on all accounts-- except the rest of the money on the one account-- As that account is paid off-- do the same with the second account-- don't change the total you are paying-- that is the bonus-- you're are used to that amount going out-- so use it to your advantage.
No you don't charge unless you KNOW you can pay it off at the end of the month. I hope that is clear. This isn't hard-- it's just different-- takes a bit of dissipline-- but when those numbers start mounting up-- you'll be converted.
I learned from my Dad and he believed in pencil and paper and list everything you are paying for and with on that paper-- then categorize and rewrite again. As you progress-- mark that out as DONE and keep it on your list.
I also made a New Years list of what I wanted to accomplish in that year-- I kept those lists with taxes and it's such a warm fuzzy to run across them these days.
I would print this out-- lots of info that you might want to re-visit-- I wish you much good luck!

Answer 5

First, Daniel, we have to quit coloring inside the lines. I'll bet you a week's pay that there is a seller in your area that has the flexibility to work within your budget and even provide owner-financing, given your great credit. Why would they? How about:

Divorce
Bankruptcy
Illness
Death
Relocation on short notice

If it were me, I would post a classified ad to find such a seller. Be brief, and specific: what you can pay monthly, how much space you need, how much cash you can put down, desired location.

Good luck and God bless you!

Answer 6

Hmmm, join the Navy for two years and then use the VA loan?