My fiance n I r looking 2 purchase a home but money is short, is it still possible ?

Question

My fiance n I r looking 2 purchase a home before gettin married in Dec; he's lookin 4 a second job n I'm also lookin 4 employment. We r trying 2 save but money is tight n we don't have the best credit in the world, so I am not so hopeful about applying 4 a loan. I hear that there r agency's that give grants 2 1st time buyers 4 the down payment n closing costs such at the Fannie Mae Foundation so what r some good suggestions 4 us?

Answer 1

It is great you are starting the search for a home and financing early. The best thing working for you right now is time. Since you are not pressured to by a home in the next 60 days there are many options to help you obtain your dream of homeownership.

1. Check your credit - Get a copy of your credit report with credit scores. You can get a free copy with out scores from the Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov or you can buy a copy from the credit bureaus themselves. (websites below)

2. Improve your score - Everyone's situation is different. Some things you can do to improve your score are:
- Pay your bills on time
- Get credit balances below 75%, 50%, 35% of available credit
- Do not open any new accounts or apply for additional credit
- Do not close any accounts
- Dispute errors on your report
For more information on credit go to Fair Isaac's site (they created the credit score) www.myFICO.com
There are companies that can assist you in improving your score. Please note everything they do, you can do for free on your own.

3. Consult with a loan officer to see what programs you qualify for now and what you need to qualify for better programs.

4. Many cities and states have First Time Home Buyer (FTHB)Assistance. There are income and credit requirements.

~Danke Schoen

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Answer 2

First, you still need to have INCOME. A loan agency will only let youi spend 50% or Less (some only do 30%) of your gross monthly income on a loan payment-- including taxes and insurance. So if he doesn't make much in his current job and you dont have income, the chances of qualifying are very low.

If you had high credit they could do a "no income verification" in which they just take yoru word for your income, but they wont do this with under a 700 credit score (usually) or a mortgage broker might be able to-- but the rates will be baaaad.

Call a mortgage broker that specializes in low credit situations, and let him/her run the numbers and see what you can get. THEN worry about the downpayment thing. He'll tell you if you COULD qualify if you had a down payment, or if you dont need one, or what. If your score is above 580, you've got a good chance. Below-- you'll need a down payment.

Answer 3

What lenders look for are your credit history and job history. For credit they look for 3 tradelines or more; credit cards and loans in your name. If your credit score is 640 or higher you will receive a better rate. If your credit score is lower than 640 you will get a higher rate.

Employment history is minimum 2 years. I work with some lenders that will go off 1 month or even 1 day on the job, even if you have a job gap.

Lenders also like to see 2 months reserve in the bank or assests; IRA, stocks and bonds, etc.

There are lenders that will also give you a 100% for being a first time home buyer. With my company if down payment is required we have programs to give you the down payment included into your loan.

If you need more info you can email me at [e-mail].

Answer 4

Check with the local state programs for the first time home buyers. Sometimes there are programs for people in tight spots like yourselves to help buy the program but you have to live in the same house for some years.

Then find local banks in your area. It might also be a good idea to check your creadit report. There are free site that allow your to check your credit report from 3 beauraus once a year. Try www.annualcreditreport.com . You can check your credit hisotry and pay 5 bucks to get your credit score. Make sure your credit history is clean and you can talk to the agencies if something is amiss.

Talk to atleast 7 banks about your credit score and find out what options/programs thry have. Choose the best bank/progran.

Get pre approved. Find the house and close the deal.

Best of luck in finding the house of your dreams!!!

Answer 5

My husband and I were in the same situation. We got a Rural Develoment Loan so that we were able to finance 100% of the loan. That means no down payment and the closing costs were added in the loan amount. I don't know where you live but the only requirement is that the house be located in a smaller town. It goes by the population size. You might have to do some research to find out exactly what it is. Hope this helps you!

Answer 6

First thing you should be doing is looking into all of the options you have available to you in regards of assitance with first-time home buying, you'd be suprised, I recently found out my city gave cash towards a down-payment on a first home, so investigate, you'd hate to find out after the fact that you didn't take advantage of something that was available to you. Look into federal and local programs.

Second thing is that if you guys are taking 2nd jobs to get money together for a home and don't have a sizeable downpayment, you may be better off waiting until you have more money to put down, the less borrowed, the better off you are and it sucks to put it off but it may be the best thing to do in the long run, go to http://www.bankrate.com and play around with thier calculators, they'll show you how much you pay per month and year (not including taxes and insurance) and they total up how much in interest is paid over the life of the loan, the number may shock you!

Answer 7

Without good credit it is very hard to get a $0 down loan. Even if you could qualify, there is still the issue of closing costs, mortgage insurance, ect. The problem you would face is your finance charge would be very high in the event you could arrange financing.

Concerning those "agencies" which offer these programs..they are pretty shotty. Be very careful not to pay any upfront money to "enroll" in the program, only to be told, "Sorry, you do not qualify,"

The best thing you could do is try to find someone who will owner finance with very little down, or a lease to own.

Answer 8

Good question

Saving money is not going to be as important as a solid job history, what you make on a monthly basis and timely payments on rent and whatever debts you may have.

There are helpfull programs out there for first time homebuyers. FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, just to name a few. What exactly you qualify for will determine what program is best for you.

I would be happy to review your options with you free of charge. I am a mortgage consultant who specializes in first time homebuyers.

Contact me at [e-mail]

Answer 9

i bought my house a year ago with very little (but good) credit and im broker than broke. always have been. i got a government loan anyways. FHA or something, i cant remember. my real estate agent and financial advisor at my bank helped a lot to try to find a loan for me. its possible, just talk to your agent or bank.

oh, and i didnt even have a down payment. only enough money for some small fees. couple hundred at the most.

Answer 10

You'll probably need an FHA loan. it's a goverment loan and they are pretty lenient on the amount of downpayment you have. You can also ask for a seller's assist where the seller helps you out with some of the costs