What does it take to buy your first home?

Question

How much money do you have to have saved?
Or do you get a loan for 100% of the home cost?
Etc. Any tips are welcome. Thanks. =)

Answer 1

I have seen cases were the buyer didn't have to put any money down as a mortgage professional I can't tell you how much money you will need to put down. It really all depends on your credit but again I have had some cases were the credit was terrible and they didn't put any money down the only reason for a person to put money down is if they don't qualify for a 100% loan, they want to buy down their interest rate or if their closing cost exceed what the seller was willing to pay there is no need to 20% down on a house if it is not caused for the thing that you can do with that 20% instead is pay two mortgages into one to get the house paid off before the term of the loan.

Answer 2

The more money you can put down the better rate you will qualify for. But there are programs out there, as long as you qualify, that you can get 100% financing. They use the sale price and not the appraisal. So if you don't have a lot saved you could apply to get 100% and just pay the closing cost straight up. They can be anywhere from $3,000- $15,000 depending on the cost of the home and what kind of lender you go through. I would try a few different lenders and go with who can get you the best rate but not have more then a few thousand in closing. You can refinance down the road later and get a better rate and not have to pay for the closing they can include it in the loan then. Watch pre-pay penalties and PMI 9private mortgage insurance) Good luck, any other question feel free to contact me....

Answer 3

Generally, you will want to be able to make at least a 20% down payment. A loan of 80% will be called a conforming loan, and will come with a lower interest rate than a loan that is more than 80%. There are loans available that can cover the cost of 100% of the home, or even higher (to cover closing costs), however this also means that the lender assumes a greater risk, so the interest rate is higher, and the credit requirements are higher as well. Your credit scores will also greatly affect the interest rate you can qualify for.

Also, if you can even come up with greater than a 20% down payment, the less weight your credit score will have with regards to qualifying for a loan as well. The way the lenders look at it, if they are loaning you money, they are putting their money on the line. If the amount they are loaning you is less than the value of the home, the lesser they are lending you in comparison to the value of the home, the greater risk they are willing to take, since it is highly unlikely that the value of your home would drop below what they loaned you.

Answer 4

In order to buy a home it takes several factors: Good credit score, job stability, and typically a 10% down payment.

The first thing you need to do is obtain a copy of your credit report, get your credit score and make sure there aren't any discrepancies on your report. The higher your credit score the greater your chances are for getting approved for a higher amount.

Next, get pre-approved for a loan, this will give you an idea of how much you can borrow, and save you time by excluding homes that aren't in your price range.

Job security is important, because the longer you have been on your job demonstrates your stability. If you constantly change jobs you can be viewed as a risk.

If your credit isn't perfect don't despair. Some lenders may require you to put down a larger down payment. Or if this is your first home there are programs that you can qualify for without having to put down a down payment.

As, an example, as a veteran, I am getting my loan through the V.A. and I'm not required to come up with a down payment. It should go without saying that your best option is to ask a realtor any questions you may have.

Answer 5

We just did this, #1, get pre-approved through a mortgage company (this gives you an idea of exactly what you can afford and get financed, and what to look for price wise when you're house hunting), #2, get with a realtor & find your home #3, enter into a contract on the property & officially apply through your mortgage company, and #5, sign & close.

You can get 100% financing on FHA loans, but there are a few upfront costs. Most places make you pay $500 in earnest money upfront, and $350-500 in apprasil fees. These monies are applied to your closing amount when you go to close, and if you back out of the contract, the earnest money is yours.

You will also need to pay an inspector to make sure the house is safe, and that's about $250-$500 as well.

Even with 100% financing, there are some upfront costs, but it's not too bad, and like I said, some of it is reapplied to the cost of your loan.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 6

I am trying to buy my first home right now so i have learned a lot recently. The first thing you need to do is contact a mortgage company and get preapproved for a loan. This will let you know a price range to look for houses in. If you put down less then 20 percent of the cost of the home then there is some thing call pmi insurance that is added on to your monthly pament. My understanding is that it ranges from 50-100 dollars a month. Lastly you need about 3,000 to pay for closing costs, unless you can get the seller to pay for it.

Answer 7

There are some government loan programs that will finance 100%(such as USDA for rural areas). Some loan programs only require a 10% down payment of the purchase but then you will have closing cost, etc on top of that. It is best on a conventional loan to be able to put down at least 20%. This will allow you to avoid buying what is called "Private Mortgage Insurance(PMI) and over the life of the loan will save thousands of $. I recommend you contact a Realtor or your bank's mortgage officer . They would be able to provide you with written info to read.

Answer 8

It is quite possible to qualify for 100% financing. Although you would still need closing costs as well as the insurance premium for 1 year in advance. There are many down payment assistance programs available from individual cities as well as county and federal programs that can assist with many of those costs. Many people also request the seller to contribute as much as 6% of the sales price to help cover closing costs. All loans are credit qualifying ones, but there are many new programs that will allow 100% financing with much lower scores and still give you very good rates. The "My Community" programs and the "CHAMPS" programs are 2 of the more popluar FAnnie Mae programs now available for 100% financing that are not so much credit score driven- more of a make sense type of product.

Answer 9

First thing you need to do is get a budget and start to save a mortgage lender look to see of you have any saving just in case something happen to your job you can still pay them.
Second get a credit report if you have any debt start to pay on it even if you cant pay it all of in a year they can see that you are trying.
Three go to a first time home buyer class. you can call this number 18005294287 and they will tell you where you can go for the first time home buyer class. once you take this class they will help you with your down payment
Most likely you need 500-1000 dollar the day you close on your home and you will need to get a house Inspection and that can be from 80-200 dollar
Good luck I am taken this same step now

Answer 10

I recently bought a home and it takes a lot of patience and time. I received a loan for 100% of the price of the house. Well, I really got one loan for 80% of the cost and a credit line for 20% to avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). I paid all my closing costs up front. I think the most important thing in getting a loan, is your credit score. Your interest rate is based off your credit score.

Some things to help you credit score - never make a late payment, don't ask for a bunch of credit cards all at once, ask for higher limits on your cards because part of your score is based off of the % of credit used, and don't ever cancel your credit cards. Cut your credit cards up instead of canceling because loyalty helps your credit score too

For example, if you have a balance of $1000 on a $2000 card, that's 50% used. If you ask to raise the limit and they give you $2000 more, you've only used 25%