Am I a canidate for a home loan?

Question

Am I a canidate for a home loan?
My husband makes $45,000 a year (We have a 6 month old so I stay home)
We have $1500 in credit card debt (due to Christmas shopping)
We owe about $6000 on both of our cars (combined)
We are looking to spend no more than $150,000 on a home.
Should we try to get pre-approved now or wait untill we get some of our debt paid off? We want to be in a house by this summer and have found a couple of houses we are very interested in, but nobody seems to take our house hunting seriously without a pre-approval

Answer 1

What are your credit scores? Do you have a down payment? Do you qualify for first time homeowner programs?

Your debt is not bad and you can pay off that CC debt pretty fast if you only concentrate on it.

This is a buyers market, right now, so get an Agent and if you are lost in the preapproval and everything he or she will help you and you could be in your home much quicker than you think!

Good Luck and come back to us with other questions as you go along if you need some support!

Oh and skip the jackasses who will email you with offers of grandeur. There are some excellent people in this section who DO not find it necessary JUST to come here and spam the site.

Answer 2

You're a good candidate for a loan. I would suggest you go ahead and find a Realtor who will help you to not only find a home, but also to find a lender who will be happy to go thru the full process with you so that you can understand everything that you're signing.

I would get pre-approved now, and then start looking. No reason to pay off more of your debt, you really do not have much.

I'd be happy to help a client like you, who is going about the purchase of their home in the right order. Feel free to write anytime if you have questions about the home buying process - I work with first time homebuyers all the time. Doesn't matter if you're near me or not - I'm happy to give advice.

Answer 3

The lender will require a new credit report to give you a pre-approval. Check your credit report first to make sure there are no errors. Depending on the car loans and how long they have to go, your debt-to-income sounds OK.

A pre-approval is the first step in a loan approval. There are 3 things the lender looks at, the borrower (credit and income) the house (value and condition), and the title (does the seller have the right to sell, are there an encumbrances or liens on it to be settled).

On a pre-approval, there's no house or title to consider, but the review of the borrower is exactly the same as it would be on any other application -- and the definitely includes a new credit report. And yes, every time someone pulls your credit, you will lose a few points.

Some lenders charge a non-refundable fee for this, but it's usually around $50, so it's not too bad. A lot of pre-approvals languish for 6 months, then die. The lender has put time and money into the process, and reasonably expect to be paid for their work. Pre-approvals are usually good for 120 days, but a new credit report will be pulled at 90 days. Again, this can vary by lender.

Answer 4

Talk to someone in the real estate business, Realtor or mortgage broker so they can assist you for a pre-approval. It a simple and free except for credit check, usually $20-$50.00
There you will find what you and the hubby need to do to qualify for a loan. Do you have any money saved? 401k? Etc..
Licensed Realtor in AZ

Answer 5

I agree with all the answers - you should go to a bank or mortgage broker and try to get a pre-approval.

But, to give you a ball park figure, on $150,000 loan, you'll probably have a monthly payment around $1,100 - including the mortgage itself, taxes and insurance.

Godspeed !

Answer 6

right now, i would wait, try to pay down some of your other loans, but also it seems like spring time there are the most houses available, you probly would be ok to get in one now, but on a 30 year loan you want the best intrest rate you can get too......right now that is un-certain just dont take one of those adjustable intrest deals get a fixed rate....good luck to you both

Answer 7

Sweetie, we have no idea where you are and thus can not speak to real estate in your area directly. As for getting pre approved, yes you should have done that first. You may think you can afford $150,000, but maybe you can't it all depends on your whole financial picture, not just income. I strongly suggest you back up and do your homework first. Get Preapproved, find a Realtor to help you and handle the details for you. You don't save money by skipping steps to home ownership! You actually will spend more if you don't do the correct steps.

Answer 8

Generally a real estate agent will not assist you with house shopping without pre approval. Pre approval doesn't cost anything, so go ahead and do it. Whichever realtor you choose to work with should give you names of lenders for you to talk to. All you do is give them all of your financial info, and they will figure out how much you can spend on a house, usually more than you can actually afford. But with your family income, and the expenses you listed, plus other ones...utilities, ins, taxes, etc.... I doubt a $150,000 home would fit in your budget. But this is something your lender would be able to figure out. Good luck!

Answer 9

a preapproval is simple to get it takes a few minutes over the phone. the reason most people wont work with borrowers not preapprovedd is simply they want to make sure the borrowers are qualified to buy a home in the price range they are looking in.

contact a lender they should be able to tell you what you qualify for also check your own credit well your husbands and make sure you know his score ahead of time. you acn also check for things that shouldnt be on the report aprox 75% of all credit reports have things on them that should not be there.

when you do talk to a lender tell them your middle score all lenders ignore your highest score and lowest score out and look at the middle score. dont give your SS# to lenders if you have a copy of your report all they need to knwo is your middle score! most people will tell you that you are given a wimdow to shop for a loan what they dont tell you is many borrowers look for several months so once you go outside the window your score will go down as much as 14 points every time your credit is pulled. the best way to protect it is to go online and get all three scores, ahead of time. It is also a good idea to go to www.optoutprescreen.com.
This is a way for you to tell the reporting agencies to not sell your information to lenders and you will avoid alot of calls and mail

It costs you nothing to get a preapproval in most cases and doesnt obligate you to any one lender.

they will look at your income and your debt and tell you what you will qualify for.
below is a starting point and a place to research things to look for and how to make sure you get the best deal when you find a home you like. get informed read a few articles it can save you thousands!