looking to buy a house
 

within the next year im goin to be in the market for a house. rite now im buildint my caredit and my fiance has good credit already and in a year i will have pretty good credit. anyways. ive herd of first time homeowners and i wan to look into that but i cant6 really fidn wat i want on websites they all want me to sign up and ----. i live in ga and want to get like a 120000$ house witch here they are going for about 80000 rite now because the market is slow so i wanna jump on the band wagon while they got them deals goin round. and i really really want a house.

so if i get a loan for the house do i have to get one that is enuff to purchase the house? i would figure so but im not sure hence the reason im asking. i also will have saved about a grand or two to go as a down payment is that enuff. ive read that the first time homeowners is a low intrest loan and it helps with the closing costs and such. anyways some one please help. lol

cliff notes- i wnat to buy a house with the advantage of first time homeowners in a year. me and my fiance will both a good credit. wat all do need to look into. also i live in ga

Re: looking to buy a house
 

the finish work. landscaping, views from the windows, find out if theres any underground water movements, if they backfilled over a wetland, where your lines hookup from the street for power, water, sewer. quality of siding, roofing, are the shingles 10 or 40 year shingles? windows, are they vinyl, double pane glass or what. concrete work, look for cracks. on the inside, look at the moulding, the caulking work in the bathrooms. the tile work if there is any, the cabinetry, flooring, edges, the builders history of problems, inspection reports. theres a lot to buying a house. then you gotta go to the bank side for the loan. i'm not even going to go there

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Ur suppose to put 10% for a down payment. Ur ------- lucky if you can get a house for 80-120,000 :o

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Real estate is cheap in the southeast :) My mom got a brand new 3br 2bath house, garage, porch, etc etc for somewhere around 130-160k, can't remember exact.

Where do you live in Georgia? I lived in Columbus for 14 years.

I'm hoping to get a house this summer as well...

Re: looking to buy a house
 

in albany,ga close to colombus. yea houses have dropped here alot. there are houses for sale everywhere rite now and hte ,ore there are for sale the cheaper they get cuz they gota compete.

thanks 5th gen for that info but im lookin for hte bank info. if i read rite then first time home owners lets you get away with out hte downpayment and you get lower payments and low interest rate but as soon as you mess up one payment then you get screwed lol. basicly you cant mess up lol.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

I would just go to the bank and ask them what you need and ect. Make shure that you dont fill out any paperwork till you are ready. You can do a home loan without a down paymet out of pocket. They will do a $8,000 loan (for a down payment)at a higher interest rate and the other loan for $72,000 at market rate. Then a couple of months/years later you can re-fi for a single loan at the lower rate. I went to a couple of different banks and had them fighting for the best rate, and I went with who had the best rate. Also you can get all crazy and do arm loans and ect. I will be building my second house in the summer of 08, gona start looking for more land in the fall. I wish that houses here in Washington state were that cheap. In this state you would be lucky if you could even buy some land for 80k. I found 5 acres by my house for 125K and that is a smoken deal for this area.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

i'm actually a realtor in wa state and deal with this stuff all the time. i wouldn't go to a bank for a loan though. they normally charge higher interest rates and don't goto a mortgage broker because they charge you points (interest) just for them filling out the paperwork. goto an actual lender, we have plaenty here that we work with on a regular basis and they are all pretty good but some can get more deals done then others. what you want is one that will work with you and what you are looking for. the first time home buyers program is normally a state bonded program wich means you get grants for your down payment and usually costs you nothing out of pocket except for maybe origination fee's wich is normally 3% of purchase price. and the "firstime homeowner" actually only goes back 3 years meaning if you haven't claimed a homes interest on your taxes in the last 3 years then you can qualify. another great benefit is the lower interest rates, normally around here they are around 6-7% where a person on the first time buyer program can get in as low as 5.25% wich equals tens of thousands of dollars saved all depending on the price of the home. and your credit doesn't need to be that great to qualify for that program either, i had one of my lenders qualify somebody a week after the filed bankrupcy and had a 580 credit score :o. any other questions you have post them up. real estate is about the only thing you can actually buy and not lose money on now a days. ---- the property value went up 12.8% just last year around here. meaning if i bought a $100,000 house i would have already made $12,800 on it.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

yep housing in the southeast is cheap. I got my house almost 3 years ago now, found 1.5 acres for 15k..jumped on that, thats shitty cheap for around here as far as land goes..got a brand new modular house built on it, got 1600 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2 bath...i love it..only out 118k all together, most being the work on the land...considering before it was cleared you couldnt even walk thru it...my payments are 913 a month with insurance, taxes, prm ----..all included...actually had 3k equity walking in, which is rare..I ended up doing my whole house thing in a hurry, only put a 500 dollar down payment..first time homebuyer so i didnt get reamed too bad...I'm paying every 2 weeks, im paying it off faster that way. I only owe 110k now and some change, appraised at 121k 2 years ago, probably about 125k now..so im not complaining...

Re: looking to buy a house
 

nice. i am about to be listing my dead grandmas house that is ------- huge. it is an older 2 story with 5 large bedrooms and 2 baths with 4,500 sq feet a full basement with seperate rooms for a wood shop and a laundry room with shower and huge attic. it needs alot of updateing and cleaning up with some landscaping and would be easily be wirth 400,000. might be listing it for 220,000-250,000. was thinking about getting it myself and flipping it with-in 30-45 days so i wouldn't have to make a payment. would be an awsome investment ;D.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Thats a good flipping type investment..BUT thats the kinda house I'd rather live in!

Re: looking to buy a house
 

thought of that. lol, i would probly love it after i was done and not want to sell it.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

lets go party it up for a month at your grandmas house!!

Re: looking to buy a house
 

look into your states first time home buyer deals. my buddy in Tennessee got a great apr and a good deal on his mortgage insurance. he also did some ------ish thing where he got cash back on the sale and used it for his down payment. so basically he got the house for 0 down.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Credit is a small factor when buying a house. Its nothing like buying a car since the collateral will never loose its value. Getting a good deal on financing will mostly be based on your job (the stability of it) and your present income (how much you make and how much is in your bank). You can have the shitiest credit and you can still get a house with whats called a "Stated Loan". The interest is a little higher but it’s based on how much moves in and out of your bank account. You can also do a FHA or HUD first time buyers loan if you qualify and you will need no money down.

Don’t be taken over by your emotions when buying a house. And don’t be cheap. Pay for a reputable home inspector. It will save you money in the long run.

As a first home, if you have the time, get a home that needs a little TLC (but not a dump that used to be a crack house) or one that is in foreclosure. That’s where you will have the chance to make some money right off the bat because you will be buying below market value.

Keep in mind that you will always increase the value of your home by 2/3 of what you invest into it. But only certain things count. Kitchen, bathroom remodels are a big plus. Adding a room, fixing the roof, new paint are all things that will raise the value of a house. Now a pool, big patio, landscaping is a selling point but don’t expect it to raise the value of a house. It’s just a bonus.

Hope that helps.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Ha, houses here are cheap. If I want to live in town, I can get a small lot w/ a 3br/2 bath that was built in the last 20 years for under 120k. If I want to live in the sticks I can get a small acreage (3-5 acres, usually one shop + garage) & similar house for the same price.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Credit is actually a huge thing when buying a house, It allows the lender to know how much they can "lie" for you to get the loan.

Typically you want to do a 80/20 loan, 30 year fix. 80/20 is when you put up 20% of the money, and you borrow 80%, by doing it this way you get away from mortgage insurance, which is basically the same as getting a second loan.

because 20% is such a high amount sometimes, what you will need to do is try to put up 10% then get two loans, a 80% loan, as well as another 10% loan. this essentially makes you have a 80/20 loan. Like I mentioned above, this will get rid of the mortgage insurance, in place you will be paying the 10% loan. this is a better way to do it, since you will be paying on your principle for both payments.
paying mortgage insurance will not pay on your principle.

With a high credit rating, the loan officer will be able to do a stated income loan, which means if you are not able to afford the loan on your current salary, they will state that you have a higher income from your job. thus making your debt to income ratio look a whole lot better.
If your credit rating is no good, they will not do this for you.

there are many other loans out there, such as interest only loans, these loans you need to be very careful about, I would not suggest these loans to you.
Hope this helps you out, if you have more questions hit me up.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

If you live in town in Butler here, you can easily get a 2 story 3 bed, 2 bath house for $50k or less, cuz no one wants em 8)

Small lots, higher crime and street parking only for the lose

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Crimes? I thought there's like 5 people in your town :P

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Yeah, he's right. Me and my wife's credit was so so and we managed to get the first loan we applied for and a decent interest rate. It's really much easier than you think. Like stated above, its all about having a steady job and having some money that you don't touch tucked away in savings. It's also a lot cooler saying "Paying the mortgage" than "Paying the rent".

Totally off topic but has anyone heard of emigrant bank? They are online and offer a 5.05% interest rate. I just got my tax returns back and put all funds into there. Interest rates kick the ---- out of any banks around here.
https://www.emigrantdirect.com/Emigr.../LearnMore.jsp

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Ive had an Emigrant account for awhile now. Its a great place to put extra cash instead of your normal non-paying checking account.
You do not have instant access to your funds, as they take 2-3days to transfer to your normal bank. Other than that, theres no real reason to not be earning something off of your normal daily use savings account.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

congrats and if you do end up speaking with a broker don't be afraid to pay him
ask him what the lowest rate you qualified for with out back points (the higher the interest rate they close you on the bigger bonus they get from the bank)
so ask him that rate no bull ---- and tell him you'll pay him this as his fees if he doesn't wanna play ball tell him to go fuckhimself
becareful though shopping around - the more inquieries on your credit report the lower your score goes

and what the ---- am i doing looking at apts for $1000 a sq foot?

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Yeah I've actually seen a few places on tv with good interest rates. One had 5.65% but forgot the name, the other was HSBC (I know they do credit for Best Buy, and probably a few other stores) and theirs is 5.05%

Re: looking to buy a house
 

im in the process of closing right now....just save way more than you think you will need. I only had to put 3% down, but with the down payment, and closing costs, i still have to come up with about $8000. Theres things you can do to not have to come up with as much up front, like seller concessions. I just found a house i wanted, and didnt want to lose it, otherwise i would have saved and put 20% down. It is alot of paperwork, and time consuming, phone tag, bull crap, but as long as you have a legal job, and not terrible credit, you should be able to pull it off. dont settle for things. you will know the house when you see it.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

don't worry about ---- man. first time buyers get hooked up, as far as no $ down type ----. but you'll get it in interest. my girlfriend and i got our house on this deal where the bank matched our downpayment up to $5000. i forget how, but we left the signing with a check for $1600 also. so that was sweet to.
as long as you don't have terrible credit you'll get approved for a loan. i know a dude who got a mortgage 3 mo. after filling for bankruptcy ::) don't know how the ----

Re: looking to buy a house
 

there are long term programs, i know from hsbc, where its a savings account for a house and they will match up to 5000. but you have to have the money in there for at least 10 months. i would have done that, but i found a house in 2 weeks.

as far as getting a check back at closing... if the loan is assumable, and the sellers asking price, or the buying price is less than the loan, you get the difference back. Thats the only circumstance ive personally heard of, but there may be more.

i cant believe i was approved for a loan. i have good credit, but only 8 months of history, and alot of credit checks/denials. and the only reason i had to put 3% down was i bought a double. if it was a single family, i would have been financed 100%.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Just bought a house last month in Va, here is what we used
http://www.vhda.com/vhda_com/front_page/default.asp
Don't know if this link help but Ga. should have a similar program
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/

We had a buyers agent (a friend from H.S.), who sent us new real estate listings every couple of days. Found what we wanted and put in a offer. The first time home buyers program called for a 500 dollar deposit, we had to pay $275 for a home inspection which was a life saver because we ended up asking the seller to fix about $1,300 worth of things wrong with the house. They fixed $500 of it and we walked away from closing with a $700 check to fix the rest.

With the 1st time program you have to pay another $500 for an appraisal (required by the lending bank) and an interest rate lock fee. Our rate is 5.5% over 30 years. We had to go to a 6 hr. long class about finances and homeownership, which sucked but it was required.

As for credit as long as you come preparred and have over at least a 600 credit rating you will be fine. If you have anything on your credit involving collections pay it off, we had to pay off $600 for medical bills in order to secure the loan. Bring 3 years previous tax info, 2 months of bank statements and pay stubs and that was it.

With the VHDA loan we ended up having 2 loans, thats how you get away without the 3-5% down payment. You are basically financing 103%. We got the seller to pay $5,000 closing and I would advise you to do everything you can to make that happen. Prices are really inflated here in Va., but we put down a total of $1275 and got back $700 for repairs, so we were back to about $500 to get into the house.
Most 1st time plans include your property tax and insurance into your payment. On a 50-60k a yr. income between me and my wife we could afford a 175K house that appraised for 195K for about 1,250 per month.
Hope this helps and GOOD LUCK, pm me if any of this needs more explaining.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Just bought a house 2 months ago. Put 10% down, paid 140k for 45ftx150ft lot, 3 bd rm, fully finished 50yr old house with garage. All hard wood floors, newly refinished kitchen, bathroom etc. New windows and shingles too.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Me and my gf just put a offer on a home yesterday. Houses up here are way overpriced... It's almost impossible to find a 1/2 a acre 4bedroom house with shop for under 300 grand thats not out in butt ------- hillbilly land. We pan on doing 0 down andI think the 80/20 is gonna be the way to go. My credit isnt that great.. But my girlfriends credit is awsome. However they look at whoever brings in the most money as the primary. So that blows.

Hopefully at 3pm I'll be a home owner. 8)

and for the next 30 years I will be eating top ramen.

Re: looking to buy a house
 

Good luck Jeff. Having a home is great.

I dont see how some people will rent or live in an apartment their entire life. :S