yayopwrcrx

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?

Jorsher

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%

95civicLX

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.

MAJORAHOLE

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 ----

95civicLX

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%.

Who Dey

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.

d-man

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.

HMT-Admin

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.

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

d16forlife

Good luck Jeff. Having a home is great.

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