Going to see a mortgage loan officer tomorrow...

[MiniHoofBeats]

Anyone have any last minute advice? I am very nervous, i'm going tomorrow afternoon for the first time by myself to see a mortgage loan officer about a home loan. I told him this will be my first home and i'm hoping to find one where I can put zero down. He seems very open about everything but I am just rattling away nervous! I am young, not financially set like most of you, and have diddly squat in the bank. But, i'm still going to try...

I am crossing my fingers for good results! But as always, prepared to hear the worst =)

 

[kaykay]

i am just ending my last week of real estate finance class

*going for a realtors license*

right now is a great time for first time homebuyers. Fannie mae, fha etc are all catering right now to first time home buyers with zero money down and no closing costs.

we had a mortgage banker come talk to us last night. the biggest thing is to be totally honest when you talk to them. He said most people lie about how good or bad their credit is. If you are honest it makes his job easier as hes going to see your credit anyway. so tell him/her everything the good the bad and the ugly lol

He also said with these special first time buyer loans most people who are renting can afford to own a home for the same or less money then they are paying for rent and its a BUYERS market right now for sure

I bought my first house at 21 so its definately doable

hey i just noticed you bought beemer from tami! congrats

 

[Chamomile]

Whatever you do stay positive!! These guys can surprise you sometimes. And if it doesn't happen now, he may be able to help you get set up for a couple months from now. BUT just remember, stay positive!! You draw things to yourself by thinking them. So if you think negitive thoughts, you'll draw those to yourself. If you think positive thoughts, you'll draw those to you!! And you must Belive in yourself!!! Good luck!!

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Thanks so much you two for the positive replies! I was waiting for someone to say "if you have no money in the bank, don't expect to get approved." - that's what i'm afraid i'm going to hear!!!

But you two make it sound like it's a real possibility...I sure hope so, and if I could get in a house with zero down (zero closing costs would be even better!) and payments the same or less than what I am paying for rent...my gosh I want a house NOW! I have been so antsy to get my own place and be able to arrange my horses around however I want without asking permission first...and get more without needing written permission LOL!

kaykay - I didn't know you knew Tami, yes I just picked up Beemer last Saturday! He is the SWEETEST thing ever, such a gentleman, he knows when he's on a leadrope to respect whoever is holding it...such a sweetheart!

 

[kaykay]

tami and i have been buddies for years. i used to live not far from her. I have watched beamer grow up from a baby

shes a great lady!

 

[Warpony]

what every one else said... just be really honest, keep your spirits up, and go for it! This is THE time to buy in many places (not so good a time to sell, though, hehehe) and there are a LOT of options for first time home buyers that can get you into a home of your own for nothing, or close to it. AND in many cases your house payment will be less then your rent (even with an escrow account included to cover taxes and insurance). It all just depends on what you want and what you are willing to consider.

Good luck! House hunting is such an adventure. When my ex and i bought this place the first day we were able to move in I laid face down in the back yard and cried tears of joy into the earth. MY little patch of earth. It's nothing fancy or special, but it is mine. That was almost 13 years ago now and I still get a thrill when I look out my back window and see that back yard that is MINE.

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Wow that is just an awesome idea! If this does lead to me getting a house i'm going to do just that...lie face down in the grass and just CRY! It has been my dream for so long to get my own home but i've listened to my dad tell me for years now that I can't buy a house unless I have $5, 10 or 20,000 to put down...I can do the 5 no problem, maybe the 10 but lately he's been strong on the 20 grand and I just don't have that!

Well, i'm more and more excited for tomorrow!

 

[Jill]

Don't be nervous! Good luck at the meeting. I used to be a mortgage loan officer, but that was about 12 years ago.

 

[~Karen~]

My sister and her hubby just bought our house with extra to pay off their cards, all with no $$ down, and their expenses were added on to the loan. Their credit was less than perfect, they had to settle for an undesirable mortgage set up, but if they fight for not ever being late on payments, etc. then in 2 years they can refinance. This is their 1st home purchase as well! So it can certainly be done! I wish you the best. I don't know if you have a credit history built up for yourself or not, but if it plays a factor in a loan for you, maybe you could get out a small personal loan of around $1,000 or so and pay it back quickly, even if you don't do anything with the money but use it to pay back the loan. Just a thought. We got a small loan ( we needed this loan) but we paid it back within 30 days and it made a healthy impact on hubbys credit score, and looked good in the eyes of the lender. :~)

~Karen

 

[susanne]

That's great! Buying a home is one of the few kinds of debt that is good.

A couple of things to consider:

No down payment is great, but be very careful about financing your closing costs...it can mean being "upside down" (owing more than your home is worth) right from the beginning. This is especially risky in a slowing market. HOWEVER, if the seller really wants to move the house, they may agree to pay your closing costs. This is a very good thing!

Remember that even a small down payment is instant equity and can save you big $$$$ over the life of your loan. That equity is also handy should you want to borrow money to make home improvements that will in turn increase the value of your home and build even more equity.

Know what you can afford -- not what someone else insists you can afford, or what you would like to be able to afford. Work out on paper what you are comfortable with, and keep money in the bank for emergencies.

Don't assume that the lender (or realtor) will look out for your best interests.

Do not go with a sub-prime lender...

Read the fine print...

Have a lawyer read over your contract...

...Stories abound these days of contracts where the fine print gives the lender freedom to change the terms with no notice.

Don't go with the first offer...shop around.

Don't fall in love with anyplace until you know you can afford it.

Remember that this is a buyer's market. Houses are sitting on the market, unlike a few years ago; therefore sellers are much more likely to consider a less-than-full price offer.

Know the home values in your area so that you can recognize a great deal.

I don't mean this to sound negative in any way...owning your own home is fantastic! Just be aware that there are many companies and individuals bent on taking advantage wherever they can.

Good luck, and be sure that YOU interview THEM!

 

[minimomNC]

Don't worry so much about a huge down payment. I paid 10% down on my farm. The good thing is if your credit is excellent they don't really look at what you make. They didn't for me and my credit score was thank goodness up there pretty high. Be honest and do shop around if you have time. I tried with a well known company first and all of a sudden they couldnt' do the loan because I was buying a Unique Property, it wasn't a loan they could easily sell. Yes most lending institutions sell your loans. So in a rush I had to find someone else to keep on track with the closing date. I went to Bank of America and they were great. Funny how their percentage rate was just a bit higher but the payment was lower. I would also see the reason your dad is telling you $20,000, if you can pay 20% down you won't have to pay mortagage insurance. But even if you don't pay the 20% once you get to that point in your payments, or can pay a lump sum at some point to get to that point, the insurance drops off. That could be around $150 a month. Good luck and I hope it all goes well for you. I know how it feels to buy your first home on your own, your just doing it a whole lot sooner than I did.

 

[Pandora]

At least in WI, what alot of people don't know is PMI companies will take a payment that is low in the beginning to pay them off and you don't have to carry PMI. Banks and lenders do not tell you that. PMI is the biggest scam going IMO.

Always make sure to get a home inspection also...that is a MUST.

And keep in mind property taxes usually go up every year, so if you are buyign something you can just borderline afford (not what banks tell youyou can afford as mentioned above) factor that in also.

 

[Cathy_H]

Make a REALISTIC budget before deciding on how much house you can afford & add in unexpected costs. We will be selling this farm soon & building and it is still nervewracking as we still have to borrow some money. Lee wants to do it now & I want ot pay off a current big bill first! Best of luck to you!

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Thanks so much everyone for your helpful advice and tips!!! I am about to leave work here in 10 minutes and then heading to meet with the loan officer. I think i've learned many great tips from this thread!!!

Thanks! :bgrin

 

[PaintedPromiseRanch]

here's hoping things went well for you... but if not, there is some great advice here about building your credit. you CAN do it a lot sooner than you think...

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Hey everyone! No 100% answer just yet, I need to get some more paperwork over to the loan officer this morning still for him to finish up but, we talked things over and found out I qualify for help from WIDA! They will cover 100% of the loan, I have to pay closing costs (unless like someone mentioned, I want them to tie the closing costs into the loan, then I can get into the house with no money out of my pocket) but I think coming up with, he said approximately $1300, wont be an issue!

Yeah I found out I got to meet with the big dog, I met with the SENIOR loan officer! He had the biiiig office on a corner of the building with 2 large windows...as soon as I walked in I was like wow this must be one of the big cahoons! (I told him that too LOL!). He was so friendly and up-beat, extremely wise, I was very open and honest with him like everyone told me to be and we crunched numbers and figured out how I could afford a loan in the quantity of what I was looking to get. When we were all done, he told me he is feeling extremely confident that I will be pre-approved!

YAY! So I get the option of going for WIDA's 100% down program or 97% down (meaning I have to put 3% down and closing costs) so he's going to run me through for both, obviously if I qualify for the 97% then he said i'll pass for the 100% and i'll know about the one before the other...today...so i'm all excited!!!

NOW for the realistic question...FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE, OR HAVE WORKED AS, REAL ESTATE AGENTS...The house I am looking to buy is a great location, close to town but just far enough out! However, it is a foreclosure. I looked around the property and in the house and it is still in great shape (unlike most foreclosures you see totally trashed!). They are asking $109,900 for the house but I was told they are very open to offers at this point. Is it unrealistic to put in an offer for $89,900? Just to start I mean...if all goes well, I will be approved for the $109,900 but like many of you said on here, I should try to go for less than what I was approved for and yes, it would be easier on my payments LOL!. I don't expect the bank to take the offer but, think it's a good place to start? I think if I can at least get that house for $100,000 I am totally going for it. I don't want to pay the $109,900 although I can, I don't...lol...

any tips for that??? I have never gone through putting in offers on a house before!

here is the listing - it is a 3br, 2 bath, 2 car garage built on, 2 car garage detached (though it doesn't say on the description), there's another small building back behind the house off to the side, a large fire pit behind the detached garage, and loooooots of wide open space for mini's!! Oh yeah it's a couple acres, so to me it's someplace to start and 5-6 years down the road i'll sell and upgrade to 5 acres =)

http://www.ranwrealtors.com/wis/maildoc/sd...0411104027.html

 

[Ashley]

I know what you mean about the money thing.

I will be intrested in knowing about the buy a forcloser house. I just seen a nice on in the paper that intrests me and they are asking $40,000 for it.

 

[kaykay]

i would definitely start with a low offer. and you can ask the seller to pay closing costs. on the first offer ask for EVERYTHING and then let them counter. you can always go up but you can never go down.

I have to say the taxes are very high on this property. but maybe thats the going rate there? thats the same as my taxes and i have almost 8 acres.

another good idea before you make an offer is to go to the county website for this house and see what the last price it sold at was. for example if this house sold last time for 90,000.00 and you pay 109,000.00 the taxes WILL go up to reflect the new sales price. also there you can see the taxes and the appraisal etc.

 

[Pandora]

Those taxes are about right for WI. We have high property taxes.

Start with a low offer, Stephanie. Like mentioned, you can go up but never down. If they don'tl ike the amount, they will counter iwth a higher amount so dont' worry about that. It seems like a great first house.

DO NOT forget about having a home insperction done. It costs like $200 but worth it. Also try to get the seller to provide a home warranty. These cost about $300 and covers all things like water heaters, plumbing etc for a year to be fixed no cost to you.

Remember that real estate agent works for the seller and not for you so they may never mention this stuff. Sign a buyers contract with the agent so they can work for YOU. Also, in the offer along with home warranty and having the home inspection come up with results satisfactory to YOU, have the sellers pay for the water testing that will have to be done since it's on a well system (I"m assuming)

If you have any ? PM me and i"ll give you my ex fiances number. He was a WI real estate agent for awhile and knows all the bases that should be covered.

 

[Chamomile]

It looks like a nice place. It does say it's residential. Have you checked that you can have the horses there? Even as I type that I think it may be a dumb question, but I know how exciting this all can be and even the simplest things get overlooked sometimes

: I'm glad to hear it was all such a positive experience so far! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!