First Home Buyers Grant

phil answers:

The first home buyers grant program is a federal program that provides a tax credit for the purchase of a home. It does not provide you with cash, so you can’t use it for a down payment. Go on Realtor.com and check out the housing in the area in which you’d prefer to live. That will give you an idea of what the prices are.

If you feel you can afford the area, you can do a little scouting on your own by driving by any listings that catch your eye. Again, Realtor.com will often give you the addresses of the properties for sale.

Check the names of the Realtors who are active in your preferred area and call one of them. If you meet and get a good feeling about the agent, tell him what you want to buy. Ask him for i. e. first home buyers grant. You need the help of a pro. Be sure to ask the agent to act as a buyer’s agent.

A general rule of thumb is that you can afford a dwelling that is 2.5 times your annual income. That will give you an idea of the price range. Always get a home inspection before buying and always make any contract contingent upon both the inspection and the financing.

phil answers:

There are a wide range of programs available for down payment assistance. Your loan consultant should be able to give you an overview of all of them. Ask about special state bond programs, and any federal assistance programs. I think Ameridream and Dreamhouse are both national but I am certain that will be some that are local for you.

Also ask you loan consultant about 103% and First Horizon’s 107% loans. The rates are slightly higher but they will also cover some or all of your closing costs.

phil answers:

Check out this site. Www.hud.gov – for first home buyers grant search with search engines.

phil answers:

Contact the Welfare Office and the County Housing Authority and the Veterans Service Officer of the counties in Fla. That you want to move to. They have the information you seek and pass it out to their clients. You may not qualify as a client for them, but the information is public and you may find something that will help you.

phil answers:

First of all work with a reputable real estate licensee. In almost all cases the licensee is paid by the seller if they have the listing or by the agent that has the listing. However to help you research what is available to you here are some research links from our research department that might be able to assist you in knowing what is available to you
Affordable Housing opportunities: http://www.flhousing.org/
Teachers Housing opportunities: http://www.teachinflorida.com/jobCenter/housing.asp
First time home buyer programs: http://www.floridahousing.org/home/
Down Payment Assistance programs: http://www.floridahousing.org/home/homebuyersrenters/fthb/downpaymentassistance.htm or http://www.americandreamdownpaymentassistance.com/state.cfm?code=FL
Orange County Downpayment Assistance Program: http://www.orangecountyfl.net/cms/DEPT/growth/housing/programs/afford.htm
Buena Suerte

phil answers:

The best way to go right now is in a 30 year fixed FHA program. Rates as of today were right around 5.250 which includes all qualifying cost rolled into the loan. Remember you can only go FHA if you can put 3% of your own money down.

If not, than you need to look into the 30 year fixed MyCommunity or the 30 year fixed Home Possible program.

Good luck towards home ownership and let me know if you have any questions.

phil answers:

Hello:

First of all you need to review your budget, to see how much you can afford to pay on your new mortgage payment.

There are various factors that you will need to consider as for instance, price, area, number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

As for the programs, there are lots of programs, but the way the mortgage industry is going through, the banks are getting more strict regarding they way you will qualify for a new financing specially if you are a first time home buyer.

Your credit is very important at this point as that will be your presentation with the lender to see how good or bad you are responsible making monthly payments.

It will help if you come up with some down payment to make stronger your application.

If you have documentation as for instance, pay stubs, w-2 or 12 month bank statements that will be a plus; depending if you are w- 2 wag earner or if you are self employed.

Rates are depending to various factors and some of them will be: % of financing (100%, 97% 95%, etc.) fico score,

Good luck

phil answers:

Go to www.Bankrate.com and you can enter your info. To see what you qualify for. There’s lot’s of other good information there too. You WILL want to educate yourself because the loan process is SO difficult to analyze. For example, the GFE (Good Faith Estimate) is a jumble of numbers that have very little to do with reality. You’ll want to study about closing costs and who pays what. Be sure to go for a fixed rate. ARM’s (adjustable rate mortgage) are the reason so many people have lost their homes to foreclosure.

You’ll also want to learn the difference between a Conventional loan, vs. FHA, FMAC, etc. Get a copy of your credit report from all 3 reporting agencies so you can start cleaning up errors and getting other things pd. Off. It will be worth the time and work, and don’t make any big purchases until AFTER you buy the house. Every time someone pulls your credit it lowers your score. Good luck and be careful looking at first home buyers grant. See if you can find a loan officer you can trust, someone that you or someone else knows for being honest.

This is also a really good site.

Http://www.zillow.com/Home.htm