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

phil answers:

When you buy a house, your first home buyer mortgage is secured (guaranteed) by collateral aka the house. Your lender won’t give you money for anything other than the collateral. If you are making a down payment and/or you have built in equity (buying below appraised value), you have the potential to refinance your mortgage or take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC), but I highly discourage you from doing either.

The issue with taking equity out of your home is that you are removing the cushion that can save you in times like these. I’ll use a real world example of someone I know: purchased home in 1998 for $92K. Refinanced and took out a HELOC making total owed on house $160K by 2005 (at that point they had virtually no equity). In 2006, ran into trouble keep up with mortgage payments. Tried to sell home for $145K, bank refused. Lost home to foreclosure. If those same people had left their original mortgage alone, and still tried to sell in 2006, they would have made $53K before commissions. Instead, their credit is destroyed and they lost the place they called home for nine years.

This article does a good job of summing it up: http://mortgages.weblogsinc.com/2006/07/26/using-home-equity-to-pay-off-credit-debt/

phil answers:

Bank of America would have many of the same “First Home Buyer Mortgage” programs that every other lender that utilizes Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan products does. To get into some of the really good FTHB programs, consult with your state housing authority. In Iowa and Wisconsin, for example, the programs are administered by IFA (Iowa Finance Autority) and WHEDA(similar agency). Many of these are true First  home buyer mortgage programs; down-payment assistance loans/grants, very attractive interest rates and caps on closing costs. Most of the major lenders in your area would know about what your state has to offer and that’s where I would ask first; your Primary Financial Institution (Credit Union or Bank or reputable Mortgage Banker/Broker).

Many people get hung up on First Home Buyer Mortgage programs  and ask for it up front. In truth, this can be an open invitation to an unscrupulous mortgage person to put you into the same loan as they would anyone else and charge you a higher Origination/Discount/Broker fee for their “extra” trouble. Do not be fooled with this. Having been in the mortgage business myself for many years, I have seen this first hand.

Bank of America is going through some major changes. A few months ago, B.O.A. Became a major share holder in Countrywide, with the backing of Berkshire/Hathaway and Warren Buffet (Geico man). Most recently B.O.A. Expressed interest in aquiring an even bigger stake in Countrywide and many insiders believe they will end up with a huge chunk of CW.

Ultimately, you should look and your Primary financial Institution first for your mortgage advice (not a realtor for heavens sake) and for first home buyer mortgage as it is about who you have a relationship with and who you trust. If that is B.O.A., then go there. If not, go to your credit union or bank where you have your other accounts. Chances are they will help you as much as anyone make the best financial decisions.

phil answers:

There are a few things that can happen, but normally if you have reached this stage of the approval, you would normally be ok.

You should and have the responsibility to stay abreast of the procedures as they unfold. So you should get the telephone numbers or all the professionals involved in your transaction. The title company, escrow closing agent, loan consultant, real estate agent, insurance agent and any other you have had contact with.

Make sure that if there are things needed from you, make sure you get them to the requesting party immediately. This will prevent unnecessary delays in your Transaction.

Always ask if things are going ok and if there is anything necessary for you to do. Find out when the loan docs are to be prepared and ready for your signature.

Make sure when you do sign loan docs you have spoke with your loan consultant to find out the interest, length of the mortgage, monthly mortgage payment, late penalty.

Now when you sign your loan docs they should match exactly what you and your loan consultant discussed. If not please don not sign the loan docs, call your loan consultant and discuss t his discrepancy with him/her.

Signing the loan docs will lock you into the first home buyer mortgage with no way out. So make sure everything is correct on the loan docs.

Once the loan docs have been signed you should find out when the loan will fund that this the day the lender will wire the mortgage to the title company.

You should make sure you are in contact with with your closing agent to set up a date and time for your closing.

The main thing is to stay in constant contact with those that are helping you and not wait for them to call you. They are working for you and you are paying them in the form of fees and points.

I hope this has been of some use to you looking for first home buyer mortgage, good luck.

“FIGHT ON”

phil answers:

If you could get a FHA loan the minimum required down is a 3.5% out of $140K that would be $4900. On a $140,000 loan the monthly payments would be with a 7% (worst case scenerio) fix interest rate would be is $931.42. You have to add taxes to that $931.42 monthly payment which vary froms state to state. In CA it is about 2% which would be aroud $230 extra a month. So you guys are probably seeing a total of about $1200 a month. That is totally duable with both your incomes. Ask yourself if one of you guys loses their work can the other one make the payment? Good luck.

Also you may have to get Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
PMI is extra insurance that lenders require from most homebuyers who obtain loans that are more than 80 percent of their new home’s value. In other words, buyers with less than a 20 percent down payment are normally required to pay PMI.

phil answers:

Yes there is a way, some banks allow you to do what they call “stated income, stated assets” that is a program that allows the borrower to state their income to whatever (within reason) to make them qualify for the loan. The down side is the intrest rate is a little higher than normal usually about .50 of a %. With that kind of down payment I could get him into a home fairly easy, and depending on his credit score he may not have to put all of his money down. Email me if you are intrested, i can give you more advise or even help you out with it.

phil answers:

Now there will probably be many that will disagree with me but here goes….

I’m a Realtor and I have experience first hand as the market and the mortgage industry was changing. The brokers were not able to close deals as often (didn’t say they couldn’t) as they could in the past.

Brokers shop for loan products and lenders already have them. And most of all, the brokers which are able to get you a loan through a traditional lender, has their cut in the process fees.

My advice is to get through an online site such as bankrate.com (I’m sure there’s others) and see who has the best rate and go talk with them about their closing cost fees to compare. It’s a little work, but you will save in the end.

Lastly, as I represent sellers and an offer has a pre-approval from a mortgage company, I don’t give it the same consideration as a direct lender.

phil answers:

No. An investment mortgage is regular. If it is not owner occupied it is an investment, pretty simple to understand.

phil answers:

Try to get information on the internet for a 100% loan and for first home buyer mortgage.