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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 936
  
| Any tips on what to specifically look for or avoid in a property?
Any banks that were hard to work with? Or very easy to work with?
What is an acceptable offer range off of an approx 175k house to you?
I have great credit and enough for 10-20% down and am starting to look very seriously.
Looking to purchase my first house and any advice is appreciated! |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1182
Location: Do I hear Banjos? | Hire a good trustworthy and thorough home inspector. They can be your best friend and save you a lot of money and heartache. But...if they find something on a house you truly want. Decide what you would have to spend to rectify the issue...and make your offer accordingly. It's like the pre-purchase exam for a horse. They will nearly always find something...but it may be something you can live with for the right horse...er...house! |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM
My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out.
If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong.
The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow.
Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that. |
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | Know what you can afford to pay monthly! Don't purchase something so expensive you have to eat ramen noodles the next 30 years! When you have a price range, write a list of what you want in a home, number of rooms etc... Make sure you do a home inspection! One of the homes we purchased the wood around the edge of the roof was rotten and the owner has painted over it so we didn't know until we had to have the roof and gutters completely rebuilt!!!! If you live in a small town the local bank may work best for you. We used citibank, they wanted a ton of paper work and it took a month and a half to get the money!!! Go and look at some homes and hang around the neighborhoods and check out the local schools! Try to meet your possible future neighbor before you buy! Make sure your neighbor doesn't have a yapping dog in their back yard etc....... Don't buy the first home you look at!!! Don't be affraid to make a lower offer, you would be surprised how much lower the seller may go!!!! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1129
Location: OH-IO | Check the property, make sure it is all useful. We bought late in the year after the snow had already started to fall-it hid a lot of things-that if we had known we would not have bought the place.
Also check your surroundings...for instance, we have a creek that runs along the empty lot next to us. The owners have never been seen out here, we also have a wildlife lake on the side road next to us-with that being said, the beavers migrate from the lake to the creek in the spring, dam it up, and it floods our property and we are left to clean up and un-dam the creek. This happens from march to june. It is a constant battle. The previous owners of our house and land did not run drainage right when they built, so we are currently putting thousands of $$$ into fixing the property because the water just sets, making it very hard for the horses to be out, b/c its pure mud. ?Just a few things to think about anyhow. This was our first time buying and we looked for so long that after a while we just found one and jumped on it. Big mistake |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Chasincans001 - 2016-02-11 11:01 AM Check the property, make sure it is all useful. We bought late in the year after the snow had already started to fall-it hid a lot of things-that if we had known we would not have bought the place.
Also check your surroundings...for instance, we have a creek that runs along the empty lot next to us. The owners have never been seen out here, we also have a wildlife lake on the side road next to us-with that being said, the beavers migrate from the lake to the creek in the spring, dam it up, and it floods our property and we are left to clean up and un-dam the creek. This happens from march to june. It is a constant battle. The previous owners of our house and land did not run drainage right when they built, so we are currently putting thousands of $$$ into fixing the property because the water just sets, making it very hard for the horses to be out, b/c its pure mud. ?Just a few things to think about anyhow. This was our first time buying and we looked for so long that after a while we just found one and jumped on it. Big mistake
To the OP
Everything this person did,,,,,,,,don't do it.
/thread |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| I would first contact your lender and go from there. Your smaller community banks are probably going to be easier to work with, but you'll have a higher interest rate. If you are wanting to go secondary market and get the lower fixed rate, there will likely be some restrictions on what you can purchase as far as the amount of acreage with the house. Not sure if you are wanting to buy a lot of land or not, but that's something you will want to be aware of if you are wanting to go secondary market. |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
It is a very common issue over the last decade where people buy way more house than they can afford. They have mortgage insurance, property taxes, insurance, and a house payment that is too large for their budget. If you can't save for a down payment before you buy the house you probably can't save for unexpected problems after you buy the house. This is a failure to understand leverage. Just ask the 10,000,000 who lost their homes over the last 8 years. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Good advice so far - don't settle, with a list write the must haves the wants and the no ways.
Good inspector, good realtor. Sellers pay your realtor so I sometimes feel a buyers realtor will try and hurry you into a home. Meet and discuss your priorities with a number of realtors. I've bought and sold 3 houses (or will be selling the 3rd) with 3 different realtors and I always felt rushed with the first 2. Maybe it was my own inexperience but they just didn't seem like they wanted to help me find the right place, they wanted me to buy a house so they could get paid. Realize you may have to sign an agreement to let that realtor help you find a house for a certain number of months before you can use another realtor, so be sure you feel comfortable with them.
If you don't want to put the full 20% down (maybe the house needs something fixed or you will have to invest in fencing or whatever and need the cash) look at paying your mortgage insurance up front. I've done this on the last 2 houses and it saved me more every month in my payment than an additional 10-15k down on the house.
range of offers will depend on your local area. In my area buyers are plentiful and inventory is low, appropriately priced properties are selling quickly for 90-98% of their asking price. Inventory priced too high is sitting and sitting and sitting. |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
I'm scratching my head on this one. $175,000 with 20% down, 3.5% interest at 30 years is over $80,000 in interest alone throughout the life of the loan. Money is not cheap. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
Location: London Ontario | Definitely talk to a bank/agent first to find out your budget. once you have that make a list of your needs, wants, dislikes to narrow down your search. Then find a GOOD and highly recommended real estate agent who has time for you. Good Luck! |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
then, like I said,
they are doing it wrong.
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 Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | countrygirl2006 - 2016-02-11 10:30 AM
1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
And "Bankers" are NOT Your FRIEND"! |
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 Veteran
Posts: 178
| Make a checklist of what is important to you.
Look at many homes- don't settle. The right one will come along (just like men and horses lol)
Know your finances- put down the best down payment you can, bank shop for the best interest rates, and don't forget to calculate things such as taxes and insurance into your monthly payments.
Also don't forget as a home owner things are going to go wrong. Put aside money for unexpected expenses, because they will happen!
When it comes to making an offer, have an appraisal and home inspection done prior to making your offer. The bank will not let you borrow more than the house appraises for (nor should you be paying more than it's worth in that area), and the inspection will allow you to consider future/costs or improvements that may need to be done. You could also incorporate this into your purchase offer, if you want things fixed prior to the closing. Lastly, look at how long the house has been on the market. This will possibly help you to gauge how much less you may want to offer. The longer it's been on, the more likely they may be to be done with it.
Edited by joplin21 2016-02-11 10:51 AM
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Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | Also, I would recommend consider a 15 year vs 30 loan and along with that I would recommend bi-weekly payments on the 15 yr loan. A bi-weekly payment equates to 13 mortgage payments per and greatly shortens the life of the loan thereby eliminating much payments. (We did and paid off an original 30 yr note via refi into a 15 yr note and bi weekly payments in less than 15 years. So this advice/recommendation is proven.) |
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Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM
Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
Do you do everything 'right'? |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | foundation horse - 2016-02-11 11:59 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
Do you do everything 'right'?
typically |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
also if not 20% down you will pay pmi which is private morgate ins
yes money is cheap but pay down extra on princple each money if you can adds up |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| joplin21 - 2016-02-11 10:50 AM
Make a checklist of what is important to you.
Look at many homes- don't settle. The right one will come along (just like men and horses lol)
Know your finances- put down the best down payment you can, bank shop for the best interest rates, and don't forget to calculate things such as taxes and insurance into your monthly payments.
Also don't forget as a home owner things are going to go wrong. Put aside money for unexpected expenses, because they will happen!
When it comes to making an offer, have an appraisal and home inspection done prior to making your offer. The bank will not let you borrow more than the house appraises for (nor should you be paying more than it's worth in that area), and the inspection will allow you to consider future/costs or improvements that may need to be done. You could also incorporate this into your purchase offer, if you want things fixed prior to the closing. Lastly, look at how long the house has been on the market. This will possibly help you to gauge how much less you may want to offer. The longer it's been on, the more likely they may be to be done with it.
Offers have to be made prior to inspection and appraisal but are made subject to a passable inspection and bank appraisal. You can't just bring an inspector and appraiser into every house you think is worth making an offer on.
I made an offer on a house last spring and it was accepted subject to selling my previous home and passing inspection and appraisal.
I had the inspection done, it was terrible. Like so much wrong I was afraid of what I'd find even if they did fix what the inspector found. Less than 36 hours later I was free and clear out of the contract and back to looking.
That's where you need a good competent real estate agent.
Bank handles ordering the appraisal after you have the inspection done and clear the subject to purchase off the offer. |
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Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:02 AM
foundation horse - 2016-02-11 11:59 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
Do you do everything 'right'?
Typically eh? I find 'that' very difficult to believe. However, you dang act and believe You and Only You do everything 'right'. Which is the definition of arrogance. And You Darn Sure pull off the arrogant attitude on this board extremely well. Especially to be such a Socialist Leaning Individual. Scratch Arrogant, Elitist is more suited to Your Attitude! |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | foundation horse - 2016-02-11 11:09 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:02 AM foundation horse - 2016-02-11 11:59 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
Do you do everything 'right'? Typically eh? I find 'that' very difficult to believe. However, you dang act and believe You and Only You do everything 'right'. Which is the definition of arrogance. And You Darn Sure pull off the arrogant attitude on this board extremely well. Especially to be such a Socialist Leaning Individual. Scratch Arrogant, Elitist is more suited to Your Attitude!
I think you spelled "troll" wrong 
To the OP, the best advice I can give you is to not fall in love with the first house you look at, because it will tend to make you overlook and/or downplay its problems. You have to take the emotion out of it and be prepared to walk away.
Edited by Gunner11 2016-02-11 11:19 AM
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Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | Gunner11 - 2016-02-11 11:16 AM
foundation horse - 2016-02-11 11:09 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:02 AM foundation horse - 2016-02-11 11:59 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
Do you do everything 'right'? Typically eh? I find 'that' very difficult to believe. However, you dang act and believe You and Only You do everything 'right'. Which is the definition of arrogance. And You Darn Sure pull off the arrogant attitude on this board extremely well. Especially to be such a Socialist Leaning Individual. Scratch Arrogant, Elitist is more suited to Your Attitude!
I think you spelled "troll" wrong
Literally LMAO  |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| home warranity is a must too |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
Yeah it was everything else you said that was stupid. |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 12:24 PM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
that's cute,,,,,,,,,you are going to advise people to use up all or a vast majority of their liquidity and tell me that I'm saying stupid things.
I hope you don't make your living the in the financial world. |
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Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | Also, from personal experience: It is wise when having a mortgage payment to maintain approximately six months of mortgage payments separately from everything financially speaking due to unexpected circumstances to include job loss. |
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 12:24 PM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
I hope you don't make your living the in the financial world.
I recommend buying a house that is commensurate with their ability to save. |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 12:32 PM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 12:24 PM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
I hope you don't make your living the in the financial world.
now that is sound financial advice.
But that was not what you said in the original post
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That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:33 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 12:32 PM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 12:24 PM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 10:47 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 11:26 AM 1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
they are doing it wrong.
I hope you don't make your living the in the financial world.
But that was not what you said in the original post
Glad we got that clarified. |
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 Hugs to You
Posts: 7550
Location: In The Land of Cotton | I didn't have nor have a problem putting down just 3% for my first house. I was a single mother. I just figured in the PMI, insurance , and taxes as one whole payment. I also was brave and got an adjustable rate with a 2% cap. However, I have a financial background. I then paid extra to equal one principal payment.
I was able then to keep my extra cash for emergencies. After reaching the 20% mark I wrote a letter and was able to get the PMI removed and then added that to the extra principal. I paid that mortgage down quite quickly. So 20% down is not always the way to go |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 494
Location: La Frontera | If the property has a well make sure to get a well inspection. The inspector, who is different than your home inspector, will tell you the age of the well, it's condition, where the static water level is, pumped water level and gallons per hour pumped. It can be very expensive to put in a new well or repair an old one. It's worth the couple hundred dollars to get a well inspected before you purchase. Also put the well inspection clause in your contract to purchase. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 936
| Thank you all for the information!
Lots to think about definitely. I appreciate it |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
Location: Missouri | when you look at the house - DO NOT look how they have it decorated or painted! those things change, look at the structure make sure you like the lay out/floor plan of the house.
When the inspector goes to the house - YOU be there as well, so you can ask questions and they can explain if something is cosmetic or structural. Make sure they are working for you!
As for the mortgage, shop around, there are several different types of loan programs. find the best for you. Make sure you buy within your price range, if you can only afford to spend $700 a month on your mortgage then don't let them sell you on a product that will cost you $900 a month. you are the only one that knows how much you want to spend a month and still be able to eat, go to a barrel race or whatever! Always remember when a lender figures what you can afford it is before taxes not what you bring home!
Good luck |
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 Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2075
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | We saved $11,000 which wasn't easy to do, but still had to do FHA with mortgage insurance. We love our house - it took 6 months to get - it was a short-sale that wasn't revealed in the beginning and it was a very frustrating, scary 6 months, because we didn't know if it would all fall through in the end, and all the while, the owners were stripping the house and the neighbors were telling us, but if the banks found out, they said they would just foreclose. We got it and are soooooo happy where we are at.
Get a good mortgage broker --- their fees vary, so compare! PrimeWest was ours and they were the best out of dealing with many.
Prepare for varying costs - I got a quote for homeowners insurance at the time we put the offer on the house and by the time we closed on the house, it had increased 50%.
We have a good FIXED interest rate.
Stay on top of everything and be organized/thorough when you send everything in to your finance company.
Stop your spending right now until AFTER you close on your house -- in the meantime, only take actions that will impact your credit positively.
You will have ups and downs in your search - learn from all of them and keep your chin up!
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | countrygirl2006 - 2016-02-11 10:30 AM
1DSoon - 2016-02-11 9:32 AM Whiteboy - 2016-02-11 10:26 AM My advice is put the entire 20% down. If you cant afford the down payment you cant afford the house. People who dont follow that rule spend the rest of their life trying to dig out. If you spend the rest of your life trying to dig out of a realestate investment you are doing it wrong. The only benefit of a larger DP is not having to escrow. Money is cheap and anytime I can use someone else's money I'm going to do that.
Wasn't sure about anyone else but I can't seem to find any "cheap" money |
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Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2075
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | 3canstorun - 2016-02-11 12:10 PM I didn't have nor have a problem putting down just 3% for my first house. I was a single mother. I just figured in the PMI, insurance , and taxes as one whole payment. I also was brave and got an adjustable rate with a 2% cap. However, I have a financial background. I then paid extra to equal one principal payment. I was able then to keep my extra cash for emergencies. After reaching the 20% mark I wrote a letter and was able to get the PMI removed and then added that to the extra principal. I paid that mortgage down quite quickly. So 20% down is not always the way to go
That's great - what year did you write the letter to get PMI removed -- was it recent?
I've been researching for a while and all I could find was that they don't do that anymore.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: IA | They will remove your PMI--I just got a letter that said I could ask them to review and remove.
My bank said that if you had paid at least 20% of the original loan amount, you could ask for a review to have the PMI removed.
Also if you had paid off 75% of the original loan amount, they would review and remove it themselves.
Just contact your lender to see what actions they want. We didn't have 20% down on our place, but budgeted in for all the payments and haven't had any trouble. At least owning it, we weren't throwing money down the hole on rent. But I do agree, ownership does come up with some pricey, not fun surprises once in a while.
Good luck, and know your own limits before you sign all those papers! |
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Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2075
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | I wonder how all those who suggest saving 20% down were first-time homebuyers when they did this?
If you have a house with equity already built and sell it first, that'd be easy to have 20%. Or sell a house up North and move South.
You still must pay closing costs on top of that or probably pay more for the house, unless Seller thinks you offered enough for the house and will pay closing, and that is a LOT of money to save if you are living alone, renting. Or an adult living with your parents.
I could see where it might be easier if you live with a b/f or fiance and you are saviing together, but there are those who don't want to live together before they are married for years saving for a house. And even if you ARE married, what good is it to pay high rent for years while saving for the 20% down?
I would look at all the options and consider every situation inidividually and what works best for you. I'm not at all saying the 20% is impossible.
As I posted, earlier, we only saved $11,000/$12,000 which paid 3% + closing. We have over $50,000 equity in the house, now after 2 1/2 years (due to the good deal we got and then property value rise). And I don't have to drive twice a day to my parents to take care of my horses, anymore.
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Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2075
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | Turninfly - 2016-02-12 8:54 AM They will remove your PMI--I just got a letter that said I could ask them to review and remove.
My bank said that if you had paid at least 20% of the original loan amount, you could ask for a review to have the PMI removed.
Also if you had paid off 75% of the original loan amount, they would review and remove it themselves.
Just contact your lender to see what actions they want. We didn't have 20% down on our place, but budgeted in for all the payments and haven't had any trouble. At least owning it, we weren't throwing money down the hole on rent. But I do agree, ownership does come up with some pricey, not fun surprises once in a while.
Good luck, and know your own limits before you sign all those papers!
There you go - that is great! 
And you know, if you DID put all your savings in to allow for 20% down, you used all your emergency fund - hopefully it all works out if someone does that, as well. |
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 Sorry I don't have any advice
Posts: 1975
Location: Sunnyland Florida |
The only thing you need to know is ONE thing:
How to find a great realtor in your area. All of the things discussed here so far should be handled by your professional real estate agent. Your questions in your original post are everyday work and easy questions for most realtors. He/she will find you the areas best lender for your specific type of financing, and hopefully hook you up with a "first time homebuyer" down payment assistance program; there are many of these programs out there right now.
Watch out for advice from people from states other than yours; contracts, laws, etc. are different in each state. Be safe and use a realtor to guide you through this easy process. Take your advice from a professional only. And, take your realtor's advice on which loan venue to use; many of them don't perform. Stay off of the internet - go local.
Good luck!!
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | txbredbr - 2016-02-12 8:55 AM I wonder how all those who suggest saving 20% down were first-time homebuyers when they did this?
We lived in a paid-for $50,000 doublewide and kept my horses at my parents' house for 10 years while saving money to buy land and build a house. I traded the doublewide for a tractor when we moved. |
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First Time Home Buying Tips