My Homebuying Drama is About to End (loan, real estate, approval)

[DFW_Freelancer]

Hi everyone,

It's almost over! After months of fighting with the IRS to get tax transcripts, discovering the house we were renting (and planning to buy) had serious unaddressed foundation problems, and jumping through lots of hoops to find another house and get the mortgage approved, we are finally set to close at 2pm on Wednesday the 24th.

Here are some things I learned along the way. I hope they can help someone!

- If you live in Texas (a community property state), you *can* get a mortgage if only one spouse has good credit. However, that spouse has to have a good enough DTI ratio to qualify on their own, including the the non-qualifying spouse's debts.

- A really good buyer's agent is worth their weight in gold. I can recommend one in the DFW area via PM if you need a suggestion.

- A really good bank with in-house underwriters is also a blessing. I can recommend one of those as well.

- In our experience, lenders are looking for credit scores of 650+ to 670+ on FHA loans.

- Don't get mad when your LO asks for tons and tons of documentation. Investors are timid right now, and the more documentation you provide up front, the less chance you'll get a nasty surprise during underwriting. (Yes, you will be asked to provide everything up to and possibly including your firstborn child.)

- Final loan approval doesn't come until pretty close to the closing date, so don't assume you're approved just because you got pre-qualified or "pre-approved".

- Be sure to get your HUD-1 prior to closing so you'll know exactly how much money you need to bring to the closing table.

- It's not over 'til it's over.

These are just some things I learned from personal experience. I'm not in the real estate industry, but I hope the pros will chime in and correct anything that's not accurate.

Here's hoping closing will go smoothly!

[VictorBurek]

I think you covered most things accurately accept maybe the FICO score. Lenders would rather see FICO scores over 740 or even higher.

Congrats on your new home.

[DFW_Freelancer]

Originally Posted by VictorBurek

I think you covered most things accurately accept maybe the FICO score. Lenders would rather see FICO scores over 740 or even higher.

Congrats on your new home.

Thanks, Victor!

My husband had a pretty wide spread of credit scores. I believe one bureau had him at 670, and Experian had him at 750+. I'm not sure if that's normal, but I believe the lender looked at the median score. Does that sound right?

Have a great day!
Janna

[VictorBurek]

Originally Posted by DFW_Freelancer

Thanks, Victor!

My husband had a pretty wide spread of credit scores. I believe one bureau had him at 670, and Experian had him at 750+. I'm not sure if that's normal, but I believe the lender looked at the median score. Does that sound right?

Have a great day!
Janna

Yes, all lenders go off the middle of the 3 credit scores. It is common to see a big difference from one score to the next.