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Hi Everyone. I have a lot of questions, all related to home-buying.. I hope it is okay that I sort of rant here about it because this is a truly stressful process. ugh..
I am 27 y.o looking to buy my first house.. i don't know much about the process or anything.. and reaching out to homebuyer education classes here in vegas have done nothing for me. before i register for a class, theyll ask me about my income, then when my income is over their limits theyll tell me they cant help me because i do not qualify for any of their programs.... okay ? but can i still get educated on how to buy a home? I only found online classes and i prefer an in-person educational class.
anyone have any advice for me? My income isn't even a lot ($49k/yr) but i do have sports betting income at $100,000 over the past 1.5yrs so that worries me about finding down payment assistance. also my fico/credit fluctuates between 720-740 so it is really good, but my boyfriend of 12 years his credit is in the 500s. So should I go in with him or not on the house? Will his lack of credit only hurt me?
oh man i want to rip my hair out and we didnt even start the process yet.. haha
I've seen enough Judge Judy to know that unmarried people should not mingle their finances.
Never heard of a class for buying a house. I'm betting you could learn all you need to from a real estate forum and/or youtube videos. My experience with buying a house tells me you want to find a good/trusted inspector, they'll catch issues you'd never think of.
Not sure what 'down payment assistance' is. I think you need to put 3%-5% down of your own money (no borrowed/gifted $$). If you put 20% or more, the bank doesn't care were you got the cash. If you put 20% or more down you shouldn't need to pay PMI and you might get a better financing rate. It's possible these rules/numbers have changed since the whole financial meltdown in 2007/2008.
Hi Everyone. I have a lot of questions, all related to home-buying.. I hope it is okay that I sort of rant here about it because this is a truly stressful process. ugh..
I am 27 y.o looking to buy my first house.. i don't know much about the process or anything.. and reaching out to homebuyer education classes here in vegas have done nothing for me. before i register for a class, theyll ask me about my income, then when my income is over their limits theyll tell me they cant help me because i do not qualify for any of their programs.... okay ? but can i still get educated on how to buy a home? I only found online classes and i prefer an in-person educational class.
anyone have any advice for me? My income isn't even a lot ($49k/yr) but i do have sports betting income at $100,000 over the past 1.5yrs so that worries me about finding down payment assistance. also my fico/credit fluctuates between 720-740 so it is really good, but my boyfriend of 12 years his credit is in the 500s. So should I go in with him or not on the house? Will his lack of credit only hurt me?
oh man i want to rip my hair out and we didnt even start the process yet.. haha
Thank you so much for all your help everyone.
What I was told when I last bought a house (earlier this year) is that when 2 people are applying, they look at the lower score, so his 500 score could very likely keep you from qualifying for a mortgage.
I would find a realtor you can talk to, and a mortgage professional. They should be able to answer all of your questions. No class is necessary. (The classes you might be referring to are the required ones for those who qualify for down payment assistance. In order to get that assistance, they require you to attend a class.)
Basically the first step in the process is to get pre-qualified for a mortgage. Looking at properties with that letter in hand will be very valuable to you when you do make an offer. In the process of getting pre-qualified they can explain any down payment assistance that may be available to you.
The process can be very stressful but it isn't really all that difficult. Start with your bank or a mortgage broker and go from there.
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I've seen enough Judge Judy to know that unmarried people should not mingle their finances.
Never heard of a class for buying a house. I'm betting you could learn all you need to from a real estate forum and/or youtube videos. My experience with buying a house tells me you want to find a good/trusted inspector, they'll catch issues you'd never think of.
Not sure what 'down payment assistance' is. I think you need to put 3%-5% down of your own money (no borrowed/gifted $$). If you put 20% or more, the bank doesn't care were you got the cash. If you put 20% or more down you shouldn't need to pay PMI and you might get a better financing rate. It's possible these rules/numbers have changed since the whole financial meltdown in 2007/2008.
The down payment CAN be gifted regardless of amount, you just need documentation that it was a gift as a part of the documents needed to close. It cannot be borrowed.
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My posts as moderator will be in red.
If you and your boyfriend buy a house - unmarried, it is a partnership deal. Which is different than a marriage deal. They will probably use both credit scores since it is not a marriage. When you two split(if you do) now each one of you still are liable for 50%. You may want to keep your 50% and if he dont want to keep his 50%, now you gonna have to buy him out. Which means refinance on your part. Or ether one of you could force a sell. If you love the house and he wants to force a sell he can (ask Judge Judy). Or probably the end result will be both of you will loose the house and everything you put in it. I agree with cuponoodle's post.
His credit score is all ready low. So if you two was to split, you really think he is going to make half the payment? Or have the finances to buy you out? Unless you get one helluva deal, you will not have equity built up for no less than 5 years. Most of your payments for the first 5-10 years is going to interest, not the principal. So in other words you going to be underwater if you wanted to sell.
The lower the credit score the higher interest rates you going to pay.
Everyone, thank you so much for helping me and for your advice and opinions. Yes, i do know that a homebuyers class is NOT NECESSARY/REQUIRED, however the point I was trying to make was that I WANTED to go to one. I want to attend and learn and make sure I know everything there is about the process.. i will just feel more comfortable that way.
the bf doesn't care if the house is only in my name, so if that is the better option for us, then that is what we will go with.
I do have a question though... what if we were to get married? How does that change things (if at all?) we have had plans for years now to get married but I can't fathom spending a dime on a wedding when that money could go towards my first home.
I do have a question though... what if we were to get married? How does that change things (if at all?) we have had plans for years now to get married but I can't fathom spending a dime on a wedding when that money could go towards my first home.
Buy the house first, especially with his awful credit.
Call again to get into the free first time homeowner class when they ask how much you make say $20K.
I'd leave the boyfriend out and get pre-qualified. Without that, no real estate agent would take you seriously or want to take you check out houses, potentially wasting his or her time. You'd also know what you can afford.
Go to open houses to get the feel of the neighborhoods, the style, size of house you want. You can do that starting tomorrow, without an agent.
Your RE agent can help you with all the necessary steps and will do the paperwork, submit your offer/s and negotiate on your behalf. Once your offer is accepted, let your lender know that you found the property and they'll start you up with the paperwork.
If you get a loan, you must get an appraisal, our lender ordered it, no work needed on our part.
If you get an older house, but generally ALWAYS a good idea to get an inspection done! Our agent took care of that for us. Not sure if that is common, but we were out of state that time.
It seems intimidating and difficult, but it really is not. You don't need a class at all, just get a good agent. For us, the hard part was the paperwork and the wait to hear back from the lender.
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