Atlanta market not selling $400K+ homes as fast as it used to (health insurance, credit score)

[3rdbass]

I make around 90K-95K and put 10% down on a 342K house in Edgewood. I didn't have to pay a monthly PMI as i got it adjusted in the rate of 3.875%. I feel very comfortable in my payments. My credit score is around 800 as I paid off all my prior loans car and home(from sale and used some of the money for down payment in this house). My wife is just starting out her career here in the USA(she is from Brazil) so she doesn't really help with the mortgage. Just her own expenses. Of course I don't have any kids and we aren't planning any in the near future if ever.

I definitely think it is still doable to get decent houses in a comfortable budget for most people that make good wages 75K-100K. I don't think you need to be making over $100K to really afford over 300K.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by 3rdbass

I make around 90K-95K and put 10% down on a 342K house in Edgewood. I didn't have to pay a monthly PMI as i got it adjusted in the rate of 3.875%. I feel very comfortable in my payments. My credit score is around 800 as I paid off all my prior loans car and home(from sale and used some of the money for down payment in this house). My wife is just starting out her career here in the USA(she is from Brazil) so she doesn't really help with the mortgage. Just her own expenses. Of course I don't have any kids and we aren't planning any in the near future if ever.

I definitely think it is still doable to get decent houses in a comfortable budget for most people that make good wages 75K-100K. I don't think you need to be making over $100K to really afford over 300K.

I'd have taken a lower rate, sucked up paying PMI for a bit, and then asked the lender to remove it after 2 years of solid payment history a (likely) increased property value. Someone who bought in Edgewood ~2015 with a decent chunk down (10%) is probably already close to a LTV where a lender would drop PMI.

[jhtrico1850]

The problem is, most of the high paying jobs that I qualify for are concentrated around Midtown, Perimeter, Alpharetta.

300 doesn't get you much in those areas. Granted, 2 people with decent jobs can afford a good bit of house. I think there's somewhat of an entitlement of people to want a nice house and a good commute with just 1 person.

[3rdbass]

Originally Posted by red92s

I'd have taken a lower rate, sucked up paying PMI for a bit, and then asked the lender to remove it after 2 years of solid payment history a (likely) increased property value. Someone who bought in Edgewood ~2015 with a decent chunk down (10%) is probably already close to a LTV where a lender would drop PMI.

I actually bought it in 2016 and from what I can tell on zillow, I know not the best source, the house hasn't really escalated in price yet. I'm sure it will once the Marta project is finished down the road. I just wanted to play it conservative and didn't care for paying for PMI at all. I know the first thing I do want to do when I get enough equity is have a garage built in the back of my house. Our house is pretty small 1,400 sq. ft. and we could use some extra storage for nicer things that we wouldn't want in the crawl space.

[hautemomma]

Originally Posted by 3rdbass

I actually bought it in 2016 and from what I can tell on zillow, I know not the best source, the house hasn't really escalated in price yet. I'm sure it will once the Marta project is finished down the road. I just wanted to play it conservative and didn't care for paying for PMI at all. I know the first thing I do want to do when I get enough equity is have a garage built in the back of my house. Our house is pretty small 1,400 sq. ft. and we could use some extra storage for nicer things that we wouldn't want in the crawl space.

I thought that effective a couple of years ago, PMI is now effective for the life of the loan and cannot be removed if someone didn't put 20+% down.

ETA: Maybe it's just for FHA, not quite sure.

[bhammaster]

There are plenty of 3.5% down or lower without a FHA. You just need good credit and solid work history.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by hautemomma

I thought that effective a couple of years ago, PMI is now effective for the life of the loan and cannot be removed if someone didn't put 20+% down.

I think it depends on the terms of the loan. Our last mortgage didn't allow for elimination of PMI via a new appraisal (i.e., the denominator in the 80% calculation was always going to be fixed at the appraisal value when the loan closed), but it did allow for elimination of PMI once the 80% threshold was reached.

Fortunately, we ended up refinancing right when rates bottomed out, and the much higher appraisal value got us well below the 80% threshold and consequently we have no PMI on the current mortgage.

[3rdbass]

Originally Posted by hautemomma

I thought that effective a couple of years ago, PMI is now effective for the life of the loan and cannot be removed if someone didn't put 20+% down.

ETA: Maybe it's just for FHA, not quite sure.

I was able to get my conventional loan with no PMI and 10% down by accepting a slightly higher rate. It was pre-paid PMI that was done in the higher rate. I believe my rate without PMI was going to be 3.725% instead of 3.875% I got. I decide I preferred to go with taking the higher rate to prepay the PMI. As stated below I believe it was lender paid PMI and for such a small rate difference I preferred it and gave me the flexibility if I don't plan to stay in the house for over 10 years that I could save money.

[jhtrico1850]

https://aimloan.mortgagewebcenter.co...es?pmc=aimloan

AimLoan is pretty cool in that they give you a table of options (low fees higher rate or high fees low rate, PMI, lender paid PMI).

https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/...age-insurance/

I believe lender paid PMI is for the whole loan. So it may be a good option if you refinance soon or don't plan to be in the house for too long.

If you have regular PMI, it can be removed after 2 years if your value is up or your balance down significantly. I've heard mixed success with getting it down before 2 years...

[Stormhammer]

Originally Posted by jhtrico1850

The problem is, most of the high paying jobs that I qualify for are concentrated around Midtown, Perimeter, Alpharetta.

300 doesn't get you much in those areas. Granted, 2 people with decent jobs can afford a good bit of house. I think there's somewhat of an entitlement of people to want a nice house and a good commute with just 1 person.

You're not wrong there - my career space is in the same cities as yours ( atm in Alpharetta ).

Also, I think it's definitely more an in-town mindset to be close to work, whereas OTP it's more about school systems, wanting a backyard, etc. Being close to work is a little less of a priority ( otherwise everyone would just live in the major business hubs )