Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am close to putting an offer on a home in Northern Virginia (maybe). I was approved for an FHA 30 year fixed. I plan to put 5% down w/ a 525K offer.
(I had to go with FHA because we short-sold (HAFA) our property 1.5 years ago. We were able to do so without missing payments. My FICO score is 726. Every lender I talked to said my best option was FHA or wait 2 yrs. w/ 20% down or 3 yrs. w/ 10% down.).
The quote I have @ 3.75% and after taxes/fee is 3,369.00. I am trusting my lender to have my best interests. I am just wondering if there are any special gotchas or very important things I should be looking out for regarding FHA fees/terms. The only cool thing I noticed is the Lender Credit of 900.
The rate is very attractive. FHA has a 1.75% upfront MI fee that is probably going to be attached on top of the base loan amount, so be mindful of that. You will also be paying monthly mortgage insurance for the life of the loan.
I can help you cut through the crappola. Close now with FHA or wait 6 months a with 20% down. You do know, just because you didn't miss payments, that is not an immediate jump to the front of the line on the waiting periods? Hopefully, your loan officer has reviewed your circumstances and verified you meet the "exception" criteria (and I am not trying to prompt you to air your laundry here and I recommend you do not do that). If you do not recall this specific discussion taking place, ask your loan officer "hey, why are you convinced I can do this before 3 years, other than my payment never being late?" My wish for you is this was either discussed or a mention of the guideline criteria. A really bad habit of our industry is to read only half the memo.
I can help you cut through the crappola. Close now with FHA or wait 6 months a with 20% down. You do know, just because you didn't miss payments, that is not an immediate jump to the front of the line on the waiting periods? Hopefully, your loan officer has reviewed your circumstances and verified you meet the "exception" criteria (and I am not trying to prompt you to air your laundry here and I recommend you do not do that). If you do not recall this specific discussion taking place, ask your loan officer "hey, why are you convinced I can do this before 3 years, other than my payment never being late?" My wish for you is this was either discussed or a mention of the guideline criteria. A really bad habit of our industry is to read only half the memo.
I wish I could have 20% in six months. I've been looking under every cushion for loose change. Our lender went to underwriting for a complete review on our situation. Everything checked out.
My other option to buying now would be to wait 1.5 years and go with conventional and 10% down. That is achievable for me. This is what I am debating at the moment (FHA now w/ 3.5/5% down or Conventional 1.5 yrs from now w/ 10% down). My hope (given there is not another crash) that a couple of years from now I can refinance into a convention loan.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
