I live and work in Los Angeles. I rent a cute bungalow in a decent neighborhood with my commute to work only about 20 minutes in 7-8 AM rush hour traffic. I have lived here almost 4 years and I could probably continue as my rent has not increased and my landlord lives across the street. I want to take a chance and try to buy my own cute bungalow, but my income is too low for the area I live in. At work, I hear the stories of others who have tried to buy and they are priced out of the market or who have lost several offers and are just discouraged and depressed after the experience.
In 2009, I filed Ch. 7 in Florida, and it was also discharged in 2009. I lost two houses to foreclosure after my ex-husband got laid off for almost 2 years resulting in a large loss of income in the household. The foreclosures were completed in August 2010 and January 2011. I moved to Los Angeles in 2010 for a more secure job, and I have steadily been promoted and my income is increasing.
My annual income is $54K in W-2 wages and abt. $27K in court ordered child support. My current bills are rent of $1500, a car lease of $299 including taxes and a student loan of $78 monthly. No credit card debt, but I do use my credit cards sometimes and pay the balance off regularly. The last time I checked my credit score it was at 700 (prior to leasing my car in Feb 2013).
Checking the HOW MUCH HOUSE CAN YOU BUY calculators, it shows with 5% down, I can afford a $295K house, which is a lot, but in Los Angeles, it is not! I could possibly stretch it to 10% down but that would be by taking a loan from my 401K, scary!
Should I even bother trying to buy in an area where people are paying $100K over asking and FHA offers are laughed at (and refused) since I am competing with all cash buyers and investor flippers?
Will mortgage lenders even give me a chance again? Over 20 years, I have bought and sold over 13 homes/rental properties and have many successful old tradelines for mortgages that show paid on my credit record, but the recent foreclosures made me feel like a failure cause I could not save them and Indymac refused to work with me on any modifications, so I walked.
If I am crazy enough to try, are there any workshops or specific lender programs out there to help me get back into my own home in Los Angeles and not Palmdale?
Thanks!
BK 7 disch. 12/2009
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