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We're in the process of obtaining a USDA loan in the DFW area.
Mid January our loan officer sent our paperwork to her underwriter to find out in advance what we would need to do to qualify. My husband's score is 581 and I'm a non-purchasing spouse. We found out that we needed to pay our 3 credit cards down to 50% and I had to pay off my judgments. Although, I am the non-purchasing spouse, TX is a community property state and they would put a lien on the house. USDA won't accept that.
I called and convinced them to settle for 50% of the judgment value and I sent them a cashier's check and we paid down our credit cards. His score went up 23 points according to myfico.
2/9/14 - We put in an offer on a house. Full price plus they pay $4300 towards closing. We were going to ask for a warranty but the bank is running a special and covering the cost of warranty for new loans started this month. We put down $1000 in earnest money and $100 option money.
2/12 - Offer accepted. Option period starts.
2/14 - Inspector went out to house ($420)
2/15 - Received inspection report. Everything was perfect.
2/17 - My husband signed all the paperwork (we should get back $975 at closing) and LO ran us through GUS. They only asked for another month's worth of bank statements, copies of earnest money and option money, and proof that the judgments were paid.
2/18- Paperwork submitted to processor and we began shopping around for Homeowner's insurance
2/21 - Finally heard from the Processor. She got our credit card number so she could order the appraisal, $485 (money will be credited back at closing). Said we should hear back from her Monday or Tuesday.
Our closing date is scheduled for 3/31 but my LO said that at the pace we're moving, it will be much sooner than that. Fingers crossed for 3/14.
My LO said that 620 makes things go through easier but you can get approved at 580 with lots of conditions. The USDA website has an underwriting section that talks about what they accept with a lower score.
Make sure you have a Satisfactoin of Judgment recorded for those judgments you paid. Sometimes the creditor fails to send you the Satisfacton or record it. If they have, great. If not, follow up now so you can get it recorded. The Satisfaction prevents judgments from attaching to the house because it is a paid debt.
Well, we haven't made it through underwriting just yet. We'll see. We're going through Great Plains National Bank.
All this waiting is killing me!
I'm waiting for the appraisal to come back. Though, my LO told me that our file is scheduled for a review tomorrow (not sure what that means).
That's one thing about the mortgage process, it sure isn't quick! Have a glass of wine, and have another for me since I can't drink.
Update:
Our DTI is 43% but we (hopefully) solved that by applying for The Mortgage Credit Certificate.
My husband's credit score came back at 619 and it needs to be at 620. Can you believe it?! Off by one teeny tiny point!! LO told us to pay down a credit card further and they will run a rapid rescore. I did that and she said it would take about 3 days for the rescore to come in. Doesn't sound too rapid to me.
The appraisal came back low. We offered 144K, the appraisal came in at 142K. My LO said this isn't anything to worry about, but I'm still worrying. Our realtor contacted the seller's realtor but we haven't heard anything from their end. Surely $2000 won't make that big of a difference?
We turned in the last of our paperwork. All we're waiting for is the rescore and to hear from the sellers about the appraisal. Once that's taken care of our stuff gets sent off to USDA.
Hopefully they'll work with the numbers to get you that 2K lower on the sales price. Either way, someone will have to cover that 2K since that appraisal lowers your ability to roll the gaurantee fee into the loan. Wishing you luck! Hoping that the end of the process is close for you.