Need some advice , please

[Anonymous]

First off  , Thank you to all of you who share your stories and help with others.. 

Here's my situation , I like many am trying to get my first house , made some stupid mistakes when I was younger with credit. Me and my wife have spent the last year fixing our credit and paying off bills , based on the info below , could I get a loan and is there any better options than a FHA loan..

Current situation"

Credit scores  : ( Mine were the best)

 Equi:  589

 Exper 601

 Trans 604

Credit card: ( 1 only)

 Balance $100 ( limit $400 )

 Student loan , $14k ( currently in  Deferment , till 2010 )

 Have 401k options totaling over $10k

 Down payment : 8500 ( so far)

 No car payment ( just paid it off 2 months ago)

Currently living with in laws so no other bills

Gross combined income $ 65k

Any ideas / suggestions?

Message Edited by Looking4Help2009 on 02-25-2009 02:51 AM

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure you'll need your mid score at 620 or better to qualify for FHA. Good payment history for a year and debt to income ratio of no more than 41%. Thats just something I found out while shopping around.

With me, my info was-

1. BK7 in 2003

2. Paid collection from 2005

3. 2 active car loans /$707 a month total

4. 6 credit cards/ one with a balance of $80- total combined credit limits of $10,500

5. no missed payments for 3 years

6. 20 year work history @ around 67k year

7. credit scores of 658/646/662

AND

8. Approved and qualified for $231,950 with $8,150 down and all closing paid by seller ($7,200)

9. FHA @ 5.5% total mortgage payment of $1,648 month

10. Debt to income ratio was 44% and was still approved.

My wifes credit did not meet the min standards. We were approved using just my credit and income.

Just 2 years ago my credit was around 518. I think keeping my payments current and having low balances on credit cards helped out the most.

Hope that helps =)

[Anonymous]

I thought I read somewhere that if you have a student loan you should pay it off , But if it's in deferment it really doesn't count towards your overall qualifying for the loan based on my info above is it true or?

Me and my wife want house soon , but often ask ourselves will 10 -20 points more on our credit scores make that much of a difference , We know 2 more months of down payment saving is great..

thank you

PS: One other question I know changing jobs is not really a good thing , but if it is a switch to a higher paying / more stable industry , is that still bad or should I hurry up and apply before changing jobs ?

Message Edited by Looking4Help2009 on 02-25-2009 08:35 AM

[Anonymous]

If you're using you and your wife's income to qualify, then you need to consider both sets of scores.  They will use the lower of your midscore and her midscore.  Assuming her score is even lower than your 601, I think you'll have trouble getting qualified.

I would recommend taking your reports, hilighting all the negative items across all six reports, then head to the Rebuilding Your Credit forum and lay it out.  They may have suggestions for improving/removing the negative items.

[WannaHouse]

The lenders are all going to be requiring a 620 minimum mid score now and in the very near future. Your scores as they are will more than likely result in SORRY, we can't help you.

Listen to the above advice and try to fix up your scores.

[Anonymous]

So today I decided to bite the bullet and give it a shot , on paper it looks good I was given a Good Faith Estimate and a Pre-qual Letter  ( not sure if the same) for $120k threw a FHA loan from Bank of America , and was told to get a real estate agent and look around , once I found a house  , we could finish the application..

Not getting to excited , but looks good..

Any thoughts?

[WannaHouse]

Fantastic!! I love to be proven wrong in cases like this!! 

Happy hunting

[Anonymous]

Can't think of a better time to buy than now!

Happy House hunting =)

[DallasLoanGuy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Any thoughts?

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did they tell you your scores?

 

[Anonymous]

2 things, they may want to count the student loans against DTI.  You have to prove that they are not in repayment for at least 12 months so if there are in repayment anytime in the first half of 2010 they would be counted I believe.

Also, I would be extremely leary of any bank the is prequlaifying you at under 620 midscores.  How long ago was this pre-qual.  It is just in the last 2 weeks or so that the 620 minimum has really started coming into effect.  Some brokers/LO are still trying to actively work sub 620 scores, but there is a VERY high chance these will end up denied even with the pre-qual.  Once the buyers of the loans change their standards (and any that have not may be doing so at any time) any deal that is not basicly done will probably get kicked back.

Message Edited by mickie08 on 02-28-2009 10:27 AM