Savings to get ready for mortgage qualification.

[Jess21]

Sorry if this sounds a bit inmature but i still do not know a lot about the whole getting a mortage deal.  how much is ideal to have in a savings account when applying for a mortgage?  is it vry necessary or you can get approved without a huge savings account?  We are looking at houses around 100k to 120k

[queenlee601]

I got an FHA loan my house on MARCH  7th of this year, and my home was 100k and i had 10k in my savings account , only needed 3400 for closing costs, so i think you should have at least 10-15k in the bank for fha loans  oh and my scores at the time were TU 685 EX 628 EQ 638...  Now my scores are TU 714 EX 640 EQ 688.. I applied for a line of credit through my bank for 1000 and a Walmart card for 500, I increased my Conn's account from 1000 to 3600 , and thats all..I only had my car note that was 400 a month and my Conn's account (furniture) for 62 a month , no credit cards .. NONE WHATSOEVER..when I applied for my house and I qualified for a home up to 175k , but that was because I make 77k a year.. Make sure you have a great Realtor and Mortgage lender in your corner, because that is where your deal is being done through.. and good luck to you

[Jess21]

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@queenlee601 wrote:

I got an FHA loan my house on MARCH  7th of this year, and my home was 100k and i had 10k in my savings account , only needed 3400 for closing costs, so i think you should have at least 10-15k in the bank for fha loans  oh and my scores at the time were TU 685 EX 628 EQ 638...  Now my scores are TU 714 EX 640 EQ 688.. I applied for a line of credit through my bank for 1000 and a Walmart card for 500, I increased my Conn's account from 1000 to 3600 , and thats all..I only had my car note that was 400 a month and my Conn's account (furniture) for 62 a month , no credit cards .. NONE WHATSOEVER..when I applied for my house and I qualified for a home up to 175k , but that was because I make 77k a year.. Make sure you have a great Realtor and Mortgage lender in your corner, because that is where your deal is being done through.. and good luck to you

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Thank you.  I am so lost in this process as to how to do it right because like I do not know who is a good realtor and who isnt!  We will be buying in a different city too (I mean not like a know a good realtor here).  between my husband and I we only make about 60k a yr, no credit card bills and a car payment of $150 biweekly through SECU.

[StartingOver10]

FHA loans do not require a huge savings. You need enough for the down payment and closing costs and pre-paid expenses such as insurance.

If you are looking in the $100k to $120k range then a very rough estimate would be $8k to $10k, but it can be done for less. Having said that, there are down payment assistance type programs available if it is your first home purchase. Also you can negotiate a sellers contribution toward payment of your closing costs and pre-paid expenses up to 6% of the purchase price. Some sellers will pay a portion of your closing costs and others won't pay anything. It is something that needs to be negotiated up front, in the contract offer. Talk to your Realtor about it.

FHA also allows gifts from family members for your down payment if that option is available to you.

Therefore - lets assume you spend $120k. A 3.5% down payment (minimum required) is $4200 and if your contract calls for the seller to pay $5,000 in closing costs and pre-paid expenses then you should be fine to apply with $5k in savings. There are many ways to buy. Sit down with your agent and your LO and come up with a plan.