The deposit will be based off of your loan either FHA or Conventional.

[DallasLoanGuy]

remember to papertrail the emd

[StartingOver10]

OP, you can pay by check, cashiers check or wire. Any of those methods work for having a papertrail for the Ernest Money Deposit (EMD). 

A wire is very easy when your bank or CU is out of town.

[nate79416]

is $3500 reasonable?? The home is 205,250 but the lot we picked we get $5800 off then we are adding 4050 in upgrades, FHA loan 

[StartingOver10]

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@nate79416 wrote:

is $3500 reasonable?? The home is 205,250 but the lot we picked we get $5800 off then we are adding 4050 in upgrades, FHA loan 

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Very reasonable.

The EMD is negotiable between buyer and sellers but builders do set their minimum amounts that they will accept. In my neck of the woods a $5k deposit for a resale property in your price range is typical. Sometimes more, sometimes slightly less. Most of the new construction properties want more down IME.

[Revelate]

Just throwing it out there; FHA is a hassle compared to conventional from the reports of the vast majority of people and while I hate to say this, I suspect whenever I do turn over my current residence I'm not as likely to look as favorably on an FHA offer unless the strength of file is markedly better than someone else's conventional offer (all other things being equal).  EMD does play into that so I can see why the RE might be suggesting that from my perspective, whether that's the case with builders beats the hell out of me, longer cycle time there anyway as I understand it.

Admittedly I don't know enough about FHA loans, so whenever that day ever comes I'll probably look more into FHA and what's really required on the buyer's side and how that impacts me as a seller, but I'm not a fan of "slow" when it comes to these transactions.  

Not FHA, but LeavingTheCity's USDA process was something out of a Stephen King novel from my perspective .

[Anonymous]

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@Revelate wrote:

Just throwing it out there; FHA is a hassle compared to conventional from the reports of the vast majority of people and while I hate to say this, I suspect whenever I do turn over my current residence I'm not as likely to look as favorably on an FHA offer unless the strength of file is markedly better than someone else's conventional offer (all other things being equal).  EMD does play into that so I can see why the RE might be suggesting that from my perspective, whether that's the case with builders beats the hell out of me, longer cycle time there anyway as I understand it.

Admittedly I don't know enough about FHA loans, so whenever that day ever comes I'll probably look more into FHA and what's really required on the buyer's side and how that impacts me as a seller, but I'm not a fan of "slow" when it comes to these transactions.  

Not FHA, but LeavingTheCity's USDA process was something out of a Stephen King novel from my perspective .

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Are sellers allowed to ask to see buyers credit reports before accepting an offer?   

[Revelate]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Revelate wrote:

Just throwing it out there; FHA is a hassle compared to conventional from the reports of the vast majority of people and while I hate to say this, I suspect whenever I do turn over my current residence I'm not as likely to look as favorably on an FHA offer unless the strength of file is markedly better than someone else's conventional offer (all other things being equal).  EMD does play into that so I can see why the RE might be suggesting that from my perspective, whether that's the case with builders beats the hell out of me, longer cycle time there anyway as I understand it.

Admittedly I don't know enough about FHA loans, so whenever that day ever comes I'll probably look more into FHA and what's really required on the buyer's side and how that impacts me as a seller, but I'm not a fan of "slow" when it comes to these transactions.  

Not FHA, but LeavingTheCity's USDA process was something out of a Stephen King novel from my perspective .

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Are sellers allowed to ask to see buyers credit reports before accepting an offer?   

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I think it's reasonable to ask for the score disclosure the lender pulled, and FWIW that was part of the offer I made just simply throwing it in there; full on credit report I don't know... realistically, how many people really know how to read a credit report?

Sure I could get useful information out of it but I ain't nowhere close to normal in that, but it'd be such a non-standard request that I sort of think it'd be absurd.

ETA: we might get to that more in the future, with more and more consumer credit education, and the ability to find what the UW guidelines actually are, I could see at some point if credit files started getting socialized between buyer and seller but that'd be a long, long time in coming I'd think.

[StartingOver10]

Rev, most FHA files (that I work with) are easy and close in 30 days.

There are a disproportionate number of posters here that have difficulty with their own FHA file because they either go in unprepared (at all) or without enough preparation. There are many posters that we see in the 500s that want to buy now rather than taking the time and effort to properly situate their credit, debt and income. That is why it looks like FHA is difficult to close. A normal file closes on time and is effortless - document heavy, but not difficult. 

You and others like you came here to prepare your credit files and discovered you also needed to handle the debt etc. That is why you, and others like you, didn't have any issue at all with your file - whether it be conventional or FHA/VA, because you did the preparation in advance and were ready to finance.

*note, Leavingthecity was an exception I think, but I don't know enough about USDA to know for sure. It definitely was beyond anything I have ever seen.....

So my point is this:  don't assume an FHA buyer is risky. Most of the time they are not risky. You are correct that it depends on the buyer's entire profile (income, debt and credit) and the ability of the lender/LO. 

[DallasLoanGuy]

agree with starting over

a couple of extra steps in the process for us but fha isnt harder and close in 3 weeks a lot of the time

[Gmood1]

I've never heard of a USDA loan taking that long to close. Mine closed in under 45 days. I walked in signed papers and left with my ($1000) earnest money and keys in 15 mins. I know several others that did exactly the same thing.
Having a good LO and being prepared makes a huge difference! Best of all I got to keep my money 💵 in the bank.