Trying to buy a house.........Advice?

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

My wife and I are trying to purchase a REO in the atlanta area. We both filled bankruptcy in 2007 and both are discharged as of october of 2007. Since we have not missed a payment on a car and 6 credit cards. my beacon is 570 and hers is 564.

I have been on my job for 3 years and in the same field for 12 ( computers)

she just started a new property managment position after having our second child. she has been in the field a total of 3 years.

my salary is 48,700 and hers is 28,000.

we put out  1657.87 a month that includes rent of 880.00 and utils. of 220.00

I currently owe state taxes with no payment setup yet ( they actually have a lean showing on my credit report)

and I have a payment arrangment with federal taxes of 100 a month.

she owes student loans with no payment arrangment yet.

we were waiting to setup arrangments for my state taxes and her school loans until she found a job so we can do that now.

questions:

What is the minimum beacon to be approved?

What will the rate be?

how much do you think we will be approved for?

How soon?

should we get a car in her name?

if we do will that hurt our chances for an approval on the mortgage?

thanks for any help in advance!!! Love the forums! I log in everyday to look for tips and advice and this site is the best!!

[Anonymous]

I would highly suggest you get your debts and liens taken care of first.  Attempting to go into a home mortgage with unsettled liabilities of this sort can kill your deal.

Also, you should work on getting your mid FICO score ot 620. 

If your wife is looking for work, you might want to wait till she is working so that you have established additional income.  However they will want 2 years history to really count it.

If your wife has obtained work, 3 years in the field isn't going to be the factor, it will be time on that job, which really starts helping at 2 years.

Rates are low right now, but you have to be able to qualify first which means, take care of the liens and pay down your debts.  Establish your down payment (FHA miniumum is 3.5%) plus a couple months cushion.  Work on cleaning up your credit to get scores up to the mid 600's.

[Anonymous]

"If your wife is looking for work, you might want to wait till she is working so that you have established additional income.  However they will want 2 years history to really count it."

does this mean they will not consider her income for the approval as a repayment option?

also when you say take care of the liens do you mean set up payment arrangements or pay the amounts in full.

we have 4% down on a 200,000 house maybe 220,000 

our savings is at 8,200   so the down payment should not be a factor. working on the credit everyday for the 620s

trying to be in a new home in december. not possible?

by then she will be on the job for 6 months. they still wont consider her income?

I dont think with my salary alone I can qualify for a 200 + mortgage

[Anonymous]

With a recent BK, and current delinquencies, the chance of a loan is probably very small.  ONe thing that is essential to get a loan post BK is sparkling clean credit post BK.  I am assuming the lien was placed after the BK (I could be wrong on that).  Also, if the student loans are suppossed to be in repayment they will be reporting late to the credit bureau.  I may be worng and more than likely someone will chime in if I am, but it looks like a no-go.

What are current FICO scores?

Any new acconts with solid history since BK?

How long was she off work for the child and is she back in the same field?

[Anonymous]

me 570

her 564

the lien on me did come after the BK

student loans currently not reporting late since there is no payment arrangment made?

6 new accounts all cc's

me 4 paid as agreed

her 2 paid as agreed

1 new car loan paid as agreed

[Anonymous]

sorry

also she was out of work for a 10 months and returned to the same field different company

[Anonymous]

Are the student loans in some type of defferment or something?  At least with my student loans, they did not wait for me to make payment arrangements.  Payment was due 6 months past graduation or 6 months after not being enrolled in school full time.

Also, scores will definitley have to be up above 620.  If you already have some credit cards and are keeping them paid down, it will be a tough one to get the 50 points you each need very quickly.  If the cards are charged up (but paid on time) pay them down to less than 10% and you will see a jump in FICO.

Most likely, I think the lien will still kill the deal.  If you can pay it off right now and get it removed you may be OK, and make sure you get arrangements on the student loans.  Also, I believe the federal tax arrears will have to have been in arrangement sfor 12 months. 

If you make payment arrangements on the State tax stuff, you will most likely have to wait until they have been in place (and on time) for 12 months.

[Anonymous]

not sure about the student loans. we set up payment arrangments a long time ago and made the payments on time then our business failed and we filled bankruptcy. they have yet to come after us and we havent called them hoping it would hold until she had a job which she does now. I have to wait 12 months even if I set up payment arrangments with all debts? I can use some of the down payment money for the state tax but the student loans can not be paid that easy.

is there any other way?

[Anonymous]

Generally, they will require all large debts (especially gov't ones, liens, or judgements) to be either paid off or having been in repayment for at least 12 months.

Also, there is still the issue of delinquencies post BK.  That is usually a deal killer with a BK only 2 years ago.  Hopefully someone else with more specific knowledge of this will chime in as I ma not sure how tax liens would count on this.

Also, as far as using the down payment, keep one thing in mind.   No matter what you get done credit wise, with a recent BK this will be a marginal file.  I would make sure that I had 3-6 months of reserves.  You may find a lender willing to overlook the lien (if paid) and the strudent loans (if they show delinquent but are in repayment), but they will most likley only do so if there are substantial reserves available.  Again, hopefully Dallas, Shane or someone more knowledgeable will chime in.