what are my chances for FHA? where should i start?

[crackers8199]

alright, i'm glad i asked then before doing it!

one other question - a few of the homes i've looked at are going to need appliances (fridge/stove/washer/dryer)...is there a way to finance them along with the purchase of the home or do i need to finance them separately or use my reserves for them?  this is all so new to me as a first-time home buyer (i'm 27) - it's exciting, but confusing and a bit scary at the same time... 

[Anonymous]

I haven't bought a house yet (but will soon)

You can include the appliances in your offer.....an example would be $150K purchase price + 3% towards closing + $2K for appliance concessions (the most common concession is $$ for flooring).

[Anonymous]

Just to add to the converstion crackers I just got an automatic approval for an FHA and a month 1/2 ago they would talk to me with the scores I had. They were around your same figures. My loan officer ask me to open a unsecured credit with my local credit union. I did and the limit was $500 and I have paid it down to $268 and removed 2 lates. That made my fico jump between 40-90pts.

Hope that helps some. It going to be deals on the market for awhile I believe. Just be patient. I had to be. I missed a 2200sq ft house for 147,000 while waiting for my scores to jump, and now a bigger one is on the market for 152,000 that I will be putting a contract on this weekend.

Be blessed!

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

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@crackers8199 wrote:

alright, i'm glad i asked then before doing it!

one other question - a few of the homes i've looked at are going to need appliances (fridge/stove/washer/dryer)...is there a way to finance them along with the purchase of the home or do i need to finance them separately or use my reserves for them?  this is all so new to me as a first-time home buyer (i'm 27) - it's exciting, but confusing and a bit scary at the same time... 

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FHA has a 203k loan where you can finance a stove since it's usually a common part to a home, but not appliances like the washer, dryer, fridge, etc.  You can ask for the sellers to leave theirs when you write your offer though.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I haven't bought a house yet (but will soon)

You can include the appliances in your offer.....an example would be $150K purchase price + 3% towards closing + $2K for appliance concessions (the most common concession is $$ for flooring).

---

Appliances are different than flooring.  Appliances are not affixed to the property, whereas flooring, drywall, etc. is.

[crackers8199]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just to add to the converstion crackers I just got an automatic approval for an FHA and a month 1/2 ago they would talk to me with the scores I had. They were around your same figures. My loan officer ask me to open a unsecured credit with my local credit union. I did and the limit was $500 and I have paid it down to $268 and removed 2 lates. That made my fico jump between 40-90pts.

Hope that helps some. It going to be deals on the market for awhile I believe. Just be patient. I had to be. I missed a 2200sq ft house for 147,000 while waiting for my scores to jump, and now a bigger one is on the market for 152,000 that I will be putting a contract on this weekend.

Be blessed!

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they would or wouldn't talk to you with scores around mine?  don't forget, i'm looking for a significantly less expensive home than the ones you posted.  i'm just looking for a starter house - i'm single and 27, no need for a $100k+ home...plus, home prices around here are ridiculously cheap to begin with.  they were cheap even before the housing market collapsed and the economy went in the toilet...

as for my scores, i've already worked wonders since i found this forum, gotten my scores up from around 500 mid-score in august to where they are now in just over 4 months...obviously still have a bit further to go, though. 

i am definitely hoping to wait until january, as i want to wait until i get my salary increase before taking on a mortgage payment (plus i want to wait til the new tax year before taking money out of my 401k for the down payment, since i'll have to pay income taxes on it) - but i don't want to wait much longer than that.  i'd like to be in a new place by march/april at the latest...my only concern now is the home i was looking at that i really liked, i'm afraid will be gone sooner rather than later (if the owner is really just looking to get rid of it).  it's a family home that's already paid off and like i said, the owner moved to california...so whatever they sell it for is pretty much pure profit.

Message Edited by crackers8199 on 12-02-2008 08:02 AM