topic Re: Do I Qualify?? in Mortgage Loans

Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:10:52 GMT

Here is my current situation: I have been living with my boyfriend for 11 years. We have a son that will be turning 6 this year and I would REALLY like to purchase a home soon. The only thing that I am concerned about is the fact that I will be applying for the loan by myself. He has about 10 charge-offs and a judgment. It would take us years to pay everything off, so having him as a co-borrower is out of the question. He is considering bankruptcy, and I know that you are not allowed to apply for two years following the discharge. So my question to you guys is….. do you think I qualify on my own? Here is my monthly debt:

Take home pay: $2094.00/month (a little less than 40k/year)

Credit card payments: $192.00

Student Loan payments: $51.00

Car Loan payments: two cars under my name @ $175.00 and $263.00, which equals $438.00

His take home pay is $2000.00/month. He obviously has no monthly payments because of his credit issues. He pays the light bill, the rent ($850.00), and gives me the rest so that I can manage the rest of the bills (cell phones, cable, internet, etc.)

From what I understand, only the things that show up on your credit report are counted towards DTI? Will I have to provide cell phone, car insurance payment information? Also, do they count AMEX in your DTI? If so, how do they calculate AMEX? I have NPSL and my monthly payments vary, but it is paid in full every month.

Also, are they going to ask me to show proof of rent? Because all the rent checks are under his name.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Do I Qualify??

tooleman694 — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:17:44 GMT

Your DTI will be thru the roof, what are your credit scores. What kind of down payment.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:28:11 GMT

First thing would be to knock off all credit card payments to about max of 25-35 dollars a month.

When applying do not use Amex charge card at all.

You may have to show proof of rent.

By yourself will not get you very much house in your present situation.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:29:10 GMT

My Equifax (MyFico) is at 621, TU (Walmart FICO) is 669 and my Experian (FAKO thru Creditkeeper) is at a 659.

I have no downpayment as of today, but I plan on starting to save. I was thinking of going the NACA route, but I feel that the fact that none of my rent payments have been made under my name will bite me in the butt. I was also thinking maybe FHA? I could use some of the first time homebuyer down payment assistment programs offered here in Florida.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:34:22 GMT

NACA is an option. Are you on the lease? Can you be put on the lease? If no lease will landlord start sending receipts in your name?

Problem I see is your debt is way to high by yourself.

Going the NACA route will give you time to address paying down some of the debt and building up your credit.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:50:12 GMT

Yes, I am. Since I live in a condo with a HOA, they required everyone living in the apartment to be on the lease. My landlord is a family member - we pay him by check and he never gives us a receipt, unfortunately.

Would you advise paying down just the credit cards? Or the credit cards and the auto loans?

Re: Do I Qualify??

awdsmama — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:53:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Yes, I am. Since I live in a condo with a HOA, they required everyone living in the apartment to be on the lease. My landlord is a family member - we pay him by check and he never gives us a receipt, unfortunately.

Would you advise paying down just the credit cards? Or the credit cards and the auto loans?

You can buy a receipt book at any Wal Mart or office supply store. ;-) Check your online banking for the dates you wrote the checks and ask landlord to make receipts.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:54:58 GMT

I would start with CC's as that will give you your biggest boost in scores.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:59:27 GMT

Thanks so much for the advice....! You guys are great.

Re: Do I Qualify??

jadeite788 — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:11:47 GMT

i dont know I calculated her DTI at about 32% if that is all she has on her credit report reporting monthly. It depends what is exactly on her credit report.

Re: Do I Qualify??

jadeite788 — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:17:31 GMT

I would go ahead and use the homebuyers class. I know in Texas the first time homebuyers certificate lasts for one year. Each state has plenty of downpayment assistance programs so the down payment is not an issue, its going to be closing costs and how much you have in your reserve. I do agree with JM get that credit card down, not sure what the balance is on your card but get it down to less than 9% utilization, that should boost your score a little bit. Also check what area or city you are in sometimes certain areas have their own downpayment assistance programs. Your circumstance sounds similar to mine. My husband pays the rent $800 and electric, and I take care of the rest of the bills. You might be able to use your spouse as an FHA gift, but he can't touch his account.

Re: Do I Qualify??

playboy — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:54:11 GMT

OP, the bond program for the down payment assistance is offered by the state of Florida. This is the calculator used to determine your eligibility: Florida Housing Corp. You need to know your scores before you complete a mortgage loan app. I would get my TU & EQ scores from myfico. You can't buy Experian scores. Most banks are requiring a middle score of 640 or better. FHA debt to income ratio is 29% front end and 41% on the back-end. However, you should be aware that there are changes coming to the program sometime this year.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:02:21 GMT

+1 on what playboy said. Excellent comment. How much are you looking to buy? You haven't disclosed that to us yet.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:04:57 GMT

Hi guys! So sorry for the delay in answering – I have been having some login issues!

@jadeite788 - I have many credit accounts open at the moment. I have recently paid in full 5 of them, so I am working on paying the others. My utilization right now is not in the best of shape, with one of my accounts at like a 98%. But going back to what JM-AM said, I will be working hard on paying everything off. Also, I have not been late on any payments since 2004. Those lates are on two student loan accounts - I have tried to get them removed, but they are not budging!

I am not married…. Can I still use him as an FHA gift? And does the gift have to be a lump sum?

@playboy - Thanks for the link! I checked and I do qualify…. My TU score I get from having a Walmart card. That is 669 at the moment. My EQ I get here at myFico, which is currently at 621. And like you said, I have no idea what my Experian really is – I get a FAKO from Creditkeeper.com.

@MovingForward_2012 - I have been able to find some pretty decent homes for around 150K. But again, it would just be me on the loan and I am not sure that I could get 150K….. I am confident that we can afford it if I could apply with both of our incomes, but I am doubting that I would qualify just on my own.

Re: Do I Qualify??

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:45:27 GMT

You might get close if you get the credit card debt down. You might want to start looking for homes with the features you want for $130-$140K. If you pay your cards down, increase you score, send in your current and proposed budget for the new home so that they can review it, they might approve with a higher DTI than typical.

Re: Do I Qualify??

sharpie — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:09:17 GMT

You could get the father / boyfriend to start legally paying child support. That would boost your income. You are already using his money, you just need it to count.

Re: Do I Qualify??

webhopper — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:40:05 GMT

How much is left on the car? Either car close to being paid off?