topic First time home buyer - not sure where to start in Mortgage Loans

First time home buyer - not sure where to start

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 16:35:55 GMT

Hi Everyone! New user here and completely new to credit in general. Over the past month or two I have gotten approved for a credit card and am starting to build upon my thin file. In addition to getting into some decent rewards cards, it has come time for me to buy a house. I had started looking a few years ago before the market went crazy and my idea at the time was to buy something for cash that was either a tear down or something that was so problamatic ($ wise or structurally) to the point where a mortgage wouldnt be given to competitive buyers. This was in line with how I had operated up until the recent past - buying everything in cash.

Currently, I have no debt - no student loans, no credit card debt etc. The exception being a small amount left on a car loan as it was suggested I don't pay this off to keep my utilization up. I am sure lenders look into other factors for this, assets, income etc. which, unlike my thin credit file, I can show stellar figures. I want to wait until the market turns around before I buy and its already starting to cool off a bit IMO which makes me think that I could potentially get a deal on some of the more overpriced homes I am looking at that have sat on the market for the past 60-90 days with no buyer. I plan on putting $500k down and then borrowing anywhere from $400k-$900k depending on what I am allowed + what property I am looking at, which brings me to my concern...

Things seem to move pretty quick and I imagine if I am able to negotiate a lower price on a home, others will come out of the woodwork to try to surplant my efforts. I would like to have preapproval done in advance, but if I am going to get better rates and greater borrowing depth in the future as I build my credit file, I am wondering if I am jumping into this too fast and if I should just wait... If anyone has any experience with building credit on a thin file and applying for mortgages in the current market, please let me know! Any tips, advice, etc are greatly appreciated! I have got a few books I am reading + will continue to make use of this forum - although I may be getting ahead of myself! Thanks in advance!

Re: First time home buyer - not sure where to start

RSX — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 17:29:42 GMT

good start on the credit path

have you pulled your FICO scores? if so, what are they?

if not, you may want to do that and post them, so we can advise correctly if you need to make any other moves

Re: First time home buyer - not sure where to start

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 19:13:07 GMT

scores range in 750-760

Re: First time home buyer - not sure where to start

4sallypat — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 19:40:20 GMT

Are they Mortgage scores and not bank scores ?

You should definitely look for a mortgage broker who can provide you with a full pre-approved desktop UW package that can be presented when making offers.

In this crazy market, expect to have a bidding war.

We have been looking actively for over 4 months and out of 20 offers we put in, 2 countered.

During that time, I had to have my pre-approval package updated (HP, income, bank statements, etc)...

Still battling the crazy inflated pricing!!

Re: First time home buyer - not sure where to start

CreditFun — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 22:14:11 GMT

You should contact a local mortgage broker to get great pricing and a multitude of options, that will allow you to set up game plane to make it happen.