How realistic is it to purchase my own home

[Anonymous]

I am single, credit score in the low 700's . Never owned a home. 2years employmnet in Education and earn65k a year. I have no collections or judgements and all pymt history is good, but like lots of other people who put themselves through college, I have large amount of debt. 60k stu loan, 30k credit cards. My payments are made on time and slowly but surely its getting better., I moved in with the parents to save some money for a down payment and pay down debt. I am at about 4k saved, but am worried I may not get qualifed for a loan. I would like to know how much I should save up before I start looking for a home and how soon before I start looking should I try and get pre approved? Do pre approvals expire? I am looking a homes in CA in the low 200's. Is this realistic. Any info is greatly appreciated.

-thank you

Message Edited by swooshie on 02-01-2009 05:52 PM

Message Edited by swooshie on 02-01-2009 05:59 PM

[WannaHouse]

Try to enter more info. Check this post to see what is needed to give you a fair estimate.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=loans&thread.id=26264

[Anonymous]

Youre on the right path.  Delayed gratification is key in getting ahead in life, so moving back in with parents for a period of time to improve your financial position is a very good decision, even if it is inconvienient in other ways.  Throughout my twenties, I chose to put my "wants" on the back-burner, much as you have, and lived with my parents until I was 25 and bought my first home.  By my 30th birthday, I owned 4 properties (I lived in each for a period of time), so I can assure you that it will be worth it in the long run.  Keep saving and paying down debt, and it will just be a matter of time before your savings, credit score, income, and debt to income ratio qualifies you for a $200k+ mortgage. 

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Depending on where you are buying here in California, you'll either need 0% down (USDA), 3.5% down (FHA) or 5-10% down (conventional).

Pre-approvals expire when the credit report expires, for a resale home that is 120 days and for new construction that is 180 days.  At that point, if your loan hasn't closed yet, an additional credit check is needed.

You supplied pretty much all of the important information except for what the payments are on your $30k of credit cards and $60k in student loans - so what are they?  I have a feeling the payment on the $30k of credit cards isn't going to be low.