Ok, she wants to buy now.

[Anonymous]

DW wants to buy our "forever" home soon, as we have our second on the way and our house will be a bit tight. I had wanted to wait until November '18 due to VA eligibility, but she wants to buy now so we have to go another route.

We currently own a duplex, which was informally appraised by a realtor friend at 130-135k, we owe 81k on the mortgage. We have a 15 yr  but were looking to refi this into a 30 year anyway. That equity is basically our main source of a potential down payment. We have maybe 5k cash now (we could build more but probably not season it in time, and could also get a loan from parents) and could take 401k loans, but don't want to be stuck with paying them off if we change companies, which we expect to do in anywhere from 1-5 years. How difficult is it to refi our current mortgage, while subsequently taking cash out for a down payment. Should we do this simultaneously and with the same lender? Would we have stricter LTV requirements since the duplex would no longer be our primary.

We are looking at homes in the 250k range

Income: 105k+ not including rent income.

Fico's: My mid score is 775 (Fico 8, hopefully my mortgage scores are relatively close) Her's are 680ish.

Debt: Auto's $600, Student $400 Mortgage $850* Credit Cards ~$500 (~18k)

*That payment includes taxes, and is a 15yr which we intend to refi to a 30 for lower payments.

Any suggestions on how we should proceed? We are a little off-guard carrying CC debt on 0% offers, we had it organized to be paid off next year when we would have begun this process, but she is antsy and wants to go now before she is seriously pregnant and we have another kid running around. Can we make it happen? My main mortgage objective would be to spend the least in interest and fee's prior to a VA refi next year.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what state your in, but I'm closing tomorrow with a 675 mid score and total cash to bring is 5400. My house is $166,000, fha which is 3.5%. We asked for and got $3,000 towards closing and prepays and our down payment is $5800, but with the help from borrowers and great closing costs, we only have to have $5400. We also paid for the inspection. So..without knowing your particulars, it seems doable to me. I was approved with my income only. It is 62,000, and was approved for 200k.

I have a love love hate relationship with Indiana but it sure is cheap to live here. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks.
Yeah my research is pointing to FHA, which is great i'm just frustrated that I can't qualify for VA yet (really wish I didn't get cut from a deployment last year lol) which would save me over a years worth of PMI and other costs.
I'm thinking i'll bite the bullet.

[StartingOver10]

Good luck! 

Did you check with a lender that does a lot of VA loans?  Not all are good at originating them....

[Anonymous]

No can't do VA until November '18.

So i'm thinking about going with the Navy Federal HomeBuyers Choice 100% financing offer. It looks like the APR without points or origination fee will be 5%, which is crazy high in today's world, but with it not including PMI or anything else, this seems like the best route to go considering I will be refinancing in barely a year.

Anyone have any experience with this loan product? Do any other lenders offer the same product but do it better?

[Anonymous]

Ok so I decided to see where we are at and get the ball rolling NFCU. Just submitted the app. First impressions......I wish I went with someone else. Their entire digital presence feels like it's from the stone ages, rather frustrating. Hopefully things start to go smoother from here.
I'll update this thread with our progress.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever filled out a Navy mortgage app and get an outright denial? Or do they wait until after they get your documents to make a decision?
We may be up against the DTI limits, depending on how they qualify income, but I put in the conservative amount, and they did not deny it.

[Anonymous]

GL we are in a similar situation don't think you will get down right denied. 

[StartingOver10]

They put you through the entire process before issuing a denial - if that is the decision. 

[me12345]

You have some Pros & Cons for either way you go....

The down side of the FHA is the 1.75% Upfront Mortgage Insurance premium (UFMIP) that's about $4,500.00 that you will not get back when you refinance in a year.

The plus side is the low down payment at 3.5% and the lower FHA rate over a Conventional loan...(but that is diminished by the VA refinance also)

The whole process needs to looked at with the 12 month VA refinance in mind....

I would ask your lender about a "Lender Credit" to cover closing cost, this comes with a higher rate, but it can save you Thousands of dollars for just 12 months of slightly higher payments.

ALSO, the refinance needs to be done first, you must have the cash available for the down payment and closing costs.

Thanks,