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Hello and thanks for reading!
I'm planning on interviewing FHA lenders in Chicago over the next two weeks. I've included my financial info below and am hoping members can offer their good/bad experiences with IL FHA lenders, or give some reccomendations. Thanks very much in advance!
THE DETAILS:
AVERAGE CREDIT SCORE (FROM THE BIG 3):
700
I have a 10k student loan in good standing, a credit card with a long history of on time payments and a low utilization ratio. The negatives are old medical bills that went into collections, some old and some I'm still working out. They total less than 1K.
GROSS INCOME:
60K
SOURCE OF INCOME:
Professional job, solid full-time employment for 9 years
MONTHLY DEBTS:
$300 or 5%
This is very low because I only have my student loan and one credit card with a conservative limit; no car payment.
ASSETS/RESERVES:
40k including IRA
My downpayment will be around the 3.5% of the purchase price FHA loans require. Half is in savings and the other half is coming out of an IRA (taxed as income with no additional penalty).
LOCATION:
Chicago, IL
PROPERTY:
Condo in small complex in very good condition.
VALUE:
I hope to get an FHA mortgage between 175K and 225k. Some of the estimators indicate I could qualify for more, but I want to be conserative.
OCCUPANCY:
Primary residence
TRANSACTION TYPE:
Purchase
I would either:
A. Find a broker or
B. Contact Wells Fargo. A much as I dislike them, everyone else seems to go FHA through them. They probably have the best rates (3.25-3.5%)
I would suggest to explore a nearby credit union. The credit unions profits are distributed among its members so their closing costs are always much lower than- For Profit banks.
Many credit unions write off some elements of closing fees for first time home buyer. Their zero point down mortgage rates are always attractive compared Quicken loans which always charge higher than zero points which adds to closing costs.
Hello and Happy New Year!
I live in the Chicago area and have a very good mortgage guy whose information I would be happy to pass on to you, if you're interested. He got me through the FHA mortgage process and I had a rather tricky situation with previous tax liens and a current IRS payment plan. Very professional, personable and responsive. Email me if you'd like his information.
Kaycee
Look into NACA, check their website and go to a workshop. I did much better than I would have with FHA. Just be prepared to document everything over and over...
For me the deciding factor was the level of responsiveness from the LO. I sent you a PM with his contact information. He was extremely responsive, always got back to me and I was professional at all times. I found the house I wanted to buy on a Sunday morning, I texted him, he called back with 30 to 45 minutes and I had the pre-approval letter specific to the property I wanted to buy that afternoon.
Good luck!
Hi KAycee,
Can you send me that person's contact info as well?
Thanks!
I used Wells Fargo with my FHA last year and was completely satisfied with them. They have also kept my loan and haven't sold which is a huge plus to me.
I am using Wells Fargo now and it has not been a pleasant experience. They are high volume which means your file just sits in UW for long periods of time without being worked on. If you get approved quickly, it may never be an issue though. Just depends. I have seen alot of mixed reviews on them. I can not close on time because they have been taking forever. And alot of issues came up at last minute. They shouldn't have happened.