Quote :

"why do they have USDA loans with 100%?"

Quote :

"cause idiots will take them"

These loans are not a bad idea if you have a decent savings. But handing out these loans to people who have $500 to the name and can't pay their mortgage until their next paycheck is a really bad idea no matter how steady their income may be.

The 100% loans are not for 20something college grads entering the market with no savings. They are for people who have the down payment saved up, but don't want to use it for the purchase. It is essentially being used as collateral to roll the down payment into the mortgage.

9/17/2010 9:01:51 AM

Because no one reads the 49th post:

I went through hell with my FHA loan this summer as well.

I was buying a $230,000 house and had around $25,000 in the bank with a great credit score, but I had to get a co-signor because I hadn't been at my current job for at least two years.

My mom co-signed. She was a teacher for 33 years and is getting decent retirement. She's also been a personal trainer for the last 7 years but only recently formed an LLC when she retired from teaching. So I originally got approved for the 230K. We didn't make the original contract date, so I had to reapply. We get down to three days before closing, and at the LAST POSSIBLE STEP, they turn down the loan because my mom hasn't been an LLC for at least two years. WHY THE FUCK COULDN'T THEY HAVE TOLD US THAT AT THE BEGINNING.

During all this mess, the sellers are getting impatient as hell and put the house back on the market. I was originally going to move in a month before my current lease was up, but that was looking to be in jeopardy. Luckily my step-dad comes in co-signs (he's been a physical therapist for 20+ years) without me even asking. Although I think he's awesome, him and my mom have only been married for 5 years, so I didn't want to ask him in the first place (I had hard enough time asking my mom to co-sign, but it was the only way I was going to get the house).

Sellers became nice again and let me move in before the actual closing date so I wouldn't be without a house for a week.

But I signed a contract for the house on April 29th. I didn't close until August 4th. The FHA loan process is FUCKING RIDICULOUS. So after being pre-approved for 230K before we even went into the contract, it still took me over 3 months to get the final mortgage approved. I had to give them bank statements and pay stubs every week so that they would know I hadn't been fired or gone on a spending spree.

If I hadn't been absolutely in love with my house, I would have bailed out a month in.

9/17/2010 9:07:44 AM

Quote :

"WHY THE FUCK COULDN'T THEY HAVE TOLD US THAT AT THE BEGINNING."

This is my biggest gripe with mortgage lenders.

9/17/2010 9:17:42 AM

^I tried to get someone to explain it to me. They had my mom's tax returns for the previous year (when she had an LLC)...then the last week they were like "we need her tax returns for the previous two years."

I honestly believe that they are looking for a reason not to approve the loan. They got her tax returns from two years ago and were like, "WELL LOOK AT HIS, SHE'S ONLY HAD THIS LLC FOR 1.5 YEARS...WHICH DOES NOT FALL UNDER OUR MANDATORY 2 YEAR REQUIREMENT...SORRY." I was on FIRE.

I also think that this FHA stuff is still kinda new for a lot of mortgage companies and they don't have it down yet. But that could just be me making excuses.

9/17/2010 9:30:31 AM

If the $800 in inspections and stuff is really that big of a deal, it's not time for you to buy a house yet. Why? What happens when the water line breaks on your side of the meter and it's going to cost $2k to repair? Houses are really expensive. Ditch the wedding, get rid of the car payment, make all of those adjustments now before some house emergency forces you to do it.

9/17/2010 9:41:39 AM

Have you checked to see if you can get a personal loan for the down payment? Take out a $8k or whatever personal loan, use it as a down payment, GET RID OF ONE OR MORE CAR PAYMENTS, pay off the personal loan in one year or less, and actually have some equity in the house.

Quote :

"If your appraiser did not appraise it for what you are paying then the next one might not either. I would go back to the seller and ask them to reduce the price."

Worth a try for sure. Maybe they would meet you in the middle and you could do the personal loan for half. I'm sure they want to get it sold and maybe you didn't negotiate as hard as they thought you would.

Even if you can't make it work this time you could probably get the down payment together in 1 year if you resolved to do so. You already said your fiance gets a raise on Monday, so put that money towards savings, get rid of a car payment, and find a way to cut another couple hundred bucks a month in expenses. If the first year teacher who just moved out of my house could drive a $1400 Civic so can you.

Quote :

"For real. Only rich people with lots of money for a downpayment should own a home. The American Dream is only for those with the silver spoon."

This pathetic attitude will hurt you more in life than you could ever imagine. Buying a house is well within the realm of possibility, yet you're ready to give up at the first stumbling block. Furthermore, you made the decision to teach knowing exactly what comes with it. If you don't like it then chase a better paying dream. It really is that simple. Don't bitch to us about it though.

[Edited on September 17, 2010 at 9:49 AM. Reason : l]

9/17/2010 9:44:47 AM

^Have you tried to get a loan to buy a house recently?? Honest question.

9/17/2010 9:49:12 AM

No.

I bought my house in 2006 and refinanced in 2008 or 2009. I put down 5% when I purchased it, had over 20% cash in the bank, and had five years of work experience with no gaps in employment under my belt at the time.

I spent months looking for a house that was both what I wanted and also a great deal. My appraisal came in about $11k above what I was paying although I really think it should have been higher.

I spent five years living in shared rental house situations that didn't cost much more than the places I lived in during college to be able to afford the house that I eventually bought. I did not own any nice furniture. About the only nice thing I owned at the time was a $15,000 Jeep Wrangler which was fully paid for. All things being the same, I don't think I would have any more trouble buying a house in 2010 than I did in 2006.

Fuck the high horse I'm on though...I'm just saying that if the down payment is the only problem she can make that happen in the next year and move on with her life if she puts her mind to it.

9/17/2010 10:02:37 AM

i dont know why anyone would buy right now in this economy

if you are so broke why even try and buy a house. the financial responsibility is huge and if you couldnt afford to put any down or saving up would take years it sounds like you are just not ready.

sorry, honest opinion / no didnt read the thead tl;dr

9/17/2010 10:18:41 AM

^ because sellers are practically giving them away?

9/17/2010 10:20:03 AM

The whole situation really sucks. Get your $800 back.

That being said, if you don't have enough savings to even put 5% down, and if you're sweating the $800, you probably shouldn't be buying a house right now. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that--but you probably want to be in a more stable position before you buy a house. Like people have said, when shit breaks, you have to fix it. Water heaters, air conditioning, appliances, all that stuff is expensive. Having a low mortgage can balance that stuff out, but it can still pile up. Maybe rent a year, save up from that sweet raise your fiancee is getting, and do this good and proper next summer. Either way, good luck.

9/17/2010 10:27:48 AM

^ truth, i had to put ~10k into fixing my house my first year, I think but then again it was a forclosure (but in livable condition). Houses eat your $$$.

9/17/2010 10:44:43 AM

Quote :

"because sellers are practically giving them away? "

not true in this area

we have relatively kept value and houses here are no where near as cheap as in other areas of the country (unless you buy in the hood)

unless you are planning to live in that house for 30 years i wouldnt buy now

9/17/2010 10:48:02 AM

Quote :

"i dont know why anyone would buy right now in this economy"

Quote :

"unless you are planning to live in that house for 30 years i wouldnt buy now"

I'm assuming you're just basing that on the instability some people have in their job with the economy and all right now? Even in this area of the country which has been hit much less than others, house prices are still down and interest rates are ridiculously low.

If you have the savings and are feeling pretty financially sound, right now is an outstanding time to buy a house as long as you feel like you're going to be around somewhere for awhile. And that "for awhile" certainly doesn't have to be 30 years.

9/17/2010 11:11:30 AM

If you have the $$, there are some good deals to be had right now.

9/17/2010 11:13:12 AM

9/17/2010 11:13:16 AM

Quote :

""For real. Only rich people with lots of money for a downpayment should own a home. The American Dream is only for those with the silver spoon.""

This was sarcasm.

Quote :

"If you're sweating $800 you shouldn't be buying a house"

When you don't have anything to show for it, it matters. If it doesn't matter to you, then can I have $800 to go towards a downpayment?

I mean, we decided to buy a house. The jury is still out on whether that was a good decision or a poor one. However, my point was to express frustration with the shady shit they did to us, not to be judged for a decision that was already made.

And the housing crisis was in part caused by people buying beyond their means with flexible mortages and then not being able to afford their bills.

I do agree that if an emergency happened, we would be low on income. That's fair. However, from our stance, with interest rates so low and considering that to get this loan, we needed to be in a certain income bracket and since my fiance was up for a raise at the end of September, we figured it was time to jump...As expected, my fiance just got a 30% raise and we are knocked out of the bracket for these loans now.

Quote :

"The whole situation really sucks. Get your $800 back."

Thanks. I wish we could...I don't think we can.

Quote :

"I'm assuming you're just basing that on the instability some people have in their job with the economy and all right now? Even in this area of the country which has been hit much less than others, house prices are still down and interest rates are ridiculously low. If you have the savings and are feeling pretty financially sound, right now is an outstanding time to buy a house as long as you feel like you're going to be around somewhere for awhile. And that "for awhile" certainly doesn't have to be 30 years."

That's where we were 2 months ago when we started this process. We normally have a lot of savings and we could get together the 5% but that's not the real point. The point is they fucked us...plain and simple. We got baited and switched. The end. Also, both our jobs are secure.



[Edited on September 17, 2010 at 12:04 PM. Reason : -]

9/17/2010 11:58:25 AM

Quote :

"I mean, we decided to buy a house. The jury is still out on whether that was a good decision or a poor one. However, my point was to express frustration with the shady shit they did to us, not to be judged for a decision that was already made."

What I kept hearing from everyone while I was going through the whole clusterfuck process was that EVERYONE was having problems. Every time I sat down with my mortgage guy he was like, "you think your situation was bad, listen to this", and he would tell me some horror story about someone else. And the sellers were getting all pussy, but then their real estate agent was like, "Look...none of my houses are going through."

And in regards to your situation, I was told once they got back the "comps" from the houses around the neighborhood, then I'd be gold. And I was lucky in that the comps around my house were EXCELLENT. They said that's what's been holding everyone up. To me, if the comps are so important, then that's one of the first things they should in the loan process. Kind of like, say, I don't know, CHECKING TO SEE IF MY COSIGNER WAS EMPLOYED IN THE SAME JOB FOR TWO YEARS BEFORE WE GET TO THE LAST THREE DAYS OF THE CONTRACT EXTENSION.

Its just crazy that this really is a buyer's market, but the banks aren't allowing anyone to buy. The rates are low and the prices are low, but the banks aren't giving anyone money.

The banks have just gone to extremes. At first, they gave everyone and their grandma money...now they won't give you money unless you promise to name your first born child "BankofAmerica." Fucking ridiculous.

9/17/2010 12:05:07 PM

I hope you get your loan today printpaw

9/17/2010 12:18:20 PM

Who told you there are income caps on FHA loans? There are limits to how much you can borrow that vary by county but there is NO max income limit. You may be thinking of USDA loans

9/17/2010 12:44:19 PM

Should have gotten everything in writing. If you stay on top of things there won't be any big surprises. Both my first mortage and refinance went through just fine.

9/17/2010 1:27:09 PM

Quote :

"Should have gotten everything in writing. If you stay on top of things there won't be any big surprises. Both my first mortage and refinance went through just fine."

What exactly should she have gotten in writing?? A guarantee that her loan would be approved?? An agreement that they would find her a place to live just in case the loan didn't go through and her current lease was up?? Right...

9/17/2010 1:38:37 PM

I don't think I have the patience to go through buying a house.

9/17/2010 1:47:12 PM

You are not entitled to a house. You don't 'deserve' one.

Also, I'm going to quote my grandfather who was a real estate developer for 40 years: Deals are for people with money.

9/17/2010 1:55:27 PM

How much do you spend on your wedding?

9/17/2010 2:03:49 PM

Quote :

"What exactly should she have gotten in writing?"

Loan terms i.e. rate lock, down payment, etc.

You're making a six figure purchase here, not buying fast food. You kids need to take some responsibility.

9/17/2010 2:04:44 PM

Quote :

"Loan terms i.e. rate lock, down payment, etc."

I don't think you understand what her problem is. But what you just listed are all basics.

9/17/2010 2:17:13 PM

9/17/2010 2:19:11 PM

^^

Quote :

"The underwriters want us to put 5% down"

Did they or did they not agree to do 100% financing?

9/17/2010 2:47:07 PM

Disclaimer: I didn't read the whole thread but it looks like you tried to get 100% financing to purchase a house for more than the value it appraised for.

Why didn't you wait to get the loan underwritten before dumping money into inspections and what not? The only thing you need should be the appraisal and the title search. If either of those reveal any problems you don't want the house anyway and the money you spent is worth it to save you from any problems down the road.

If it appraised for less than the offer price, underwriters will not approve the loan unless you pay the difference up front or they'd lose their jobs. In fact it'd be pretty hard to obtain 100% financing unless the house appraises for significantly more than the sale price.

Imagine if the sale went through and you never made a single payment (I'm not saying you would, but that is what the underwriter is considering.). If the purchase price were $200000 but the house appraised for $190000, then the bank would be out at least $10000+the money paid to the realtors to resell it+the cost of forclosure. I paid $160k for a house that appraised for $200k and I couldn't get 100% financing either. Not even with a 760 credit score and no other outstanding debts.

100% financing only works in very limited circumstances and because of the risk, there's not really any reasonable chance of you getting it. If the bank told you otherwise, then the loan officer you talked to was lying to you and that sucks. You can complain to the bank but they may or may not be willing to help you. Nothing they could do would really convince you to take a loan from them in the future, so they don't have much incentive to absorb the sunk costs for you.

I wouldn't put any blame at all on the realtor or the seller because they both make a lot of money out of the sale so they want it to succeed as much as you. If you have not paid escrow for the sale, then you are not committed to anything.

I would walk away and take this as an $800 lesson in life. If you have paid escrow, you can still walk away but you may lose that money too. Usually when you hand over the escrow and agree to purchase the house, there are conditions that say it's contingent upon being able to finance the purchase, satisfactory inspections, etc. Since you couldn't obtain financing, getting the escrow back shouldn't be a problem.

9/17/2010 2:52:23 PM

Quote :

" And the sellers were getting all pussy,"

sellers always get all the pussy.

9/17/2010 2:53:40 PM

Quote :

"Did they or did they not agree to do 100% financing?"

It would have been 100% financing if everything went well inspection/appraisal/etc. But the comps weren't good, so the loan wasn't going to go through.

If they had said, "only 100% financing" then the loan wouldn't have gone through and they wouldn't have even tried to negotiate by offering the 5%.

I don't think you guys know how fluid this stuff is when buying a home.

9/17/2010 3:21:34 PM

Like I said. I've done it twice so far and things went smoothly, you just have to stay on top of everything. Don't get approved and just think you can sit back and do nothing until your closing date. Also

Quote :

"Why didn't you wait to get the loan underwritten before dumping money into inspections and what not?"

9/17/2010 3:24:55 PM

^Her lease was going to end and she didn't think there would be any problems. The only thing that went wrong was the comps. If the comps are good, then there are no problems.

I know she's pissed about spending money on the inspection and appraisal, but ultimately she's pissed about not getting the house and basically having a place to live.

And with an FHA, I requested an appraisal, and it took them two weeks to get an appraiser and set one up (FHA has to approve an appraiser).

I'm glad everything went great for you, but that is rarely the case these days.

Quote :

"Don't get approved and just think you can sit back and do nothing until your closing date. Also"

I got pre-approved and probably talked to my mortgage company an average of two times a day for three months and shit still almost didn't get done. I could have set up camp in their office and not been more on top of things. Every purchase isn't perfect, especially not these days and with an FHA loan.

[Edited on September 17, 2010 at 3:36 PM. Reason : .]

9/17/2010 3:34:19 PM

Yeah, that's what I mean. You shouldn't just cross your fingers and hope things turn out ok.

9/17/2010 3:47:33 PM

Quote :

"Why didn't you wait to get the loan underwritten before dumping money into inspections and what not?"

Our Realtor told us to get the inspections first.

Quote :

"Who told you there are income caps on FHA loans? There are limits to how much you can borrow that vary by county but there is NO max income limit. You may be thinking of USDA loans"

Perhaps I am quoting this incorrectly. Our Realtor found another loan through RBC that is similar to the loan we found at BB&T. Apparently our appraisal has the neighborhood as a "declining market"...I can see how this is understandable since it is a new and no one is selling their brand new homes.

Quote :

"I hope you get your loan today printpaw"

Thanks hon He said probably no word until Monday and we are seeking out other options as I type this.

Quote :

"Should have gotten everything in writing. If you stay on top of things there won't be any big surprises. Both my first mortage and refinance went through just fine."

Congrats. We have as much in writing as we can and we are working with an agent. Otherwise, the bank offered one thing and now they are attempting to change that.

Quote :

"How much do you spend on your wedding?"

We have spent around 1,800. We are trying to do it for 5K.

Quote :

"Loan terms i.e. rate lock, down payment, etc."

We have all this in writing..and at the bottom it says "Subject to change..."blahblahblah etcetc

Quote :

"I don't think you understand what her problem is. But what you just listed are all basics."

The problem is with the bait and switch...promising one thing, then offering another.

Quote :

"Disclaimer: I didn't read the whole thread but it looks like you tried to get 100% financing to purchase a house for more than the value it appraised for. "

The house appraised for 13,000 more than the purchase price. They want comps that are within a mile and the only other townhome neighborhood is 1.5 miles away. No one is selling near the property we are trying to buy because it is a new neighborhood and people don't want to move out of their new homes...and to try and sell in this market would be terrible, I think.

Quote :

"100% financing only works in very limited circumstances and because of the risk, there's not really any reasonable chance of you getting it. If the bank told you otherwise, then the loan officer you talked to was lying to you and that sucks. You can complain to the bank but they may or may not be willing to help you. Nothing they could do would really convince you to take a loan from them in the future, so they don't have much incentive to absorb the sunk costs for you."

Amen. That was the whole purpose of this thread. Anyhow, we considered writing the bank manager or BBB.

Quote :

"Don't get approved and just think you can sit back and do nothing until your closing date."

We've been working on this everyday for the past three weeks...Emails, phone calls, meetings, etc. We have crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's and they are now telling us we are screwed 12 days from closing...which was my complaint to begin with.

Quote :

"I know she's pissed about spending money on the inspection and appraisal, but ultimately she's pissed about not getting the house and basically having a place to live. "

DINGDINGDING.

[Edited on September 17, 2010 at 3:55 PM. Reason : oopsie daisy!]

9/17/2010 3:51:05 PM

the responsibility of buying and owning a home is not for everyone

9/17/2010 3:53:46 PM

Hence the thread title.

9/17/2010 3:55:33 PM

I just accidentally the rest of my life

9/17/2010 3:56:11 PM

Quote :

""For real. Only rich people with lots of money for a downpayment should own a home. The American Dream is only for those with the silver spoon.""

Poor people and middle class people can save enough money for a down payment too. If my experience as a foreigner in America means anything, it is easiest to buy a house here compared to many other countries in the world especially for middle class and below.

Most of the times people who are making higher down payments are not any richer then you. They just have different priorities in life with regards to what they want to spend their money on….

9/17/2010 4:00:34 PM

Quote :

"We have all this in writing..and at the bottom it says "Subject to change..."blahblahblah etcetc"

So, they specifically said the deal was subject to change and you are mad it changed???

9/21/2010 2:56:58 PM

why not rent for the rest of your life?

9/21/2010 3:02:54 PM

any change in status of this?

9/21/2010 3:06:34 PM

im currently chillin on the floor of the 5th foreclosed home i have been to today (chick-fil-a lag)

i wouldnt buy a home today if you practically gave it to me. values are still going to be going down for a while.

the reason that banks want money down is because statistically people are less likely to walk away from the home when they have something invested in it.

9/21/2010 3:18:51 PM

If your renting, you are just playing the landlords mortgage.

9/21/2010 3:23:16 PM

well, if you get the house, don't assume you'll be living the sweet life just because the rent is lower. It's great to have less guaranteed out of your pocket every month, but property taxes and trash pickup and all of that junk can really add up. plus if you are buying the appliances along with the house, one or more is guaranteed to suck ass or break within 3 months, LOL.

9/21/2010 3:28:27 PM

It's not as simple as "well my mortgage is lower than my rent so I'm saving money"

If you average out all the costs that come with a house, you really need to put a couple hundred extra dollars a month in the bank to pay for all the little stuff that comes up. You need to repaint the house. Your water heater shits on you or you have some other plumbing problem. You have a leaky roof. Wood starts rotting or you get termite damage. You've got all the money you spend on the yard to make it even barely presentable.

[Edited on September 21, 2010 at 4:17 PM. Reason : oh and the more rooms you have, the more money you spend putting shit in them]

9/21/2010 4:16:46 PM

Quote :

"did you use a buyer agent? if so, they didn't handle their shit."

one of the few ways people can tell if they are going to be getting a quality realtor is via word of mouth - if you feel you were misled, please post the agent's name. i'd also say that anything any person who deals with homes, from contractors to realtors to even inspectors, must be taken with a grain of salt - from personal experience, most are crooks.

Quote :

"yeah, maybe it's just me, but if you can't afford to put down minimum 5-10% of a home, i don't think you should be buying a home."

homes are no longer investments. having a little money as possible tied up in a home is not necessarily a bad thing. people shouldn't expect to make a profit off a home anymore. homes are chiefly desirable because they are nicer places to live than apartments. but i've got to agree and it has nothing to do with mortgages. if you don't have a rainy day fund, you shouldn't buy a house. houses are money pits.

9/21/2010 4:39:27 PM

I feel your pain about the comps screwing up the deal. Here is my story.

Buying a foreclosed home on 10 acres. Home is in decent shape, needs a bit of freshening but entirely livable. The 1st bank I was with jerked us around for 6 wks because they were unhappy with the comps. The home appraised for 50k more than what I was offering. 50 thousand dollars more. BUT, because there were no other homes in the area sold in the last 6 months that had land, I was denied.

My credit was 770. I had 20% down plus 6 months in the bank. Even if they didn't consider the land, just the home was priced lower than the comps. Apparently, everyone in the banking industry must think that 10 acres instead of .5 acres is detrimental to value.

my solution? Fire that bank, contact another (1st Tennessee by the way, highly recommended although it doesn't help you). They closed with me in 12 days. 12 days between the time I picked up the phone to call them and picked up the keys.

9/21/2010 5:08:51 PM

Quote :

"Most of the times people who are making higher down payments are not any richer then you. They just have different priorities in life with regards to what they want to spend their money on…."

Exactly. I just upgraded from a '94 caprice to a '95 hatchback as my car. Even if I won the lottery, I'd still keep my little hatchback. Some people have different priorities that interfere with home ownership.

9/21/2010 8:28:34 PM