First time home owner

[kbsmoker]

I got to agree with Frank, that 620 seems very low. I put down 20%...15k on my 75k condo to avoid paying PMI, I wanted a mortgage lower than what I was paying on rent. Was lucky enough to have a nice chunk of change to borrow from my 401k. I got an interest of 4.625% with a 750 fico score, with my taxes and insurance paid in escrow, my mortgage is 422 a month with 190 a month condo association fee.

Without putting down 20%...your paying PMI until you have paid that 20% and that will take a few years.

[Soccerballzs]

Banks are not the only one that finances house. Check out the Internet. Capital One, GMAC others does home financing. Quicken Loans.

[RainStryke]

I just moved into my new house on the 13th of this month.

The most important thing to do is to get a good realtor, a good one will be able to explain a lot of this and do a lot of the leg work for you. Also, a lot of the bigger real estate companies out there have in-house loan officers that work with you and the realtor on the numbers of what you are going to need and the paperwork you are going to need to sign. There is a lot of paperwork that you can do online and sign digitally. My first realtor was an older lady that didn't know how to use a computer very well. Signing paperwork was very annoying cause I had to go up to her office every time we needed some paperwork done. After quite a few disappointments with the way she handled things, we ended up going with another realtor and the difference was night and day.

Once a seller accepts your offer on a home, you can set-up usually a 30 to 45 day close date to move in and get everything done with. Once your offer is accepted, you have 1-2 weeks to get the house inspected and appraised for the loan. Inspection will cost anywhere from $500-$1000 depending on how many things you want them to inspect for. Appraisal will be another $450 or so. You are going to need $500-$1000 on top of the 3.5% to put down on the house you make an offer on. I was able to negotiate all closing cost to be paid by the seller, which is something that is pretty common.

Your other option is to go for a NACA loan, which is 0% down, but you have to go to a class and your realtor has to be certified for the program too. That program has a little more requirements for the house you purchase but it can make things a little easier on finances without having to put any money down.

[Moreno93]

If anyone is in socal and looking to buy or rent my mom goes above & beyond as a realtor, even if its just a question. PM me if you need help & i'll get you her number

[ILuvJDM]

Definitely agree on having a competent realtor... I was able to text mine, as well as text my mortgage lender. I could just text him property tax and sale price and he could spit out of monthly payment including everything since I was already preapproved and he had my fixed info.

By the way, my inspection was $400 but it's only a 1500sqft single story home.

[bassman619]

Congrats man

[Kade]

Kade, ask your realtor about that monthly payment. That is way too low.

When I purchased my house, the payment booklet sent to me had $675 slips to send in. I was in heaven. My rate was 5.25% Something like that.

The following year they sent me a check back for $900. So I cashed it and spent it. I was naive.

This money was extra, in escrow, so it was returned to me. I should have sent it back to the mortgage company and rolled it into the next years escrow account.

Since I spent it, the following year(s), the payment went up to $725, than $785. All the way to $931/month.

I asked why and I was told because I have everything bundled together.

Mortgage payment, home owners insurance, and property tax. Insurance will always go up, property tax tends to go up slowly.

If you bundle, they ask and prepare for the following years payment requirements.

After I paid off the house, I received a check again, for what was left over in escrow. I rolled that into the property tax I now have to pay out of pocket.

That $620 you were quoted maybe with out PMI, Home Owner's Insurance, and Property tax bundled. Not trying to scare you, but educate you.

-Frank

My realtor is checking with some of his agents to compare prices and stuff right now. When I talked with the mortgage company, she said that price was the insurance and taxes added. Not sure if PMI was part of the insurance. Even realtor.com gave me estimated prices that were close to $620 on a 30yr fixed loan. We'll find out later I guess.

[Kade]

Oh, if the house is under value, just re-read that part, than it may be a good move to buy it. It's a nice cushion. Home prices will always go up, it's cyclical. So even if the monthly goes up, you're still owning the house. You can always sell it for what the market is asking for on your same block which is a nice feature.

Good luck with getting it. Fingers crossed. When it's all said and done, if you ever sell it, you will always get back your down and then some like my sister did with her investment!

-Frank

The only way to know the value is to get it appraised? Correct?

[kbsmoker]

Check out zillow.com it was pretty close on mine.

[Deeznutz]

Kade, ask your realtor about that monthly payment. That is way too low.

When I purchased my house, the payment booklet sent to me had $675 slips to send in. I was in heaven. My rate was 5.25% Something like that.

The following year they sent me a check back for $900. So I cashed it and spent it. I was naive.

This money was extra, in escrow, so it was returned to me. I should have sent it back to the mortgage company and rolled it into the next years escrow account.

Since I spent it, the following year(s), the payment went up to $725, than $785. All the way to $931/month.

I asked why and I was told because I have everything bundled together.

Mortgage payment, home owners insurance, and property tax. Insurance will always go up, property tax tends to go up slowly.

If you bundle, they ask and prepare for the following years payment requirements.

After I paid off the house, I received a check again, for what was left over in escrow. I rolled that into the property tax I now have to pay out of pocket.

That $620 you were quoted maybe with out PMI, Home Owner's Insurance, and Property tax bundled. Not trying to scare you, but educate you.

-Frank

My realtor is checking with some of his agents to compare prices and stuff right now. When I talked with the mortgage company, she said that price was the insurance and taxes added. Not sure if PMI was part of the insurance. Even realtor.com gave me estimated prices that were close to $620 on a 30yr fixed loan. We'll find out later I guess.

Haha. I'm telling you man, if you have it an escrow that $620 will change even with a fixed rate mortgage. They always ask for more the following year. If there is an excess, they will offer it back to you or roll it over in next years payment. They send you a booklet for the year with what you will pay in installments for that year. Insurance rates and taxes are never fixed so your payment will go up. It's not like buying a car. Think about it. My insurance was $894 the first year. Later it slowly went up to $965, then $999, then just over $1k. When the insurance company saw my house was over 20 yrs old, they said I needed a new roof or the insurance would be $1800! This was through Citizen's Insurance Company, the largest insurer in Florida! I did redo the roof in 2007. The roofers luckily were still in business and one phone call made, they were able to fax the receipt to the insurance broker. Anyway. After all was said and done my insurance went up to $1180 (something like that) and I never used it! Do you think my bundle payment stayed the same? Nope, the mortgage company covered the payment, than increased the payment the following year.

The $620 is for the first year.

-Frank