First time home buyer,HELP-

[Ozzy]

Hello again RC
I am looking into buying a home soon and I don't have a clue as to what to do,I have already spoke with two realtors and am now even more confused.
One of the first things I was asked is how much I pay now in rent and would I like to pay the same for a home,so I tell them I pay $400. a month on rent,one says I can buy a home for around $75,000 and the other claims $50,000 for that $400. a month ,one would think the numbers would be rather close from one to another,but a $25,000 swing,I was going to get pre-approved buy my own C.U. but as it would turn my C.U. does not do VA loans.
So if any of you can get me onto the right track I would be very grateful,cause as you can see I am clueless
thanks

[bradwent]

Do yourself a big favor and ask around with parents, friends, co-workers for a quality recommendation of a good/excellent realtor. A quality realtor can make a BIG difference when buying a home. Don't forget, you may only buy a home 3-4 times in your life so don't expect to know everything about buying homes. A good trust worthy realtor should help you in that respect.

[joeychitwood]

Always remember, the realtor is working for the SELLER unless you specifically hire one as a buyer's agent for you.

What you can afford depends on how much you can put down, what the interest rate is, whether you need private mortgage insurance, etc.

Sit down with a banker you trust or a buyer's agent and do the math. Just don't get in over your head. You'll be paying maintenance costs, insurance, utilities and property taxes, most of which you don't have to worry about as a renter.

[Bungle]

I bought mine through a credit union. Nevy Federal Creidt Union. I got a realtor assigned to me from them. You should ask your credit union if they have a home buying program and VA comparable type loan. Mine has whats is called Vet's Choice which actually works out better for me than a VA loan.

[Ozzy]

thanks for the replies
A good trust worthy realtor should help you in that respect.
Ya .........kinda like car sales men I suppose,I'll just not have this paid off in four years.
You'll be paying maintenance costs, insurance, utilities and property taxes, most of which you don't have to worry about as a renter.
But I will get that tax break ,as it is now Uncle Sam kills me on taxes,everytime I look at my paystub and see all that goes out in taxes it just makes me sick........
buying program and VA comparable type loan. mmmm
I think I need to call my CU back,cause this would help.
I would love to get pre-approved for this first.I could be wrong but I feel that could be half of the work.If I was pre-approved I could just scrap the idea of a realtor...maybe

[dkh0331]

Originally posted by Ozzy

I would love to get pre-approved for this first.I could be wrong but I feel that could be half of the work.If I was pre-approved I could just scrap the idea of a realtor...maybe

It's the seller who pays the realtor. If the house you are interested in is listed by a realtor, there is no financial advantage to you to scrap the realtor. Example, the home you want is listed by company a. If you go thru company a, they get the entire commi$$ion. If you go thru company b, the two firms split the commi$$ion. Typically the price of the house includes the real estate fee's - The owner needs $100,000 and realtor's fee's are 5%, their bottom line price is $105,000. If you can find something that's For Sale By Owner, you will save the realtor's commi$$ion.

Getting pre-approved is great idea. I did that for a couple of houses that I bought. While you are in the process, start looking for a home inspector as well. Money very well spent IMPHO.

Buying a home can be a very long and sometimes frustrating experience. But what a tremedous feeling, especially with your first home.... "I can now put that 770 gallon reef tank in the wall like Twize..."

HTH

David

[cootiebugg]

I wouldn't do anything until you are pre-approved. You will receive a maximum amount you can afford based on your qualifications. And, make sure it is a pre-approval and NOT pre qualified.

[Ozzy]

thanks again for the replies,and ya I just learned thismorning that the realtor cost me $0.0,my plan was to be into a home by mid-late November but with all that needs to be done,I'm really not sure it will hapen that fast.

[Niven]

Definately get pre-approved. If you'd like, PM me with your location or the city/area you are looking in. I can call up the investors that we work with and find a broker in your area to get pre-approved through. Talk to a few people (realtors/brokers/banks) and find out who you feel comfortable working with. I can't say that enough for a realtor, you will be following them around for the next few months looking for homes, if you don't get along with them or don't trust them, it could be a very long process and you might end up settling for a house just to get away

VA Loans - you can do a 100% loan on a Federal VA loan. Some states have State VA loans, these are 95% loans. You must have 5% of your own funds. Neither of them have private mortgage insurance, although the Fed VA has an upfront funding fee, that is financed in to your loan, anywhere from 1.5% to 3%. (regulated by the FED, not some arbitrary number a broker throws on there)
(ie. your $100,000 home will have a $101,500 loan on it)
Fed VA loans tend to have a higher rate then conventional loans, but the lower PMI/Funding fee offsets that. VA is geared towards families that 1) Do not have much for downpayment 2) don't have perfect credit 3) Debt ratios maybe a little high.
If you have 10% to put down, look at conventional loans, they may be better. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask right here.
HTH,
Gareth

[Tcook]

I'm about to close on a house in the next week. Here's a nice website that I used to follow rates. They have some helpful tools as well: Greenlightloans

[Niven]

Not a bad site, but rates do vary across states. Greenlight has a 30 year/no point at 5.5%. We are at 5.625%, but Wisconsin tends to be a little higher then the national average.

Be wary of online brokers that promise the best rates. A customer of mine did his loan online last year. They said they would get him multiple offers. The way they did this was to have 40 investors check his credit! When he got to me this year to buy a new home, his credit had dropped significantly, due to the inquiries.

[ginntonic74]

Originally posted by bradwent
Do yourself a big favor and ask around with parents, friends, co-workers for a quality recommendation of a good/excellent realtor. A quality realtor can make a BIG difference when buying a home. Don't forget, you may only buy a home 3-4 times in your life so don't expect to know everything about buying homes. A good trust worthy realtor should help you in that respect.

I must second this statement. A good realtor looks out for you because they are going to get their money no matter what house they but. The bad ones try to get you to buy houses you cant afford, they figure they dont care if you can pay or not as soon as you sign they get their money.
And remember one thing, a pre approval does not mean you will get the mortgage when it comes time to sign.