Quote:
Originally posted by swmacneil
No Soup...
I am lookign for info on buying a house here in Massachusetts, or ability to get a morgage.
I am engaged, i have 1 consolodated student loan about 10K, 1 misc loan for 10K, and 2 credit cards with total debt of 4K, one now closed for about 2 years while a pay the balance.
My girl has considerably less debt, a few credit cards with Credit Guard of America, closed and in replayment, nearly paid off, and thats about it.
My payment history is less then stellar, i have been less then 30 days late on some payments recently as well as in the past, i havent had any real delinquent payments in at least a year.
I do have debt that had gone to a bureau and is now settled, about 2 years ago.
My fiance is a registered Nurse (6 months on the job same place), makes about 700/week take home, i am a net admin, bring in about 47,000/year or 2 k a month take home (same job nearly 3 years).
We share a 1 bedroom apt for 1340/month, both lease cars with about 260/month payments.
Do i have a chance in hell to get a morgage right now, should i not even apply? Can i apply jointly if im not even married yet.
Whats my best stragedy to get ready to apply for a morgage.
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swmacneil-
Well, I would say that the best strategy to apply would be to continue making your payments on time, (the less than 30 days late shouldn't show up on your bureau) as well as save as much money as possible for that downpayment.
I am not sure if you feel rushed to move into a house or not, but If you don't, try and pay off your debt first, or at least the credit cards. Those payments may not seem like a whole lot now, but if your house needs some maintenence, it will be nice to have that extra cash.
My next suggestion is to save up as much money for the down payment as possible. (after debts are paid) They higher the downpayment, the less the mortgage payments, the less interest you pay, and the better chance of being approved. If you save up enough, you probably won't have to worry about PMI insurance. I am not sure of the rules where you are, but in Wisconsin it is common for the institutuion to require it if you owe over 80% of your homes value. However, there are institutions that don't require it at all, no matter what % you owe on your mortgage.
As far as being approved, I am nearly positive that you could be. However, the terms of the loan and fees incorporated may be higher than they would be if you had a larger downpayment or better credit. Mortgage brokers are.... shall we say.... very flexible.... with their underwriting procedures, with a cost to you in interest rate and broker fees. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it is better to pay more fees for a lower interest rate, but in a lot of cases, I would check the disclosures to see the total amount you will be paying. Even though a Brokers rate might be .5% lower, if there are 3 points and tons of closing costs, it may be cheaper to go with a conventional mortgage.
If I can do anything else for you, let me know.
Thanks for Posting!