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I will start at the end. At the time you buy you should ideally have enough saved for downpayment and clsoing costs and about six months payments. There will be surprises that pop up and that savings can help. foreclosures are over rated. All houses including foreclsoures are in the MLS that any agent can show you. Compare for yourself and see what you think. Buy the best loaction you can find- that will determine your resale value. Ask family and friends to recommend a local loan officer that they have recently used. That is the best way to pick a loan comapny. They need to be local- you will need to be able to visit them in person if something does not go smooth. repairs are negotiated between the buyer and seller. Sometimes (espicially on foreclsoures) the seller will not do repairs. Have your agent write the contract that allows you to have the inspection and back out if things are to bad. Closing costs are costs that you are charged in the closing process. Most are charged by the mortgage comapny, some are charged by the title company. Your loan officer can and will give you a very good estimate of these costs. Except they will not include the cost of the inspection- be sure and get an inspection even though it will not be required by anyone. The amount of the downpayment depends on the type of loan you arrange to get. Each has its plusses and minuses- your loan office will explain and help determine which is best for you. For most first time buyers FHA is the best way to go and the minimum downpayment is 3.5%. the property taxes are based on the property value and not your credit or downpayment. Your credit does help get you a little better rate with interest and sometimes with insurnace. Of course you can buy with your boyfreind. But remember you need a legal agreement between you lineing out what happens if one of you dies or goes bankrupt or whatever. A lawyer can help you with this. Without it you may own half the house and his sister or parents may own the other half- and they may force you to do things you do not want to do.

by glenn

2 months ago

Asker's Rating: 

Closing costs here: www ... Too much to explain on here. Repairs are negotiable with the seller, your real estate agent should help you out with handling those affairs. Also, get a home inspection. You should save at least 3% for a down payment, and should have another 3 months of house payments saved up in your savings. Recommendation, but not necessary. If you trust your realtor, ask their advice on a loan officer. Otherwise, ask friends and family about their experiences. Foreclosed homes are popular because they are usually priced under market value, so you get more house for your money. Although the banks are a little more difficult to work with and may take twice as long to actually close on the property. The other downside it you take it as is. So a home inspection is much more important because the bank wont be fixing the broken pips or buying you appliances. My advice is don't get greedy and spend what they tell you you qualify for. You need to factor in the utilities and the comfort level you want to live in. Be modest, and make sure you can still put money in the bank after all your bills are paid. Also, your taxes aren't affected by your credit or anything, strictly by the value of the home. I am not familiar with pa's taxes, but do some research and you may be able to get your taxes lowered, especially in this economy.

by Dominic- 2 months ago

You really should begin working with a real estate agent who will be the "buyers broker", which means working for YOU and not for the owner or lender. It costs you nothing since the buyers broker gets his pay out of the commission paid by the seller to the seller's agent. One comment about foreclosures -- many times those properties are in very bad condition with lots of repairs necessary! Just as the folks didn't have the money to pay the mortgage, they didn't have the money to pay for usual maintenance and repairs. So be very careful! They can often be had at very low prices, but the costs of repairs can be killers! And there's this -- cost of repairs is NOT included in a mortgage, but is out-of-pocket. For some people with skills and tools and time to do their own work this may not be much of an issue, but for most it is a very big issue.

by Mary- 2 months ago

First you and your BF need a contract between the two of you. It should cover who pays what and what happens if one of you wants to sell and the other doesn't You need 20% down payment plus 6% for closing costs You have two years to save that and clean up your credit history. It is not your gross salary but your net that counts. You net roughly 39k 3250 a month. You need to keep your mortgage payment including property tax and insurance at 1200 or less Foreclosures are listed with your local realtor those homes are sold "As Is" Meaning you pay for all repairs. A regular sale you can negotiate with the seller on repairs needed. You should have 40k saved for a conventional loan or 15k for an FHA loan. this loan requires a house not need any repairs and you also pay PMI insurance monthly. Go to the library and take out a few books on buying your first home.

by sassy25- 2 months ago

Those above gave good advice - let me add... Your credit score will be the one that determines eligibility and interest rates as the lowest score is used. You'd need at least 10% down for a conventional loan, 3.5% for FHA insured loan. The more you put down and the better YOUR credit score (since you're the lowest), the better the interest rate. Sometimes the seller is willing to contribute to closing costs, especially if you offer a bit more than you normally would (e.g. instead of offering 100k you'd offer 103k plus seller gives 3k towards closing costs - that way you could finance the 3k if you have limited cash reserves). You have less purchasing flexibility with bank-owned homes. They are usually sold "as-is," so the bank won't fix a thing. This can be a problem with FHA loans as they can be sticklers about what may need to be fixed BEFORE closing (or they won't insure the loan). If you go FHA - my advice would be to look up a sample appraisal report to see what they're looking for (available on HUD website). If it's bank owned and you or your agent have any reason to suspect they won't approve the loan because something may need to be fixed, you'd have to do an FHA 203k renovation loan (higher interest rate and time consuming to pull together - sometimes can be a problem because bank-owned may have inflexible closing dates).

by Madame X- 2 months ago