Here in Wilmington rent for a decent sized place or not shit apartment is roughly 800 a month. I would love to buy but no real money for a down payment but was recently told by a Realtor that this could be possible. Anyone go this route or have any advice or links for reading on first time buyer incentives?

12/22/2007 10:20:52 PM

We didn't go this route when we purchased, but we looked into it and know a few people who have done it. You can absolutely purchase a home without a down payment. A lack of a down payment should not stand in your way as long as you meet their monthly income/debt requirements.

We started with our credit union. Your bank should be perfectly willing to talk you through all the different loan options and then you should shop around with other lenders to see what they offer. NCSECU's website gives a pretty quick and dirty outline of various kinds of loans (including standard fixed rates, ARMS, and specialty loans).

http://www.ncsecu.org/Loans/LoansOverview.html

12/22/2007 11:21:39 PM

rent to own


however, I havent choosen a area that I want to live beyond 3-5 years, plus, with my job being mobile greatly improves advancement opportunities. Probably in 5ish years will buy something.

12/23/2007 12:04:43 AM

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/BuyerGuide2004/buyers-guide-home.asp

12/23/2007 12:57:53 AM

make sure you look into any laws/covenants pertaining to how long you have to live in the place you buy (if you buy) before you sell if you're not sure you'll stay in Wilm. for at least a few years.

best of luck!

12/23/2007 1:11:38 AM

I did the first time homeowners thing and had good results. We went through BB&T as our lender, and ended up only dropping like a grand at the outset, because the seller paid $3000 of the closing costs. 30-year fixed, FTW.

I will say NCSECU told us that they were only interested in loans where we put 20% down. We are members there, and they were very unhelpful. And we both have impeccable credit, so I was kind of confused.

12/23/2007 10:39:21 AM

^Wow. We had an entirely different experience with NCSECU. However, we went to them without a particular house or price point in mind. We just wanted to know our options and what we could afford. They discussed all of the different loan types with us and seemed very willing to do a no money down loan.

We ended up putting 10% down because we had the money and chose a house that would have been out of our range had we not put something down, but they never gave us the impression that they would not give us a home loan without having money for a down payment.

12/23/2007 12:34:02 PM

NCSECU I think will do an 80-10-10 mortgage which is 10% down an 80% 30 yr fixed and 10% 2nd mortgage that follows prime. And if you've been keeping up with the news that's not a good idea these days.

I have found that small banks can do things that big banks can't. Call them up and ask. I spoke with a local bank in Lincoln county and they said based on my credit history I could get up to 100% financing with NO PMI (private mortgage insurance that cost over an extra $100/month that you pay until you are at an 80% loan to value ratio) for a 30 yr fixed at like 6.25% interest (that was when the interest rate was 6.35% elsewhere).

12/23/2007 12:44:19 PM

^ I've been keeping up with the news somewhat, but if interest rates are falling and such- what is prime then and why is it such a bad idea?

I know th eloans that were ssuch idiotic things were all sub-prime loans. so I guess i'm confused here.

12/23/2007 3:36:28 PM

The prime rate is higher than the rate of the 30 year fixed. I've been keeping up with the news and I thought it had gone down recently. Last I checked it was 7.25 % The interest on that is also tax deductible just like with the 1st mortgage.

12/23/2007 4:10:52 PM

i'm getting ready to purchase my first home

i am getting 100% financed with no PMI

all i have to do is pay closing costs and the lender may even be paying for some of those

put on top of that that the area i am moving to is below the national avg in home prices and renting makes no sense at all.

pick up some books and do some research. i read half a dozen books on home buying and mortgages before i even contacted a relator or lender. also if your relator or lender isn't helpful about answering your questions-- find a new one. i got rid of one lender i started working with because i didn't like the way the guy handled my questions & found someone else who is amazing.

good luck!

12/23/2007 4:22:00 PM

Sub prime meaning buy downs or other adjustable. You can get a mortgage for like 3.25% now then, then it would go up. That mortgage could be 8% now or even higher. People got these loans because they could buy more house than they could really afford thinking they may be making more money later and could pay for it, or they thought they may only live there for just a few years.

12/23/2007 8:53:02 PM

We DO have to pay PMI on our second loan. Fortunately, our total loan is only like $58k. So PMI costs a whopping $20/month for the low second mortgage we took out.

12/23/2007 9:10:50 PM

Actually subprime refers to the credit worthiness of the loan recipient. Generally they refer to lenders with FICO scores < 620. Because of the additional risk the lender is taking by lending to a questionable borrower they tack on quite a substantial penalty above Prime...typically in the 2~3% range.

This means that during the peak of the housing boom subprime loans could be found with teaser rates on a 2/28 or a 3/27 somewhere around 5 or 6% and now that these loans are starting to reset to rates more in the range of 12~14%.


My mortgage is through BoA - their new program is excellent. I'm putting 10% down and borrowing 90% LTV on a 5/1 ARM. They pay all closing costs and PMI during the duration of the loan. The rates look to be fairly competitive. I'm locked at 5.625% currently (for Jersey City) Oh, before anybody tries to question my judgment by going for the ARM, I have no intention of keeping this place longer than 3 or 4 years and my condo is across the river from Manhattan and prices definitely aren't going down.

[Edited on December 24, 2007 at 1:28 AM. Reason : yup]

12/24/2007 1:24:23 AM

i went a little different route than most people. i used some investments as collaterall against a down payment for my house. so basically, i still get the excellent returns of where the money is as well as the benefit of a lower mortgage payment. best of both worlds. i still have the freedom to liquidate the investments should i choose, i just have to replace with other investements/cash of equal value.

that said, it is entirely possible to get 100% financed depending on your credit and what you're qualified for compared to the purchase price. i'm of the opinion that unless you plan to stay in the house for more than 5 years, it's better to put as little money as possible down. that money you would use for a downpayment is likely going to make you more money invested somewhere else.

be careful buying into closing costs being a big deal to have payed. in a lot of cases, sellers will offer that in place of knocking the purchase price down. for example, they'll say "we'll pay any closing costs up to $5k". in reality, your closing costs may end up only being $2k. tell them instead of paying the closing costs, you want that amount off the purchase price of the house (the $5k or whatever their limit may be). then find a good lender that will cover or at least help with closing costs.

12/24/2007 2:17:21 AM

If you have good credit, you can buy a house with no money down and no PMI.

[Edited on December 25, 2007 at 9:36 PM. Reason : just make sure any extra money you have to put towards the house goes on the line of credit loan]

12/25/2007 9:35:54 PM

^ I don't really know about that. The credit situation has changed drastically in the last couple of months. The investor demand for loans are >95% LTV have all but disappeared. You have to find banks willing to keep the loan on their books and at end of year that's going to be next to impossible.

If you are able to - please everybody keep in mind that if you don't put equity into the house and it declines in value you stand to lose a lot of money that you don't have. For example if you buy your house for 250k and don't put any money down. After a year in a 30fixed you *may* have 2k in principal down in your house. If one neighbor forecloses and you start to see signs popping up on your street you could really get stuck. If you can't get the 250 back when you want to sell you're simply not going to be able to pay the bank back.

I say this because the environment we entered about 6 months ago and will probably have to deal with for the next couple of years is going to look a lot like this. Of course every area is different, just make sure you do your research and you give yourself enough cushion. Oh and always remember that if it sounds too good to be true.....

12/27/2007 2:51:57 PM

I am meeting with a lender in the morning

12/27/2007 3:17:41 PM

Be sure to shop around for financing. We bought with no money down back in March, and ended up with an 80-20 loan. We just had the seller add the closing costs to the price we agreed to. We looked at some first time homebuyer programs, but our credit was good enough for the 80-20 to be a cheaper option. There was about a $10K range in the value of closing costs/PMI/points/interest rates for the options we were comparing, so it pays to do your homework.

[Edited on December 28, 2007 at 10:54 PM. Reason : .]

12/28/2007 10:53:04 PM