Looking for mortgage advice on a loan program

Guest

My Fiancé and I will be purchasing a home within the next 2 months. Hopefully moving in late April/early May. As of yet, we do not have a home picked out, but looking to finance a home for 200k. This home will be in the suburbs of Houston, TX. We plan to stay in the same home 5-10 years (can't really see ourselves wanting to stay in one place longer than 10 years).

My fiancé and I have stable jobs with a combined income stream of $135,000/yr. We have been at our jobs for approx 1 year, since we are recent college graduates. Currently, other than housing expenses we have about $1600 in monthly expenses. Our FICO scores are 777 & 760. We have about 10k to put down on the house.

We are first time home buyers and are looking for mortgage loan advice. What programs would you recommend, and what kind of deals should we be after (APR, closing, etc)? Also note, I am a veteran. Is it beneficial to go with a VA loan or conventional? 80/20? PMI? help...

I have not commited to a particular loan company yet but will definitely entertain the idea of getting the best deal possible. Mortgage broker?

Thanks for any input & honest advice you can give.
Ivan

helping_user · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject: RE: best mortgage deal

Welcome Ivan.

Congrats to have thought of a home of your own.

I think your scores are good and you have good income too, only thing is, your work history will be 1 year instead of 2 years that most lenders like to see. However, all other things being good and you having decided on a 10% down payment too, I don't think that will be much of a problem.

I suppose you don't have too much of debts, is that so? then your debt-to-income ratio won't be too large. Ideally, expect an FHA loan, your monthly debt payment should be within 36% of your gross monthly income.

Being a first time buyer, you have a range of loan programs to avail...say FHA insured loans, Fannie Mae lender approved mycommunity mortgage etc.

Since you a veteran, you can try out with VA guaranteed loans too. Everything would depend on hoew much you can affrod and the loan type you are comfortable with. the options are wide open for you, but you need select the right one. This is only possible if you consult a few lenders and compare their rates and quotes offered on some programs. Then calculate payments and then decide upon the best loan offer.

The community has already discussed on best mortgage offers for first time buyers. Please have a look at the thread. You'll find a lot of options suggested there.

You may even consult some lenders in this community.

Thanks.

blu026 · Joined: 18 Feb 2008 Posts: 1 1.34 Dollars($)

Thanks for the info...

The debt we have is not bad. Debt/Income ratio should be good. Shouldn't be an issue at all.

I was looking at the FHA loan mortgage limits for Houston TX and the maximum is set at $200,160. What does that mean exactly? The total loan amount cannot exceed that?

Note: I am the original poster...

Jessica · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:02 am Post subject: RE: first time buyer

Hi Ivan,

If the maximum FHA loan limit in Houstan is $200, 160, then it implies that the loan amount in that area should not exceed that amount.

You need to get pre-qualified before applying with a particular lender. So, talk to lenders and request them for quotes. You may even send in your request for mortgage quotes to lenders in our community. Check out what happens after you request for quotes and then apply for the quotes.

Since you are first time buyer, you can consider taking 203(b) FHA loans which require very low down payment and closing costs. Besides, there are the VA loans for which you can check the eligibility at http://www.homeloans.va.gov/elig2.htm .

Regards,

Jessica

jeffselan · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:36 pm Post subject: You have

You have several options and products based on your individual needs and wants out of your laon product. Both FHA, VA, and conventional loans have their positives and negatives.

In truth, you want to speak to a loan specialist that can show you all your options and let you pick the loan that works best for you.

I always suggest talking to a local bank, a broker, and a retail lender. Then you can compare apples to apples with rates and fees.

lisascherzer · Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 755 1.11 Dollars($)

Hello Inquisitive1

You should qualify for the best rates available with the information you have provided. As far as comparing VA to a conforming loan the only advantage of the VA loan is that there is no PMI but there is a draw back to that option which is a slightly higher rate as well as a funding fee. You may be better off just buying out PMI on a conforming loan. You should be able to get a conforming loan at rate comparable to VA with no PMI. By going this way with it, you save yourself the hefty funding fee that VA loans charge.

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