Its not as easy buying a home as one would think. With home prices having dropped drastically(depending on the area), many people are trying to take advantage of this "buyer's" market without the realization that lending guidelines have tightened up. The reason for this may be due to the abundance of stated income/no income verification loans for FTHB. There's nothing wrong with no income verification, but if you want the low rates that you hear about on the radio/television, you must show liquid assets. That is the KEY in obtaining a good rate with a stated income loans. What if you can't show income or assets and you want 100% financing? That's not a problem, but just be beware that the interest rate is going to be higher as compared with showing assets or income. Also you need to make sure you can afford the payment, regardless of how much you like the home.

Guidelines:

580 FICO score- The minimum score to qualify for 100% with FULL income documentation. Full income meaning your debt-to-income ratio may not exceed 50-55%.

600 FICO score- The minimum score to qualify for 100% with no income/ no assets. Rates are generally pretty high when it comes to this program because there are only a few lenders in this country that still offer this program, and its usually 1 loan @ 100%.

620-640 FICO score- The minimum score to qualify for no income/no assets for an 80/20 @100%. The best way to buy a home is qualifying for an 80/20 loan. The guidelines for this program use to be only a 600 score, but 90% of the lenders have raised their FICO score requirement.

The best scenario is usually a client with either no income or full income documentation, that are able to show plenty of liquid assets with a credit score of at least 640.

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Kevin
klu@nationwidemortgage.net
Nationwide Mortgage
Toll free (866)427-7200