My wife and I and our two children are finally ready to stay in one place for some time now. We are wanting to buy a home for the 1st time and I had a few questions and concerns with the overwhelming prospect of homebuying. We have been scouring real estate ads for months. We found "that" house that you can picture in your head. Family at the holidays, spending evenings together to "this" or "that". We are currently in an apartment and our lease is up this month. Our rent will be a healthy $861/month and we would like to get into a house very soon. The market being what it is, many houses that we have been looking at in ads havent moved. The one we found just dropped in price and is located in a small town outside of where we live. Here is a rundown of our situation.

Me: full time student, working part time

Wife: Works full time

two children

Income: $35-40K range

House in question: Asking price- $100,000- down from previous $113,000

history: BK discharged 2 years ago. working to build ourselves back up. current fico mid 600's

Now, at the current time we have no money to put down etc. We would like to get 100% financing. I read that money in savings had to be "seasoned" for 60 days. Not having funds now, but tax time is here and we will have that soon. Does this mean that we are looking at another 3 months before we can make a move? We are new to this whole process, but know several people in town that have bought houses within the last couple of years without paying out a dime. We want to be able to do something soon having found this home (which is about as low a price as you get for a decent home in our area). Are we out of luck? lost......

Congratulations on finding that ideal home that everyone dreams of finding! There are several options that you can consider at this point, but I think one of the most feasable for you would be trying an FHA loan with a down payment assistance program. There are ways to get the 100% financing through FHA with that credit score, and there are ways to have the seller pay for your closing costs (seller concessions). However, you need to be educated on these programs. Please feel free to contact me any time if you need any additional information.

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Andy Scherer
Senior Loan Specialist
Mortgage Trainer

another related question. if we are waiting for our tax return for our "good faith" money etc. can we proceed before then with a pre-approval process or is it best to wait until we have the cash in the bank?

Once you apply for a loan and your lender pulls your credit it's only good for 90 days (and that may have changed). If you have your credit pulled multiple times, within a certain time frame, (I believe it's 2 weeks) it doesn't lower your score. After that time frame, it will drop. Be very careful with that, especially since you have worked hard to get it pack up. You can get pre-approved which will help you understand how much you can potentially borrow and what your payments will be.

100% financing has become very difficult. As of Jan. 1, in Florida, borrowers cannot obtain 100% financing and if the property is consider to be in a declining market the borrower must put down an additional 5%...add a lower credit score on top of that and it really makes it hard for a borrower. I would suggest getting a referral to a lender in your area. Find out from your friends who they liked and start talking. Some lenders don't need the down payment to be seasoned. Just had that situation on a recent closing. The borrower just had to prove where the money came from. Maybe you could have a family member "gift" the down payment to you, then you can repay them when you get your refund.

Regarding money in the bank...most lenders want to see a reserve of at least 2 months, again, check with a local lender for guidelines. If you or your wife have a retirement account(s) the lender would take 75% of that value as "liquid cash"...if you had to use the money, that' what you would get after penalties.

I know it's a lot of information...sounds like you are on the right track.

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Debbie James, Realtor
Crye-Leike Coastal Realty
850-450-2000 cell
Get Lots Of Real Estate Referrals
Emerald Coast Florida Real Estate

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Okaloosa, Walton & Bay County Florida Real Estate

it is a ton of information and seems like an exhausting process, i appreciate all the help. when doing the pre-approval does cash reserve have an impact or is that only relevant when you find a house and start the "actual loan process"?