Purchasing a home after foreclosure used to be an impossible task. Potential homeowners were forced to wait many years before they could even apply for a loan. Today, however, times have changed. With more and more people having suffered foreclosure, it became necessary to find a way to allow them to become homeowners again once their life was turned around. Luckily, there are several programs that allow you to purchase a home as soon as 12 months after a foreclosure! FHA … [Read more...]
How Long Does It Really Take to Raise Your Credit Score?
If you have looked at your credit score lately and shook your head at its poor sight, you are not alone. Thousands of Americans suffer from poor credit, and a lot of the poor credit is not due to any fault of the consumer. Our economy took a large hit and it has taken a long time not only for the economy to bounce back, but also for individual consumers to bounce back too. If you are among those that were hit hard with job loss and difficulty finding a new job, you might find … [Read more...]
What are the HUD Home Earnest Money Deposit Requirements?
Earnest money shows your interest and seriousness in purchasing a property. When your bid is accepted on a HUD home, you have to show that you are serious about purchasing the property, which is done with the earnest money. Unlike standard home sales, however, you do not have put a large amount of money down. The typical earnest money deposit is $500 for homes selling for $50,000 or less and $1,000 for homes selling for more than $50,000. This money is due to HUD before the … [Read more...]
When applying for a Mortgage, Keep these Tips in Mind
If you are ready to submit your mortgage application, you are likely wondering which personal financial factors are going to be taken into consideration. In addition to a variety of financial documentation required to substantiate portions of your mortgage application, lenders will review your personal credit report carefully and evaluate your eligibility based on several factors.. Should You Get Pre-Qualified or Pre-Approved? Getting pre-qualified or pre-approved says a … [Read more...]
Should You Be a Homeowner?
Before you become a first time homebuyer, it’s a good idea to stop and ask yourself a few questions. Depending on your circumstances, renting for a few more years may be the sound financial move to make. How Long Do You Plan to Stay in the Home? If you’re taking out a 30-year purchase mortgage but you only plan on staying in the home two or three years, you’re probably better off not purchasing. Why? Because originating a mortgage involves a down payment and closing costs. … [Read more...]
Getting an FHA Loan after a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
It used to be that if you had a bankruptcy in your past, getting a mortgage, including an FHA loan was rather difficult, if not impossible. Today, however, the story is completely different. Even if you have a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in your past, you might be eligible for FHA financing. Every lender will have different requirements regarding what qualifies an applicant with this type of credit history, but the FHA has general rules that every lender must follow. Elapsed Time … [Read more...]
How to get a FHA 203K Streamline Renovation Loan after Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy used to seem like a death sentence to your finances. People would be unable to move forward with their financial life for at least 7 years, unless they had the cash to pay for things. This made home ownership seem impossible. Today, however, even if you filed for bankruptcy you can still get a mortgage and even get one that helps you fix up your home or purchase a fixer upper with funds to make it look nice. The streamline 203K program allows you to wait … [Read more...]
Extenuating Circumstance: What Are They?
If you are thinking about buying a home after going through a financial hardship, one thing that you may want to be aware of is that Underwriters will consider your situation differently if you went through an "extenuating circumstance" when you had your hardship. If you were experiencing an extenuating circumstance during your hardship, lenders may shorten the waiting period that you have to wait after a short sale or foreclosure. In order to qualify for an extenuating … [Read more...]
Getting A New VA Loan After Foreclosure
If you obtained a VA loan and your property was foreclosed on, you might be considering purchasing a new home. Consider the steps you'll have to take to see whether you can obtain a VA loan after foreclosure. The government works very hard to accommodate its military members and the VA loan as a means of achieving home ownership is an important part of the benefits you can receive, but its not without an expectation that the government wont lose money on the deal. If … [Read more...]
Obama Administration To Help People Buy Again?
Yesterday it was announced that President Obama intends to help people get home loans who have "weaker credit" as a way to help improve the rates of homeownership. According to the Washington Post: The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics say could open the door to the risky lending that caused the housing crash in … [Read more...]