NWR: House Hunting

FH and I would love to buy a house shortly after the wedding. Realistically, how much do we NEED to put down as a deposit. Is 20,000-30,000 too little??

Where should we start? Go to the bank and find out about loans and mortgages? We are clueless!!

Thanks!

We knew what our budget was and just started looking around. We found a Condo that we loved and worked with their mortgage person (WellsFargo) and went from there. But this is brand new construction so it might be different for an exisiting house. We are now in contract waiting for our mortgage commitment (which we should get this week)


Depending how much you put down (20% or less) you might have to pay a private mortgage insurance, so you have to pay your monthly mortgage plus an additional amount for PMI.



HTH

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Posted by mosh424

We knew what our budget was and just started looking around. We found a Condo that we loved and worked with their mortgage person (WellsFargo) and went from there. But this is brand new construction so it might be different for an exisiting house. We are now in contract waiting for our mortgage commitment (which we should get this week)


Depending how much you put down (20% or less) you might have to pay a private mortgage insurance, so you have to pay your monthly mortgage plus an additional amount for PMI.



HTH

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Really? So you'd be making two mortgages payments?? Sorry I am really clueless with house stuff.

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Posted by jackieee

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Posted by mosh424

We knew what our budget was and just started looking around. We found a Condo that we loved and worked with their mortgage person (WellsFargo) and went from there. But this is brand new construction so it might be different for an exisiting house. We are now in contract waiting for our mortgage commitment (which we should get this week)


Depending how much you put down (20% or less) you might have to pay a private mortgage insurance, so you have to pay your monthly mortgage plus an additional amount for PMI.



HTH

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Really? So you'd be making two mortgages payments?? Sorry I am really clueless with house stuff.

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Not sure if it is 2 separate payments or it is added onto your mortgage payment but it is a percentage of your payment extra I believe

Hope this explains a little

Private Mortgage Insurance
One home buying aid that nearly everyone can use is Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI. This special insurance protects the lender if you default on your home loan. It makes it possible for you to purchase a home with as little as 3-5 % down.

Here's How PMI Works

1. You have a 5% downpayment.

2. The lender wants to finance 80% or less of the home's value, since studies show that buyers who put less down are more likely to default.

3. The lender secures a private mortgage insurance policy for you and closes on the loan. You pay for the PMI policy at closing or (most often) you pay a fee with each monthly loan payment.

4. If you default, the lender receives the 15% you did not pay at closing.

Get Pre-approved for a mortgage. In my experience, those selling are much more willing to take you seriously. and this also allows you to judge how much house you can afford.,

If you don't have 20% down its ok....just be aware that you may have to pay mortgage insurance or other fees.

Look in the areas where you want to live....it is such a great time to buy and there are so many great deals out there right now. Buying a house is the biggest investment of your life.

Think about closing costs....This costs thousands and thousands of dollars! Don't forget to factor this in!

*****The good deals go super super fast so if you see a house that was just listed on the market and it seems like a good deal ...jump for it. The house we bought was 'sold' and the guy buying it could'nt get a mortgage. It went on the market the next day and I made an appt. quick and when I got there to see the house there was another Realtor with her contractor ready to put in an offer. Thank God we put our offer in first!

Hope that helps!

def get a pre-approval letter! this will help you and & FH know where you stand and what you can afford and how much the banks will give you...

plus like she said, it will give you much more buying power because sellers will take you more seriously

good luck!!

you can check out MLS also theres tonssssssssss of houses on there and you can narrow it down by town, school district, #bedrooms, price, etc.

bankrate.com has excellent calculators!! When FH bought his condo a few years ago, the market was really great and he only needed to put down 5%. Now, I think banks want more downpayments and the more you put down, the more they are willing to work with you. I would say 15- 20% down is a very good start...

Good luck!