2 years out-Good credit scores-New mortgage :)

[holycowe]

Just a quick update:

Chapter 7 closed jan-2012
We started building credit pretty fast. I have $400/mon auto loan with Wells Fargo.
I have 3 cards, wife have 2
Just stopped by Wells Fargo today with some paperworks, thinking no way I can get a FHA loan from em. And guess what. We approved for max. Amount FHA allow ~300k
He ran our scores. Wife in the high 600, mine is 695 705 715. That was fast for 2 years out I guess

Time for us to go house hunting.

[TXskyblue]

Congratulations!

What kind of rates are they talking?

[spidge]

Good for you. Happy hunting.

[holycowe]

Thanks. As of today, FHA rate is 4.25% I believe

[CCsAreEvil]

The main thing that keeps me away from FHA is that never ending MIP payment.. I don't know the exact figures (think I read somewher 1.3%), but if you had a loan of $250k, you'd be paying an extra monthly MIP payment of $270 or so.

[holycowe]

Yep, for $300k loan. He showed me the insuarance of almost $400 a month.
Pay til we have at least 20% equity

[LadyInTheRed]

I love posts like this that prove BK does not ruin you forever.

Did they give you an amoritization schedule that shows how long it will take to pay down 20% of the principal?

[mynameainttracy]

We recently started talking to a LO about trying again for a mortgage. My husband qualifies for a VA loan but the LO keeps trying to drag us back in the direction of an FHA. Why would she be doing this? If we can't qualify for a loan via VA I believe I can wait. We can't afford the FHA route.

[holycowe]

No. Not yet. I haven't think about that far to get rid of the insuarance. Just focussing on getting our OWN home again for now

[LadyInTheRed]

No. Not yet. I haven't think about that far to get rid of the insuarance. Just focussing on getting our OWN home again for now

When you are looking at $400 in insurance, you really should look at the total cost of insurance vs. the time it would take you to save the money for a down payment to avoid or decrease the amount of time paying the insurance. Buying a home is a big financial commitment that should be made based on more than what you can qualify for and whether you can afford the monthly payment. Interest rates are still pretty low, so that is another consideration that could tip the scale in favor of buying now. Just make sure you look at all of the factors before deciding you must buy a home now instead of waiting for a few years.

[eener]

That 1.3% PMI is why we want to stay away from FHA - it's awful that you have to pay it for the life of the loan now. It does not drop off once you have paid down 20%.

[jacko]

Congrats, your in debt again.

[Drazil65]

Hi, why not just continue to save the whole down payment and not worry about paying the PMI? What is the hurry? Either way (renting or buying) you are paying the bank "rent" until its paid off so why pay the extra in PMI just to "own" your home? Never understood paying for PMI and making the payment much higher than need be, the smarter thing to do is get the whole down payment together and not be a slave to the PMI portion along with the prin., int, taxes and ins. You have to have a down payment anyway so hopefully you can just keep saving towards what you need. Good Luck!

[holycowe]

Oh ok, that makes sense. I'm thinking about it.
But also, the pricing is still kinda low and keep going up. Rates are going up as well. Another thing to consider

[TXskyblue]

Congrats, your in debt again.

Saying that a mortgage is just another debt is ignoring the fact that housing costs money whether one rents or gets a mortgage.

OP could elect to continue to rent and end up paying the same amount or only slightly less than a mortgage would cost.