what are the steps to take in buying first home?
467408
Generally the method for being pre-approved is not difficult.  The hardest part is finding a knowledgeable Loan Officer that is also honest.  \n\nBe wary of people trolling this site for business.  If they have to come to this forum to get clients one must question their ability and/or honesty.\n\nWith that being said, a Realtor may be assistance in finding a fair person.  You might also check with folks you know that have gone through this experience and see if they feel the person that helped them were honest and reliable.\n\nOnce that is taken care of you simply complete an application and the Loan Officer takes care of the rest.  He/She can locate a mortgage to tailor fit your needs.  The products can vary greatly based on factors like income, debt, credit worthiness, amount of down payment and job stability. \n\nThis company will typically give you a pre-approval letter.  This will be a benefit to you since you'll already know what your buying power is.  Do keep in mind what you feel your maximum payment should be to stay afloat.  It is not uncommon to qualify even though you know in your heart you will be over extended.  \n\nWhen you decide on a loan program, I encourage you to call several lending institutions and compare products, rates, and loan fees.  This will give you an edge in determining if the Loan Officer is working in your best interest.  There are lots of honest people out there but unfortunately there are some thief’s as well.
1165632
Contact a mortgage broker in your area first.  They'll set you up with a loan and preapproval.  Then you'll know what you can afford and then hook up with a realtor.  Don't go to the realtor first.  That's putting the cart before the horse.  If you're in California, I'd be glad to help you.  E-mail me at tom4loans@sbcglobal.net
181654
the fact that you are a first time buyer has little to do with the kind of mortgage to get. more important is how much down, how long do you plan to stay in the home, how much is your income, how much do you need to borrow.
770122
The time is now! I started on October 4th hopping by December 4th When my lease is up i was already out. Well Today is November 20th and I still haven't found my home, the good thing is my loan is already approved, the only thing missing is the house and the long wait between negotiations  and appressal. \n\nMy advise is, get pre-approved or approved FIRST, then start house hunting. The most important thing is to get approved for the best loan before the hunt, which is the easiest part. \n\nMy third application took 30-minutes over the phone with my bank and within 4-business days I was sort of pre-approved.  My original loan amount was for $300,000 which got decline by the underwritter, so I had to talk to him and settle for a $260,000 loan., But a week later, it was finally approved.   \n\n\nSince my original loan amount was decline, I had to look for homes withing that price range in another part of the state. Where I currently live, Homes start at $300,000 and they tend to be small, and needing a lot of work.\n\nMy bank  was my third and last lender, after trying with Credit Suisse which gave me 100% financing at 5.375% then change the terms to 7. 850% for 3-years fixed and 27-years variable without notifying me. \n\nThe second attend was with Quicken Loans, which was a complete waste of time. BTW, if you valued your sanity, AVOID Quicken Loans!\n\nA fixed interest mortgage is the best to go, you don't want to go for one of those "Interest Only" you hear so much about. Thouse will lead you to a foreclosure within 3-year.\n\nFor a 100% financing loan your mortage payments will start the first day of the month 2-months later, mine is set for February 1st. 2007. The monthly payments will  include Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance.
813671
The question really is:  What town, city, region, state or area are you looking to purchase your land from?\n\nFirst -- when you get to the area (where you are interested in purchasing) -- go to the local restaurant, get comfy, get a good meal -- and usually close by their entry door -- they have a Magazine listing the local real estate agents, homes for sale, land offerings, and just pick up this free offering.\n\nThen ... go to your room (hotel) and spend the night going over the listings - tag the ones that look like good possibilities, and list them down separately -- these are the listings where you will start your search for property.\n\nAfter that -- the local phone directory will have listings for Real Estate Agents in the Business Directories -- and match them up to the properties you found.\n\nDO you know your approximate value of mortgage of pre-approval?  If not, it is worth your time to go to several local banks, and check out their mortgage programs, you know, interest rates, what they require for down payments, if there are any special programs that you may qualify for (like VA Home Loan Guarantees or FHA or FannieMae), and APPLY -- do that BEFORE going to the realtors.  \n\nWith this Pre-Approval, it is a good thing ... you can now comfortably work with all the Real Estate Agents that you choose, and ... most importantly, look at properties within your budget, and since you ARE pre-approved, everyone knows you can give an offer (if you find something that you like) and that offer can be different than the listed price.\n\nAlso -- look at what similar properties in the area are going for -- and if there is a big difference in the cost of the land -- find out why.
1096993
Without doing any work yourself, you have at least three choices:\n\n1. contact a bank's loss mitigation person to see if they have any bank REOs (Real Estate Owned). These are properties that the bank foreclosed on and wasn't able to sell on the auction. Look over their list and do a drive by on the ones that seem interesting to you. Then submit an offer to the bank. They usually have an agent that they work with, so he/she can help you out.\n\n2. Contact the people that have ads that say "we buy houses". Ask them if they have any houses around 80k that they are willing to sell. Just verify the comps on the property.  \n\n3. Get an agent that doesn't mind low balling listed homes in the MLS. You might find a motivated buyer who will take your offer. \n\n\nRegards
484080
Two ways.  1) start with local lenders.  They usually have in house first time homebuyer mortgage products offered to the low to mod income homebuyer unless you purchase in a targeted neighborhood and then there are usually no income limits.  Typical program is low down payment, allows grant usage and may give assistance or a loan for closing costs.  2)Contact a local housing counseling agency.  For a list of agencies go to www.hud.gov.  \nThey offer housing counseling (so you know what you're doing) and may have down payment assistance or direct you where you can apply.
976830
You should have real estate to buy first.  Start with a fixer-upper and rent that out.  Using the income from that property, you can buy another house to rent out.  It is a very good idea to get into the market while it is @ a remarkable low
626095
If you're in California you may want to visit CalHFA. They have a variety of 1st time home owner assistance program
1084515
Really straight forward:  no unsecured debt.  If you have credit card debt get rid of it.  Use your 25K if necessary.\n\nNo car payment - pay off any installment loans you have.  Use your savings if necessary.   You wil then be able to save expedentially each month.\n\nWhat kind of house are you after with $75K down?  That's a huge down payment for a first time homeowner of any age!\n\nYour first house should not be your dream house, it should be one that you can sell in 5-7 yrs to the next first time home buyer.  \nMake sure the location supports the property.  Buy the smallest/least expensive house in the best neighborhood.  \n\nDon't buy the biggest/most expensive house on the block...lose out on equity potential.
543593
There are many programs available for first time homebuyers.  I closed on my first house for $300 out of pocket.  The county made my downpayment for me.  Talk to a Realtor.  He/she will be able to tell you what programs are available in your area.
670412
Assuming that your question is how do you go about buying a home in foreclosure I suggest the following.  First you must find the home that is in foreclosure.  Look in the legal notices in your local newspaper or a legal newspaper generally circulated among lawyers.  There you will find two publications that will put you on the track of a foreclosure.  First are the Notices of Default.  These are reuired to be published when a lender (usually a bank) wants to foreclose on a loan because of non-payment by the borrower.  From these notices you can identify the amount of the original loan on the property, the amount of delinquency, the name and address of the owners and the name and telephone number of the Trustee (The person who is managing the foreclosure and who will conduct a foreclosure sale if the back payments and costs are not paid.  The notice is a three month notice so you have a lot of time to look at the property (usually from the outside only) to see if it is what you want.  Unfortunately for you however the owner also has three months to pay of the arrearages and cure the defalult and thus prevent the foreclosure sale.\n\nThe second thing to look for in the legal section of the newspaper are the Trustee Notices of Sale.  The trustee is the person who will conduct a sale if the defalult is not cured, that is, if the arrearage is not paid of in the time alloted.  The sale of the property usually takes place on the courthouse steps and usually very few people attend.The Trustee's notice is a twenty day notice usually and you are given the time and place of the forclosure sale which is an auction sale.You are also told the mimimum bid which is the amount of the outstanding balance on the loan plus all of the costs of the foreclosure proceeding.The sale is however a cash sale so you must be prepared to go to the trustee's sale with cash.  Well it need not be dollar bills but it must be in the form of a certified check.  The trustee will auction the property off to the highest bidder of those present
1032377
Start at the city or county website for some numbers to call, or check out Fannie Mae website.\n\nhttp://www.fanniemae.com\n\nPS. Do you think you want to rent or own?
369971
Yes, although the most popular is an FHA loan that most mortgage bankers carry.  Go to http://www.hud.gov/ Here you will find answer to many questions as a first time home buyer.  I purchased my first property with an FHA Loan and even though the paperwork is a little more, it is the way to go due to the low down payment required.  Also look for a bank with "FHA credits" this can lower the money required at closing.
288215
Well, first off you need to figure out how to get the capital so you can have cash on hand at all times to be able to buy properties when yu see them, rather than waiting on a mortgage to go through.  \n\nThe best way to start is a couple ways.  1.)  Find a money partner.  Someone that has the money on hand and make sure that his split is more than yours for the time being until you have your own money.  2.)  You could finance the first couple of homes.  I deal with a couple investors and this is how they have started.  I do these types of loans, so if you would like more information, feel free to contact me at timothy.kazee. com and we can talk about this more.  \n\nFinancing the proerties is going to be your best bet for right now.
191033
The following  link will help you out. It has many different calculators on it pertaining to home buying. It gives you "How much can I afford" and "How much can I borrow" info as well as things like "Rent vs. Buy" options.\n\nGood luck with your home search!!
924239
Consider this alternative which is a three step procedure.\nIt is absolutely normal for a couple to sell one house and consider this option.\nStep 1  : Sell the house. Get whatever you can after you've paid off your mortgage. If you're thinking there isn't going to be any left for keeps, don't sweat it. Just settle this 'giant problem' first.\n\nStep 2 : This is the simpler part. Since it is apparent that it is generally easier to buy than to sell, you might consider lease-purchase option. Which means, when you move to your new location, it may not be a purchase straight away. Later if you decide this new home is really for you, then you can exercise your option to purchase by entering into a Sales & Purchase Agreement.\n\nStep 3 : If you decide NOT to buy, then your lease, maybe 5 years can be made into a very comfortable setting, the money which most people use up paying for mortgage facilities can be channeled into having all the gadgets you require to enjoy a  refined  quality of  life.\n\nOptional Step 4 : While you're enjoying Step 3, Save your money within these 5 years and invest in a smaller house, not for you stay in yourself, but to rent it and sell it for profits. Try not to take a loan. Invest in smaller a property because you can re-sell it faster. The idea is to have best of both worlds: one way you refine your lifestyle as in Step 3, and the other to purchase/invest into something which will snowball in value, without having to pay for mortgage services that eat into your savings. \n\nThe above is is truly the easy way, taken into consideration  all the mistakes I have made in properties and, learning from them.