First time buying a home. For me. Please help!!

First you will want to find out where you stand as far as financing/credit. Go to annualcreditreport.com
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
You can get a free credit report on yourself. (You have to pay a teeny bit extra to get your scores, but I personally think it's worth it to know.)
Then go to your bank and find out what you might qualify for. With your type of employment, you may get a less-than-favorable result, but you never know. And it's good to know exactly where you stand.
Then start applying Dean's principles and start looking at properties. Pick out a neighborhood/place that you WANT to live in. Look at some properties with their listing agents. Ask LOTS of questions. Just be you. Tell them that you are a first-time homebuyer and that you are just starting to look, that you have someone that may be willing to help you out on buying your first home (which is technically true, since the DG family will be "helping" you. ),
but they want you to find a nice place and they want to see you get a good deal. (I believe they will be more confident in showing you if they think there is money behind it, but will be more compassionate if they know YOU are just starting out).
You can also start looking on Craigslist (like I believe you have been) and other areas to find FSBOs to call, to see if you can get into a lease/option or seller-financing. You can tell them the same thing.

I guess those are the first steps I can think of.
You could also look at duplexes in your area. You may bea ble to buy something to live in while someone else makes your payments.
You have so many options! Good luck. Stay motivated and determined! Nobody else can stop you.

Wish you well, and we will be here.

Rina

Rina gives the best advice, and its so on point,sincerest thanks, good luck Tracy...

Hello Tracy,
You have over one hundred posts on this site,Which means probably you have read three too ten times the amount in comments.I read your post and the system stays the same when buying property regardless of who buys the property!It almost sounds like you want to pay full price,But i will say i do understand how hard it can be getting a loan when the numbers are not there.
That why it is so important to lock up a deal at a good/great discount and shop yourself and the deal around...If the deal is there,Someone will say YES!

Hi Tracy,
glad to hear you plan to stick it out. as far as advise, well I bought my first brand new car (its really a truck) just after I turned 50, and Ive never owned my own home hon. but I would say that Rina gal talks some real good sence and shes been very seccussful in this business. I would put my money (if I had some) on her. It may not be easy but give it your best and try to stay up beat.

It looks like Rina and other DG Members have provided some great advice already. I would add that once you know the local area you would like to live in then start doing additional research in that area looking for a motivated sellers. You may be able to find a FSBO property, a property listed on the MLS, a REO, a foreclosure, short sale or even a HUD property at a great price. Hud gives priorities to owner occupants and even may offer financing options. You may even find a duplex and can get a home and a rental unit all in one. The following link will take you to the HUD website.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/reo/reobuyfaq.cfm

On the upper right corner of this website you can go to the "information by state" section. I hope this helps. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Rina and Joe give great advise so do what they are suggesting. I have another avenue for you also. If you are familiar with craigslist, look for a FSBO, possibly a duplex, and a seller that owns the property outright. My thought is to ask for owner finance and a lot of times the seller won't finance unless you are going to live there. The want to make sure the owner is going to be there to take care of a house that they have lived in for many years. The hardest part for you is going to be coming out of your comfort zone and ask the questions. You have got to get your feet wet sometime, so go make a deal!!....Jan

HI TRACY! im a first time homebuyer too! im in the process of buying my first home! The best loan out there of what i understand is a FHA they only require 3.5% down and if you close before december you can get the $8,000 tax credit! I think you should use Deans techniques in order to get a great deal on your first home!!

rsaldana has great financing advice.

I would suggest the same. FHA is the new non-prime loan. Low down easy purchase. Expect to pay PMI - Private mortgage insurance with FHA.

Another suggestion would be to get a private loan (cash). This would give you more control when making the offer. Once you have purchased the home with cash do a quick refinance (no-seasoned refinance). Your refinancing can be done up to 80% of the value. So, if you are making offers as you should (low) you could purchase and refinance without money. This way you have a conventional loan without down pay and PMI.
- A little more complex but doable as well.

Thank you all so much for all the GREAT advice! I wasnt expecting such a huge response but I greatly appreciate every word! Your help is incredible to me.

I went for a small drive today but didnt find any places for sale that I liked. I havent found a single house for rent either, but im more interested in buying anyhow.

I looked at the HUD website and found some homes in El Paso that are owned by HUD. Im still lost about the whole process. I have no idea what im doing. Im worried that using a realtor will only increase costs. I read this on the HUD page:

"HUD is offering a $100 Down Payment Initiative. The $100 down payment is for owner occupants purchasing a HUD Home with FHA financing, with full price or higher offers. This incentive is also available to owner occupant purchasers who obtain a FHA Home Repair loan (203K) with a full price offer or higher. If the purchase price is greater than the appraised value, the purchaser must pay the difference between the FHA appraised value and the purchase price in addition to the $100 down payment. It`s a great time to Purchase a HUD Home with FHA financing."

So if I finance with FHA (which I just learned is Federal Housing Administration) well.. I have no idea what that paragraph means. I feel so stupid when it comes to this stuff. Thats why I didnt want to start without Deans Coaching program. Boy are they going to think im about as smart as a rock with all the questions I have.

Basically I found a couple of houses owned by HUD that I might be able to afford. I got my credit report but im still iffy bout spending the teeny bit extra for my score. Im REALLY tight on funds. But the houses I found.. the pics are not glamorous. Holes in the walls. horrid roofs. Nasty bathrooms. yick. I dont know if I can do this anymore. I think I didnt know what I was getting myself into.

I know its about buying a house and theres a lot of steps to it. I just for some reason thought there would be a "buy a house wizard" I could click on and viola! Ha. Funny right? Maybe not.

If I get a loan from these FHA people, how would I go about doing that?
I looked it up but to me it seems like maybe I have to go through someone else to get a loan from them? I thought there might be a FHA website but I couldnt find one. I guess I'd like to know how much money I can get approved for as a home loan before I start looking at prices because I dont know if i'll even qualify.

I know I ask a lot of questions but I could really use your help. Once again, Thank you for any help you can offer.

Take care and God bless.

Tracy, Don't u even think about giving up. Those that go thru the muck and mud get the rewards. Did you think it would be easy. If that were the case, Dean would still be living in a trailer because everybody knows everything about REI and no one would buy books or CD's. Listen to me, it will get easier as time goes on, it will. There is no REI wizard, there is no magic no money down deal, there is only you, this site and your guts and determination to be a winner. Now try this, FHA mortgages are available thru most banks or mortgage brokers. If you have a favorite ask them about USDA mortgages. Just go do it, and ask questions. I expect to hear something from you tomorrow......Jan

I work lunch shift tomorrow but I am going to try to stop by my bank early in the morning and speak with them about the FHA loan. I will be sure to post the outcome.

I was snooping around craigslist. Found a 3bdr. 2bath on a half acre lot. Selling for 32,000 (take over payments) I looked it up on zillow and its valued there at 69,000. Sounds great right?

I dont know.... Its in a yucky area of town.. Its pretty much on the outskirts of the county. Dirt road kind of neighborhood. The pics arent too flattering either. Its about 20 minutes east of my work. So Im thinkin of takin a drive out there after work to check it out.

Then I found a nicer house on the HUD website. It seems nice. Its in a neighborhood about 5 or 10 minutes from my work and its in an area where new businesses are being built. Its 150k though. Seems far out of reach for me.

Here are a few (or couple, whichever I give) tips that may help you.

1) FHA is normally best sought through a HUD associated broker. I find that banks have a harder time with the loans. The brokers should also be doing FHA loans on a regular basis. If they are not I would not use them. Brokers may not do FHA because the paperwork is harder.

2) HUD properties are awesome (if I can use that word) for first time home buyers. For the first week that properties are for sale as a HUD property they are for owner occupied buyers only. This will give you a huge edge.

Tracy,
The bottom line can be many things?The trick is to find the one that works for you!

Nstreet, I went to my bank this morning and asked about getting the FHA loan. They looked at me like I was crazy or speaking a different language. She said she had never heard of it before then after speaking with someone else she said that the government doesnt do that anymore. I left there assuming that they didnt know anymore than me and/or just didnt want to do the work and help me out.

After the bank this morning I was driving to look at a house that I found on craigslist. The one that was take over payments for 32k--HORRID!!! there was black some kind of stuff all over the walls. The ceiling was uneven and there was no toilet! the faucets were all missing too. There was no carpet and some nails sticking out of random parts of the house. Windows were like brand new but the rest of the house was falling down and rotting around them. I couldnt have gotten out of there any faster than I did.

Good news:
Though Im still interested in the HUD homes because of the $100 down deal and the FHA loan being easier to get, I have another option.

My fiance's father is giving us some land. He was renting the land out to a couple but they have moved so the lot is vacant. Its two acres of land but only one acre is flat and fenced in. He is giving half of the fenced in acre to us and the other half to his other son (who lives in Dallas). All the hook ups for water and cable are already in place so this is all good news.

Now, I cant very well roll out a sleeping bag and live in the dirt out there. So obviously im going to have to get a mobile home if we are going to live there. After looking at the house of doom, I was hesitant about going to look at the mobile homes. I was thinking they were going to be small, cramped up and poorly set up.

But I found a place that sold mobile homes and the couple that runs the place was very nice. They gave me a key that could unlock all the homes and said I could go look around and gave me a map of the yard that listed the info on all the homes.

Some were new some repo's. They said Century 21 takes the repos and repaints recarpets.. well, just redoes everything to the homes. They all looked like new and were actually quite nice. Plus I am in no position to be picky.

One that I liked was brand new but it was 98k. Another I liked was a repo but really really nice and it was 68k. I told my Fiance and he said they were way to expensive but im going to take him to look anyway. We are going to go again on Saturday.

Now I was wondering...

I know a lot of people dont like to work with mobile homes but, does anyone know of a way to talk down the cost of one? The brand new one has been out there for 6 months.

Its just going to be something for us to live in until I can really get going and get good at being an investor. So I dont want to spend too much but I dont want trash either because Im thinkin of renting it out once we find another place to live. I dont want to rent out garbage let alone live in it.

Thanks again so much for all of your help. I really cant thank you enough.

Would it be possible to do the FHA loan for a mobile home

AND

could I still qualify for the new home buyer tax credit if I purchase a mobile home new or used??

what if I just buy a home from someone else... for example, I contacted a lady on craigslist selling her mobile home... would I still qualify for getting the FHA loan and the tax credit?

Hi. Like you I am just starting out too. I do know something about mobile homes as I grew up in one until I was 18 and later owned one with my brother over 20 years ago.

I know you cannot get a FHA loan on a mobile home and you won't get any kind of tax credit either.

I don't mean to be negative but you also need special financing to purchase a mobile home and once you have it you might find it hard to have repairs done because all mobile homes just use only mobile home specific parts that you cannot find at places like the Home Depot. So you are forced to go to the mobile home dealer and sometimes pay up to 3 times more for the similar things found at any home improvement store. Many people like plumbers, carpenters, electricians that work on regular houses won't even work on mobile homes because they are so different. Plus I've found that owning a mobile home often has all the headaches of owning a car with all the headaches of owning a home combined.

I have one suggestion that might be better. You might be better off buying a real house and keeping the land maybe to build a new house on it after you have made some real good money from investing or possibly selling it too.

I would also suggest that you may want to look into taking home owner classes which I have done. Many times these classes are usually needed before you can even get an FHA loan. At least that is the way it is here in Minnesota. The classes I completed May 2009 cost only $15.00 and included two 6 hour classes scheduled a week apart and the $15 included all the teaching supplies which are yours to keep. They have local people such as realtors, mortgage lenders, insurance people, credit counselors etc. teach you everything you need to know to be a successful home owner plus sometimes they may have special government money set aside for purchasing your own home (usually for foreclosed homes) on top of the tax credit money you mentioned after you have completed both classes.

Contact your local HRA/Housing Authority (a government agency) or Google it to find out when and where the next classes will be held. There are normally no income restrictions and the teachers you meet could be good people to help both you and your fiancé get started in finding a home and also good for investing too. I would use the knowledge that they teach at the two classes and the knowledge from Dean's books to make your financial goals come true.

Best Wishes & Good Luck!!

Hey Tracy....

Definately glad to see you are still in the game. Definately tkae all the advice you can get from the DG members, expecially Rina & Koe. They know there stuff!

I would personally recomend that you check into some of the down payment assistance programs. I know a lot of things have changed from a year ago when I aquired my home, but back then there was 2 big ones to use. The Neamiah program & also The AmeriDream program. Like I said, it worked out great for me last year. In fact, thru the program, I was able to get the seeler to pasically cover my entire down payment and then with the remaining contribution, literaly brought my loan balance down by another $8k. It was pretty awesome....

Just do a search for the 2 programs and see what they still have to offer!!

Wishing you all the best!!

God Bless....

I went back to the mobile home place today and got a few questions answered then came home and did some more research online to validify what i was told and to answer some more of my own questions.

I really appreciate the help of everyone who posted on this forum. thank you thank you thank you all!

I would like to respectfully correct DMillions. I found that you CAN get the FHA loan assistance for the purchase of a mobile home. there are some stipulations to it but it is very possible. I found that out through several websites that work with FHA.

Also, you can get a tax credit on mobile homes. I found that out through the lady that works at the mobile home place and online at several websites associated with tax credits. There is the first time home buyer tax credit that you can use. there is also the Energy saver tax credit you can get with a mobile home as well. The energy saver tax credit is eligible for 30% of the cost for different things that you have on your home that save energy such as solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, insulation, windows, doors, fuel cells etc.

Im still learning and finding things out day by day but like dean says, Small Steps.... one at a time.

Stay with me people!

thank you all again very much.

I am still open to hearing further input and advice.

The 68k house was sold as well as the one for 98k... now the lease expensive home on the lot is 110k brand new. the others that are repo's, well there are two that are horrid and are no warranty and "as is" they dont have any carpet, two entry doors are missing, one of the bedrooms has a 2foot hole right through the floor. yick.

Where and how on earth could I possibly get financing, or a loan, or anything? Especially on a waitress' income alone.. ARRG!!!

Hi Tracy,
Have you considered leasing a home from a "seller" with the option to purchase in 18 to 24 months? This will give you and your fiance a chance to get your finances in order and you may ask that part of you monthly lease payment be credited to the purchase price upon you exercise of the option.

I apologize for any misinformation I have given you. The information I forwarded to you was given to me by one of the people that was teaching the HOME class that I took this summer that I told you about earlier. They claimed that FHA and tax credits only applied to regular homes. Maybe that is something that they are willing to do down in Texas and not in Minnesota. I don't know.
If for some reason the mobile home thing doesn't work out another thing you may want to look at is a company called Clayton Homes at claytonhomes.com. I seen an ad on TV this last weekend and they appear to be one of the biggest custom prefab home builders in the U.S. They build these really beautiful new custom made factory built Prefab homes, not to be confused with a mobile home. The big advantage of a prefab over a mobile home is that they can be built and set up anywhere a stick built home can be built and you don't have to put it in a trailer park. But you don’t have to worry about that because you already own the land. If you didn't own any land (like me) they would help you find that as well.
These houses are a real home built on a real foundation and the nice thing is that they cost 33% less than a comparable stick built home. They give an example of a stick built house that would normally cost $100.000 to build. But with Clayton Homes the same exact home built with them would only cost about $60,000. They can build almost any one or two story home and you can give them a floor plan and/or tell them what you want and don’t want and they can build it. Plus they help handle all the financing for you and they do FHA loans and have the up to the $8,000 tax credit available for first time buyers—but you would have to get started right away as it expires in December and you would have to have the home built and close on it before the government's expiration date. It only takes Clayton about 3 months to build a new home compared to 6 month to a year build time for a stick home.
There are also companies that make prefab foundations too. They are factory built and made of concrete and high strength steel rebar but look like a normal foundation once finished. On site, the foundation sections are taken off the truck and laid in place by a crane. The corners are glued with this special adhesive and bolted together. Because of there incredible strength they resist cracking and shifting compared to other foundations. They are the strongest and overall best foundations out there plus they can be made to your and your builder's exact specifications. Not including excavation time the foundation can be set up and mostly finished in about one day. I saw this on PBS’s “This Old House”. This is definitely the way I would go if I built a brand new home.
I looked it up on the Internet and Clayton has a place right in El Paso. It’s called Clayton Homes of El Paso. There address is 6840 Gateway, El Paso TX 79915 and there phone number is (915) 778-6648. I would be interested in what you found out because this looks like something I would be interested in too but the nearest Clayton Home center for me is over 2 ½ hours round trip.

As always Best Wishes & Good Luck!

please check out this posting from. I don't know how the area is, but it looks like it might be a good opportunity?

http://elpaso.en.craigslist.org/reo/1410057336.html

Be watching the new Craigslist ads every day. You never know what you might find (have the investing part in the back of your mind even while you are looking for a home). If it's a "deal of a lifetime" it will be gone the same day most likely.
Good luck on your search!

Rina

I actually started out looking for "rent to own" homes. The biggest problem I had was finding a seller that was doing that. I found two. One, someone else was a bit more prepared than I and beat me to it. The other, the man only wanted to sell but when I talked to him I convinced him on the whole "rent to own" option and I think he was being rudely sarcastic. He said he would only accept $1600 monthly payments in that case and a $5k down payment. I looked the house up on Zillow and houses on the very same short street were renting out for $400! This mans demands were very unrealistic. Needless to say, his house is still up for sale. I left him with my number in case he changes his mind. To be honest, if he did call back I might just say my offer longer stands because he was so rude and unpleasant to work with.

Dmillions, its okay! We are all here to learn something new everyday But you may want to talk with your teacher. I found this info on a Minnesota webpage plus im not 100% positive but im almost certain that the tax credit qualifications are the same throughout the states. But this is what I found on your state:

"Any home that will be used as a principal residence will qualify for the credit. This includes single-family detached homes, attached homes like townhouses and condominiums, manufactured homes (also known as mobile homes) and houseboats. The definition of principal residence is identical to the one used to determine whether you may qualify for the $250,000 / $500,000 capital gain tax exclusion for principal residences"

I will definitely contact Clayton Homes, that sounds great. thank you!
I will let you know what I find.

Rina,
You are great! Thank you. Unfortunately, thats the house I went to look at on the first of this month. The one without a toilet and the right side of the house is attatched to a mobile home (that they dont show in the pic but you can see the steps that lead up to it on the right). I walked around in there with the man selling the property. It was confusing to me because he is not the owner, he is making payments to the previous owner and wants someone to make payments to him so he can make payments to the person who actually owns the property. But they are going to take the mobile home that is attatched to the house when they move because thats what they are living in. He said the house has been used for storage and no one has actually lived in it for years except his two dogs..

Im sure it would be a great deal for another investor in the area who would be able to rehab it and make it livable. And im sure it could be talked waaaayyy down in price given its condition.

Still on the hunt..

You are really on the move! Awesome!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, you said "Im sure it would be a great deal for another investor in the area who would be able to rehab it and make it livable. And im sure it could be talked waaaayyy down in price given its condition." Does that mean you could do just that? Lock up the deal and assign it? Don't pass an opportunity to make money while you are looking for your home. After all, you are an investor looking for win/win situations. Just a thought.

love ya and very proud of you!

Rina

look for owners in pre-foreclosure from unpaid mortgage payments (FHA and VA) and/or have unpaid taxes, work out a deal with them. Also use Greg M. strategy finding owners who have free and clear properties. You can also cold call and see if someone would be willing to sell you their house. Are there any condos or townhouses in desirable area near where you work that you could purchase? Also HUD gives owner occupants a $1000 credit plus 3% seller's concession (cover closing costs).

I had thought of it but im not sure I could find a buyer... Its located pretty far off of any major parts of the city and the surrounding houses look just bout the same as that one.

But here's the situation of it now from what i understand.

The current occupants are making $500 monthly payments to the previous occupants who i think owned the property. So its was an FSBO and now the current occupants have the rights to the property because they are making payments on it to the previous owners. Now the people living there want to sell it because they are moving. They want someone to "take over payments" which would be the $500 monthly and 32k owed on the house.

If I wanted to talk down the price would I have to talk to the previous owners? but if i did that I just dont see why the previous owners would want to renegotiate the price paid to them when they already have a contract with someone paying more. The current occupants would have to ultimately decide to cut their losses and face the fact they paid too much for the house. Unless the property/house was in much MUCH better condition when they signed the contract...

Does that make any sense or am i missing something?

I looked up the property on zillow and its showing it as $77k. Im not sure if that price is for the house or the land or both.. and im not sure if it would still show as that much if the house was inspected. not even close..