House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

So Sara and I stopped at a local doublewide mobile home for sale locally. The house is located 2 miles from her mamas one way and 1 mile from her daddy's the other way. The location is PERFECT. It is in the area that we want, has a great school district for when we have kids two or three years down the road. It has new carpet, interior paint, kitchen floors, decks, etc...). I really love it. Now asking price is 82k. I talked to the realtor and she said at that price, monthly payment would be around $450 a month plus about an extra $200 if we Escrow the taxes and insurance in. So for around $650-$700 a month. However, of course, I would not pay that 82k for the house and land in question. Im thinking around 70k. The house sits on 1.15 acres. Its a 3 bed, 2 bath btw I looked on our local tax maps and its says:

building tax value: $65k
land value: 12k

Now this is pretty good prices for this area. Now I'm 23 years old with decent credit score. Sara has a decent credit score. Im a little worried on our age though about securing a loan. On the full asking price, downpayment is like $2800. The downpayment is no problem though. Sara is getting ready to get a new nursing job this week (fingers crossed). So she wont have been at her job that long which hurts trying to get a loan.

Now for you guys that have bought houses and stuff, what is the best method to go about doing this. I know a little about credit and stuff like that. I know we need to go get a preapproval amount on what we can get. Not sure the best place. Probably a bank, because a mortage company of finance company because interest will be through the roof. I may try my bank-Bank of America. This place will probably be unattainable because it will take about two months to get the downpayment needed. By then it will probably be sold :(. Thought i's get your guy's input.

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_101_12.jpg

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_301_19.jpg

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_401_20.jpg

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_501_18.jpg

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_801_16.jpg

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_901_16.jpg

http://triad.mlxtempo.com/TRIImages/...488_G01_49.jpg

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Looks like a really nice place I would love just the land! All i can tell you is that it will be one of the most stressful experiences of your life. I purchased my first home a few months ago and thought about giving up during the process many times. You just got to stick with it. You are right, first go to the bank or call them they can usually pre approve you over the phone and send you the letter. Doesn't sound like you will have much trouble getting the approval amount you need. After that the calculator will be your friend, run all the numbers every which way you can for every possible scenario and make sure you can swing it. Just because the bank approves for a certain amount don't mean you can afford it. When i applied they approved me for some ridiculous amount that was just not realistic for me. If your comfortable with the numbers and have a little bit of a cushion chances are that when the underwriters get a hold of all your stuff there wont be many speed bumps for you. It will feel like they are really digging into your life but its worth it in the end. I am 25 and am in no way an expert on this but I just went through it so its fresh on my mind. I am speaking from personal experience but if you have any other questions just ask I might be able to answer or point you in the right direction. Good Luck!

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

the things are worrying me are:

1) I have a decent credit score BUT not a great history. When I was younger (18) i decided it would be a good idea to charge crap to instore credit cards. Well working retail at 18 years old does not pay very much so you can see where that goes...lol. NOW i have a good job that ive been at for almost 2 years, I have graduated college, and make all of my payments on time! I bought my truck to help my credit score that i messed up back then. Since then, it has went way up, but that history is still there. Of course I have 2 years of great credit history.

2) Sara is about to get a job, so if/when she gets that job, she is new to it. I know when i bought my truck, I hadnt been at my job long and it affeted my interest rate because I was a liability. But when she does get it, she will be making good money. She currently does not have a car payment or anything, so we're good there. i know her getting new job is going to hurt some on securring the loan

3) My truck. Enough said...lol... Im afraid that it is going to hurt my debt to income ratio to where we cant get the loan. Like I said above, one of the main reasons for mew gettting the truck was to help build my credit to buy a house. Now that i am biulding it up, it may be a hinderance. Sara dont want me to sell it, so that is now out of the question. If it comes down to the bank telling us that the truck is blocking us from getting a house, its gone. I will get anotehr Ranger, just a cheaper one...lol

I know we can come up with the money needed for the downpayment in two -three months (by that time this place will be gone). So im not too worried even though I LOVE THIS PLACE. Im sure we can find another in our price range. I already have half the down payment now for the full asking price (I wouldnt pay full asking price). I dk, i just know we're going to get denied.

Alot of people are telling me not to get a mobile home and I can understand, but for that price range on a stickbuilt, you really have to downgrade. i realize that mobile homes depreciate in value like a vehicle, but if we do buy that place, we are going to eventually build and can just build on that land

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

1) I was in a similar situation. My credit score was great but I had not been at my job very long. I had my company write a letter verifying my employment and that the company was in good financial standing etc.. I actually wrote a letter as well describing my situation and how I felt secure with my position at work etc.. This was all before it went to underwriting. CYA

2) your both young so getting a new job is not a bad thing necessarily. If it is a career job they may look at that as a positive. Like I said before about running the numbers, use the highest interest rate you think you would receive when budgeting for the home. I am sure that you can get a house with what you have its just gonna be things like interest rate/down payment that may fluctuate based on your history, truck, jobs, etc.

3) LOL I'm with Sara on this one.

If you miss this house all it will do is set you up to really jump on the next one you find and not have waste time with all the worrying. I am not familiar with mobile home value but I can say it looks nice and like i said before "I would take just the land!". If you can justify living there for a very long time and maybe building in the future I don't see it being a bad idea.

Question: I noticed in the pics that there was no appliances?

Just another expense to figure when budgeting.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

yeah i told her that we would have to budget that into our expenses.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

thats a good looking place man good luck! Place like that here with land would be easy 130-150k. We have been looking too and its a pain in the arse!! I found a place I like its a tripple wide on 5 acres irrigated with a 60x40 shop that has a loft and a room and full bath but its a lil pricey they want 225,000 for it.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

my advise to you is to shy away from a manufactured home my main reason for saying that is that they do not hold there value at all. if you live in for 10 years and sell it you will lose money i garauntee you that. it looks really nice and the property is a huge plus but dont settle on a home just becuase of the land its on. there are alot of houses for sale and you are young, you can afford to be picky and you have to be picky when it comes to a 30 year commitment. it took my wife and i 7 months of looking before we even found a house we liked enough to bid on. take your time and dont settle.

also, you and youre girl need to sit down and make out a budget, figure out all the bills you will be paying that are associated with the house as well as bills you may already have, add it all up and figure out a ballpark figure on what you two will be putting out in bills a month and gather a figure of what you can afford to live on after you pay your bills (such as heating, cooling, electicity, phone, cable ect) and dont over extend yourselfs. and dont worry about getting a loan, banks are still lending even to younger people. just make sure your debt to income ratio is low enough for the amount you want to borrow. also look at different mortgage types besides a conventional loan such as an FHA and such. you could find yourself with a lower payment, better interest rate ect. just do your homework as well as try more than one bank. hell i tried a few banks for my pre-approval and wasnt happy so i tried a mortgage company instead of a bank and got a better deal. just shop around

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Also, each time we do that preapproval, does it affect our credit?

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

82k for a double wide? holy shit!

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Glad to see that you two are looking to buy. As you may or may not know I'm all about buying over renting. I'll give you a few tips that have allowed Beth and I to buy both of our houses.
1. Like it's been said, shy away from manufatured housing. I started to buy one when I moved over to Alabama when I was finishing up with college. The bank told me it was harder to get a loan on one unless it had been set on a permanent concrete foundation and the trailering wheels had been removed and completely taken away from the property. To go along with that, the insurance company gave two seperate rates. One rate was for what they called a complete setup, which is the type I just described. The other rate was for what the called a temporary setup, which was a mobile home that was not permanently afixed to a foundation and still had the trailering wheels attached. The second rate was outrageous. It made sense to me once they explained that some houses had just disappeared. Thus making obatining a loan and insurance harder to get.
2. This is the biggy here. Apply for a FHA, first time home buyers progam. We bought our first house with only $500.00 down, at the time of closing. After the papers had been signed the bank turned around that moment and cut us a check for $500.00. Basically it cost us nothing more than "good faith" money to get the keys to our first house. I don't know what all options are available now, but the FHA plan was one of the better ones when we were buying.
3. Find a mortgage broker and real estate broker that are willing to help, not just sell you two a mortgage and house. If they won't take the time to talk, walk. It shouldn't matter if you need help 12 times in a week, that's what they're getting paid for.
4. Escrow your taxes and insurance into your monthly payment. Yes, it adds to the overall monthly payment, but at the end of the year when those two bills are due your not left struggling to come up with the money.
5. Probably the most important thing on your end, don't fall in love with any house until you've looked at 20 more. You're buying the biggest investment of your life, make sure it's exactly what you want and most importantly need.
Best of luck to you and Sara.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Thats way too expensive for a trailer imo...They dont hold up as well as houses either. If something decides to nest under there, could cause a shitload of damage to the air ducts and insulation before you even noticed it was there. If I were you, Id keep looking. But owning is way better than renting in the aspect, you are actually paying to own instead of paying for something that you will never own. If you're barely going to be able to afford it, I probably wouldnt go for it...Because you have to factor in repairs and whatnot.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Have to agree 82K for that is way to much. 10 years you couldnt even begin to sell that for 70K

Advise I learned when we first looked at houses. Dont low ball so much that they wont even look at ur next offer. They want 82K atleast offer 79K-80K


First time home buyer program is great we didnt have anything down.

Our first time when we got approval we got approved for 300K and ended up with a 45K 2 bedroom house we sold for 55K in 2007

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

thanks Myke. Im really absorbing all of ya'lls advice. Im just wondering where the best place to get a loan. Alot of people are telling me to try to get the FHA loan.

Alright, got a plan together now after talking it over with the fiance. For the next year, we are going to save and save hard. Try to get about $6-$7k together and then get a place. We are only looking for a starter home because we eventually want to build. Sara had a job interview for a LPN (nursing) position last week. She should find out if she gets the job this week. I pay off a personal loan this month, which helps. So alot happening there.

So our gameplan is to save save save. All that while, we will be talking with the real estate agent and letter her get to know us so that she will know what we're looking for. Now not all of that 6-7k is for the house, we also have a wedding to save for (which wont be too expensive) We will also find the best place to get a mortage within this time frame.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Sounds like your going in the right direction. It's definitely a learning experience. Good Luck with the hunt.

Re: House I'd like to get, advice needed
 

Lots of good advice given already.

Check out http://www.churchillmortgage.com/ for a loan, and like you said, save a lot.