How to own a house without money!

margaret_nic · **How to own a house without money!**

I am planning to buy my first house but I do not have that much of money. Are there any alternates and what should I be careful about while negotiating such a deal? I do not mind going in for a Mobile / Manufactured Home. Help!!

melsb · 11-17-2007, 03:03 PM

Check in to first time home owning programs for your state. That is the route we took and it has been a wonderful experience.

desertmom · 11-17-2007, 05:17 PM

Know though, that even if you get a no money down deal, there will always still be costs, usually closing costs, title search fees, etc. And be very careful if you go with a 100% loan, which may be difficult right now with the mortgage problems going on, that it's on a house that will appreciate, which a man. home may not do. You will still need utility fees, landscaping fees and other things that you'll need after closing on the house. I truly feel that even if you find a worthwhile lender and the right house, you still need a financial cushion. Once you own the home, you own the problem. Read up as much as you can on mortgages, home ownership and things to watch out for. Congress just passed a new mortgage bill, but in truth, I think it hurts those on the fringes more than it really hurts the predatory companies. As usual, it'll be the little guy touched by new laws, rather than big business.

stacia · 11-17-2007, 05:33 PM

I would avoid a manufactured home if possible, little resale potential there.

You should check into your states new home buyer incentives. Even with 100% financing you will still need around 3% of the cost. You will have to have a high income and/or excellent credit to qualify for 100% now also. Your Realtor can negotiate your closing costs so the seller pays them, but you will still need an earnest money deposit and there will be additional fees. The really only way you can get in a home right now with hardly any money is if you are/or are married to a veteran with the VA Loan, and even then you still need a little.

brensmom · 11-17-2007, 05:35 PM

i agree with desertmom there are so many costs even with no money down and i would definately make sure i could get a loan before i even looked. my sil was approved 6 month ago and she had 10% down she did not find a house and had to reapply and now does not qualify because of the current mortgage situations.. so a caution that if you have no money to put down and no cushion maybe getting yourself into a house at this time is not the best idea... instead save up a down payment and build yourself a cushion once you have done that then start looking. also learn all you can about mortgages and loans.. if you have money set aside then i would first do some research on mortgages and buying a home there is so much info that they will not tell you.

tinkerbell02 · 11-17-2007, 05:37 PM

We just bought our first home. My husband is in the military so we got a VA loan and put no money down.
But you will still need quite a bit of money in the first couple of months, things like closing costs and all kind of fees and purchases you never anticipated add up quickly!

Good luck!

bettylou · 11-18-2007, 12:16 AM

We had a cost cutters loan and it required no down and no closing costs. There are ways to buy a home without having lots saved up.

Missystuy · 11-18-2007, 10:52 AM

We didn't have much money either when we purchased our house. We just knew we needed a house and hoped for the best. We did go with the no money down route, but we still needed money for closing costs. It came up to about $6500 we needed, and didn't have, so we 'borrowed' the money from FIL. I use the term 'borrowed' loosely, only because we still havn't ever had th emoney to pay him back and its been 6 years. Thankfully, he has been forgiving, realizing that owning a home has its own set of problems and our finances have been going there more than anywhere else. Another thing we lucked out with was our mortgage. We went through CHFA, which is CTs version of Farmer's home, and got a GREAT interest rate for first time homeowners, 5.75%. Going this way also gave us a FIXED rate which at this time, is a Godsend. Our mortgage payment went up almost $50 this year because of the increase in taxes, we could never handle it if it was adjustable.

Don't fall into the pitfalls whatever you do. We were desprate, we needed a house as I was 8 months pregnant with dd2, and living in a cramped 2 br apt. We had a specific price range, and we of course could not find anything livable for that price. We found this place, it was old, needed alot of updating, but we needed a house, and it was available. LOL So we grabbed it. Boy I tell ya, If I knew then, what I know now.... I woulda kept looking. TRUST ME. Like I said, its an old house, and needed updating, we have yet to do be able to do anything like that because we just barely squeak by every month with what we have already.

shabin · 11-18-2007, 12:36 PM

we used this company and got 100% mortgage 3 years ago and our credit was not great and the interest rate is 6.375%.

Mortgage Broker

We even bought from a sell it yourself person and I just typed on a piece of paper, we will buy your house from you for such and such a price, as is. And so no attorney fees, just closing costs which we borrowed and did not have to repay from a family member.
We were able to talk the seller into paying half the closing costs (which just got deducted from her check from selling the house as she owned it outright) and we still needed $6K.

Good luck to you!