No problem Mr. Espana, your offer expiring can mean a couple of different things. Usually, it simply means that your credit will need to be updated after the expiration date. This isn’t usually a big deal. Don’t buy anything new, don’t charge up your credit cards, pay all your bills on time. You can expect to have to provide a most recent pay stub and bank statements once you get an offer accepted if it has been longer than 30 days since your approval.

Also, until you have locked in your interest rate (which you cannot do until you have an accepted purchase contract), the underwriting guidelines are subject to change. The only thing I would be concerned about is if your lender tries to create a sense of urgency with the expiration of your approval.

This is a very challenging market and the bottom line is, if you qualify, you’re probably going to qualify once you get an offer accepted. Inform your lender if there are any changes in your income, employment or savings.

I hope that helps – let me know if you have any other questions.

Hi MZ,

I hope your lender is telling you that you need 3.5% down for an FHA loan. That was increased from 3% on January 1st, 2009. Your experience of it being very competitive and prices going up is the normal state of this market. Have you looked into the State of California CHDAP loan? You do need 3% of your own funds, but it allows for 3% to be used for either closing costs or down payment and there is no payment due on this loan unless you sell or refinance.

Have you looked into this program? If you have more questions, let me know.

Hi James,

I would be a little concerned about your lender leading you to believe that everything is “done and approved”. Home loan financing is becoming more difficult to get and will get even more difficult on December 12th when the new, more strict qualifying guidelines begin. Typically the lender you choose must also be approved to offer down payment assistance. You income seems appropriate for down payment and closing cost assistance from the State of California, however, that program still requires that you have 3% of your own funds available.

I would need to know much more about your loan application before I could give you a definitive answer as to your options.

Tom,

There are programs available through the State of California. Your lender may need to be approved with these programs to offer them. The State of California is the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) and the assistance program is CHDAP. Let me know if you need any more information on that program. I have quite a bit of information on the site about it.

Also, if you are employed in a California public school, school district, community college, a member of CalPERS or a first time homebuyer – there are special programs available.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions.

Hi Ofelia,

The State of California offers a down payment assistance to first time homebuyers through the California Housing Finance Agency. Local cities and counties can also offer down payment help to first time homebuyers, it depends on whether or not they have funds available to do so. Give us a call at 866-667-6724 and we can get more information about you and where you’re looking to buy. We are more than happy to do some research for you and present you with the options that you would qualify for.

Hope this helps!

Scott

Hi Jose,

That’s really a great question. The “best interest rate possible” is really a relative term when it comes to FHA. Lenders have the ability to offer you any rate they wish. I think the place to start is to determine if the lender is being transparent and honest with you about your options or are they just giving you a loan and a rate?

Now, here’s my test for determining the honesty of a lender. Are there discount points on the good faith estimate? Most (actually ALL) rates you hear on the radio and see on the internet include “discount points”. Sometimes this is an actual cost to the lender that allows you to buy the rate down to below market, sometimes it’s a way for the lender to make a few extra bucks.

If a lender is offering you discount points but has not given you all of your buy down options….there might be something fishy going on here. The fact is, you can buy the rate down pretty far below market…it might be too costly, but it should at least be explained to you in order for you to have the information available to make an informed decision.

The last thing I would look at is if there are any special programs for you, like if you are a public employee, a first time homebuyer if you work in a public school or community college district or are you eligible for a VA loan – there are special programs out there for buyers that qualify. Also, in what area are you looking to buy? There are special programs depending on what city or county you live in that may offer other options to consider as well.

I am happy to review the good faith estimate from your lender as well. I can identify pretty quickly if there is any funny business going on.

Thanks for the comment Jose. If you would like to explore this further, feel free to shoot me an email at ScottS@BroadviewMortgageCorp.com and leave me the best time and number to reach you.

Hope this helps!

Scott

Hi Robert,
Yes, there are down payment assistance programs available, but first you need to qualify for the loan to purchase the home. That is the most important part. Based strictly on your income there are programs available through the State of California but there are other qualifying guidelines like previous ownership and credit score.

Feel free to contact us or click on the Down Payment Assistance Finder button on the side of the site and give us a little more information – we’ll do some research for you and see what’s available!

Oh, sorry – I didn’t see that this was you also…drop me an email with the best time and number to reach you and let’s go over some options.

If you are just out of school or the military and you are in a similar line of work to what you were trained in or studied, then 2 years employment is not always required.

What is required is that you have stable employment and the probability of continued employment is good.

As far as how much home you can afford, that depends on many things, most importantly of which what your payments would be. At 20k a year you would need to find a home priced appropriately so that the payments would be easy for you to make.

To answer your questions, sure, you could consider purchasing a home and if you get pre-approved you will be able to identify if there is and opportunity for you to do so.