Home Loans/government Grants

D.,

I was in the banking and mortgage business with Bank of America for 11 years before I left to stay home with my two small children. If you fit within a certain income bracket and you're credit has been clean for at least the last 6 mths, Bank of America has a loan product that can't be beat.

This loan can only be done through Bank of America Mortgage and it's called the Community Committment loan. It is 97% financing, so a 3% down payment is required, however, that 3% can come from seller contributions or from a down payment assistance program. You lender can tell you more about that, but there is nothing to them.

What's so great about this loan is that credit score isn't an issue but you do need to have paid your bills on time for the last 6 months and if there is a bankruptcy, it has to have been discharged for 2 years. There is an interest rate REDUCTION on this loan, so you'll get a great rate, and there is NO Private Mortgage Insurance, which is a term you need to become familiar with if you don't have a 20% down payment with any other loan program. I don't know how much you know about mortgages so I won't waste time explaining something you might already know.

I've been out of the banking world for almost 2 years now, but to my knowledge, there isn't any other lender out there who offers anything close to this kind of deal. You essentially can have 100% financing without the added fees and rate increase tacked on that all other lenders add on.

I don't know what the income and purchase price requirements are but when I was in the loop, I believe that the borrower annual income couldn't be over $54k per year and the purchase price had to be under $150k. It is all based on the median income and price range of the county you live in and those number can change from year to year but that's a ball park of what you're looking at.

Some advice I would give you on internet lenders, don't use them. Lending Tree is probably ok as long as you get rate quotes from local banks and mortgage companies. If you can't ever meet with a person, don't use them. Title companies will tell you that they are a nightmare to get correct documents and close on time.

If you have any other questions let me know. I'd be happy to help. If you want a name and number to contact at BOA, I'd be happy to help you with that too.

There's all kinds of programs out there and anyone can get a home loan regardless of the situation, you just might pay more or less depending on that situation. If you're within those income and purchase price guidelines though, the program at BOA can't be beat. I wish it had been available when I purchased my house. I had a husband in school and I was the only income!!

Good Luck!

T.

first of all, don't let the home buying experience scare you! it's very scary at first, I admit, but it's such a great place to put your money. I can't help you with any government information, but I do have a wonderful person to refer you for help with the loan application process and to guide you through this time and help you decide what is in your best interest as far as the type of loan you need. she has helped us once with a re-finance, and once on the purchase of a house. she's very helpful and friendly. here's her information:

Jane Kellogg
Park Cities Mortgage (offices near Mockingbird and 75/Central)
214. 363. 3500

I've never dealt with either of the companies you mentioned, but I have heard their commercials. it's not as hard to get a loan as you might think. banks want to lend money, that's how they make money.

also, if you know anyone who has recently bought a house, I would ask them if they liked their mortgage broker and if they would recommend that you use them. have fun house shopping!

D., I am a Realtor in your area, and work with a lender that can help you with all this. Eric Butler with Network Funding can structure your homeloan with or without assitance (which he will refer you to) and with as little money out of your pocket to help you get your new home. His number is ###-###-####.

In my opinion, it is much better to use a local lender than online companies. You are able to build a relationship face to face, and a local lender will give you just as good of a deal as any online company. They advertise low to get calls, and then have a tendency to "stick it to you". This purchase is most likely the biggest you will make, getting the right loan can make a difference in how quickly you will be able to build equity which is, after all, the long term goal! Please email me or call me directly if you have any questions! I'll be glad to give you any advice to help you get started! Good Luck!!
L.
###-###-####
____@____.com

I just bought my first house about 2 years ago, and went through all this same research. There are some legit programs out there, but you have to be very careful. You should go through a mortgage broker. They will find you the best deal possible and advise you how to keep your credit looking good.

I *HIGHLY* recommend Mark Raskin with CTX. www.markraskin.com

We had been working with another lady who was totally screwing us around. Mark had us all set up with financing in less than 2 weeks after she had made a mess of things for almost 2 months.

Tell him that E. H. referred you and he will treat you very well. He always returns phone calls and emails very quickly. He is happy to give advice, even if you don't use his services.

I just wanted to share with you the loan specialist that helped us buy our house. He did a really excellent job at getting us a great rate, with not much credit. His name is Eric Tomlin and his email address is ____@____.com
I would highly recommend you email him. If you want I can get you his phone number too. Let me know if you have any questions. ____@____.com

Hello. There is a program called "The Acorn Program" that we went through to purchase our home (www.acornhousing.org). It involved a one-morning seminar on a Saturday to recieve your "certificate". What it meant was being able to get a home loan 1% below the going interest rate (in our case we closed with a loan at 4.75% interest) and no PMI. PMI is mortgage insurance--it's insurance you pay for if you do not put 20% down (if someone would lose their home, it's insurance to make sure the bank would get their money back). It comes out to about $100 a month added to your house payment. The Acorn Program allows you to have NO PMI which is huge! :) We took our class through a realtor in Grand Praire (Prudential realtor, Pat Watson) but I'm sure she could recommmend someone near Irving.

When we closed on the loan we only had to put down about 2%, which came out to around $2,500 to $3,000. Please let me know I can answer any questions.

When we sold our first home, the buyers went through a program called AmeriDream to help with their downpayment. We paid the enrollment fee for the buyers.

http://www.ameridream.org/

Hope that helps. I agree with the realtor who responded to this question. Work with your realtor - they *want* you to succeed! Good luck!

Good Day D.! I pray things work out for you and your husband. I am a single parent who is VERY anxious to own a home but want to become closer to debt-free before I look further into it. A good friend of mine has used the 1st time home buyers program for Dallas residents and passed along the information to me. I was very excited to hear that there was such aid and still intend to look into it. I thought you would find the information helpful. Here are the links to some of the resources in order:

1. http://www.allianceassistance.org/progGuidelines.html
2. http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/index.html
3. http://www.federalfundingsources.com/fw/index.html
4. http://www.dallasnorthproperties.net/Home_Buyer_Grants.htm (as you see this is for the north dallas area, you may need to check if these would apply to other cities in the metroplex).
I would be interested in knowing your outcome. Please feel free to keep my email address. Although I can probably be no more help than this because I have no experience in the purchasing of a home. May God bless you with a successful journey to the best decision.
Peace,
K.