Downpayment dream shattered... what to do?

Hey all, me again.

I was expecting a hearty tax return this year... last year we scooped up $7,000 and I was expecting the same this year, at the *least*, to function as a home down-payment. Well, I only got back $3,000. :( I have about $4,000 saved total right now. I just got hired for a great new position with a great salary. Problem is, I have a baby due in July and I wanted to move in time to have room... already have two kids in a tiny apartment.

Is there any way I can even hope to still buy a home with $3,000? I'm thinking not, but I can't bear the thought of three kids in this apartment, it breaks my heart. House price ranges we are looking at (WERE looking at) were 120-140K. I can't find many banks that will let you pay less than at least 5% down, much less considering that I need to save whatever else I earn in the next few months for closing costs and savings.

What would you do?

three little tiny kids dont care if they are in a tiny apartment, they just want you to love them, that is the good news.

so keep saving and get prequalified and be working with a realtor and a lender and when the right place comes along you will be ready to pounce.

If you are a first time buyer there are private lenders that will give you up to 100% down. You will have to go through a mortgage broker. The only problem I found was the rate was higher if there was 100% financing. This was in Canada. Good luck with the baby and the house.

Check around....with no one buying houses right now I am sure some banks will bend the rules. When we bought our home we didn't have to have a down payment but we did need closing costs. If you buy from a seller some will pay closing for you.

An FHA loan may be your answer. Talk to a Mortgage Banker, not broker. There are grant programs available with FHA loans & it is possible your mortgage payment won't be much more than your rent payment. If a family member would be willing to give you a gift, that can be used towards down payment on an FHA loan. Also, you can ask for the seller to pay your closing costs & pre-paids if you can come up with the down payment.

Hopefully you have good credit & not a lot of debt.

Good luck & don't give up yet.

Depending on your credit score and debt/income ratio it is possible to get a loan with little or no money down. The sellers might be willing to pay the closing cost if they want their home sold bad enough.
But, what ever you do, do not settle for a mortgage that is adjustable!!! It will hurt you in the long run

Simple answer: Yes you can buy a house. Yes you can get 100% financing.

WeFixRates .Com

Well maybe to the rescue.

I sold a house this past summer and one of the offers was from a couple that wanted my to rebate 4% to the Partners in Charity foundation. this was the down payment. The only thing is that the buyers got greedy and started asking for some really asinine give-me's look at this web site.

http://www.mortgagepages.com/pic/ I guarantee it is worth a look to both asker and the answerers in the forum..

OK, despite the mundane questions about why you are letting the IRS have your money interest free all year and the new baby without being financial stable and such, I have some thoughts.

Don't go to banks, they are "jack of all trades" lenders. Go to a local mortgage broker, that is all they do, mortgages, and they have access to many more programs than your bank does. They may know of first time home buyer programs that allow a low down, seller to contribute to your closing costs and such. FHA, for instance, allows 3% down.

Take a good, hard look at where every dime is going and tighten up everywhere you can. It is amazing what you can save if you really batten down the hatches. It is temporary until you get into your home. Check out websites that specialize in frugal living for some ideas.

get a second job or get hubby to get second job. Or learn a lot about real estate investing cause 5% is a pretty small down pmt.
You can get 3% fha loans how ever with lenders being stingy in this sub prime blow up from all the bad loans they made over last 5 to 10 years its not easy to get money with tiny down pmts.
My personal opinions is Americans are crazy putting down 5% and being so over leveraged. It sort of shows there true lack of educations when it comes to simple finances.
To be on solid ground and avoid bankruptcy in your future I would like to see you save at least 6 months of pmts as a emergency reserves. Also at least a 10% down pmt. 20% down pmt would be better cause you will avoid pmi = private mortgage insurance which is to protect themselves against over leveraged home owners. This pmi is added 100 to 150 a month for a 120k home. The pmt will be higher if you have a tiny down pmt like 5%. The lenders charge you interest more if you are risky with such a small amount of skin in the game. this means a bigger pmt for you. Be safe and get 20% down and get that emergency fund saved. the housing market is in the toilet so it doesn't matter if you wait to buy 18 months will you save your tail off!!! If anything prices may head down farther as this credit crunch finishes playing itself out. So you want the house now but let me tell you if you go get a fha loan and only put 3% down my guess is the risk is higher and you will be paying at least 250 to 350 a month more then if you just wait one year or 18 months to buy. The thing is this pmi is money you throw away every month if you don't have 20% down. You might as well be saving instead of owning if you are just going to throw away 150 dollar a month on pmi.
I am sorry to try to tell you not to buy now cause i know its nice to be in a home of your own when you have a family. But i bet as a mother being on solid financial ground is more important then owning a home that you may not be able to afford. If your hubby just got a second job for 12 months delivering pizza nights in 12 months you could have the extra 8k you would need to be ready to buy. Heavy price to pay yes but a little budget tightening would help to less movies or going out to eat, cheaper meals and more home activities instead of shopping. shop at cheaper paces for 12 months like thrift shops and good will and ect like that. also check out ameridream program! free down pmt money!!!
http://www.ameridream.org/
http://www.hud.gov/assist/siteindex.cfm
Hud has a nice site too maybe u will find a grant or ect
there is the link for you use, they give down pmt money for moderate to low income people. Ameridream can be used in conjunture with fha. Good luck

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