We held our first home buyer seminar last Thursday and were all reminded of a few interesting tidbits concerning qualifying for a loan.

Did you know that if you foreclose on your home and only foreclose on the first mortgage, but continue to pay off your home equity line of credit, the timetable for you being able to buy a home again has not begun! As long as the line of credit is associated with the property that was foreclosed, the 3 year wait to buy again has not begun.  You need to have the lender change the line of credit to an unsecured loan and provide a letter saying such.

There are also a few new caveats for FHA loans. You cannot get an FHA loan on a primary residence if you already have and are planning to keep another property that has an FHA loan.  And if you are planning to have a room mate or significant other to help pay the mortgage, that is fine, but you cannot use that “rent” income in order to qualify for the loan.

As far as closing costs required to purchase a home, if you are buying under $200,000, the typical 3% might not be enough. One example was given that on a $55,000 purchase, the closing costs for an FHA loan could be around $4600.

Once again, it is important to talk with a GOOD lender to know your options and situation when buying a home.  We will have another Free Home Buyer Seminar on December 2nd. Call 720-470-4397 for information.