Question by ready: How do I choose a good first time home buyers program?
I will be buying my first home in september I live in atlanta, ga. My credit score right now is about a 720. What is a good first time home buyers program. I hear there is some with 0 down and closing cost paid…please give me your insight.
Best answer:
Answer by teran_realtor One that you qualify for.
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realestatemarketingthisweek.com – Interest rates hit bottom, first time home buyers should buy before the prices go back up – Part 1 – We have a special guest back in the studio today. Dan Havey has been a great promoter for Velocity Financial . Dan and I have been working together for about 14 years now. Dan has brought with him some really, really interesting facts and figures for people who are wondering whats happening, wondering if we are at the bottom of the market, wondering how much further we are going to have to go. We are going to talk about lots of different things like that. Hes got some really good information, in my opinion some good stuff, some good solid data to make some good decisions about whether or not you should or should not buy right now. So, Today was the official day that President Obamas Plan was rolled out. It was designed to help some 8 to 9 million homeowners, responsibly homeowners they called them, people who purchased homes at the peak of the real estate market with 20% or more down. The plan is just so darned convoluted, it is very complicated, people are calling wondering whats real, whats not real, whats going to happen. The bottom line is about 19% of all the homes were financed utilizing Fanny Mae or Freddie Mac financing. People, who have Fanny Mae or Freddie Mac loans, these conventional type loans, that put 20% down, that used full documentation, which means tax returns to qualify for the loan, those are the only people that are …
Amid the economic upheaval, there is good news for first-time home buyers – a tax credit of up to ,500. Even better – the definition of first-time home buyers includes those who have not owned a principal residence in the three year period prior to purchasing a qualifying home.
The tax credit, established through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, is available only to first-time home buyers and only for homes purchased on or before April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. Any home that will be used as a principal residence qualifies, including single family detached homes, townhomes, condominiums, mobile homes, and houseboats. New construction is also eligible, as long as possession or occupancy occurs within the parameters defined by the law.
For the purposes of this law, a first-time home buyer is defined as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three years prior to the purchase of the qualified property. For married taxpayers, neither individual may have owned a principal residence in the previous years. A buyer will not be disqualified from the tax credit if they own a vacation home or rental property not used as their principal residence.
Single taxpayers with incomes up to ,000 and married couples with incomes up to 0,000 qualify for the full tax credit. Eligibility is determined based on modified adjusted gross income. Partial credit may be available for those with higher incomes; however, individuals with a modified adjusted gross income exceeding ,000, (or 0,000 for married couples filing jointly), will be ineligible for the tax credit.
The tax credit is equal to 10% of the qualified home purchase price, but is capped at ,500; for homes purchased for less than ,000, the credit will be 10% of the purchase price.
There are no special forms to fill out and no pre-approval necessary. The credit is easily claimed on the federal income tax return. Plus, the credit can be claimed on the 2008 return for a home purchased in 2009. If the tax credit exceeds the taxpayer’s outstanding liability for the year, the taxpayer will receive a check from the government.
The credit is like an interest-free loan, and it must be repaid to the government over a 15-year period. Payments do not have to begin until two years after the credit is claimed. If the home is sold before the credit is repaid, the outstanding amount will be paid from profits on the sale. If there is insufficient profit to repay the credit, the remaining amount will be forgiven.
For first-time home buyers (those who are truly new to the market and those who have not owned a principal residence in at least three years), this tax credit can make it easier to transition into home ownership. Combined with housing inventories increasing, prices decreasing, and mortgage rates dropping even lower, this tax credit may just make the difference in making home ownership a reality.
This article is informative only, based on information available at time of publication, and is not intended to provide tax or legal advice. Please be sure to consult with a tax advisor or legal professional about your particular situation prior to making any decisions or taking any action.
Wondering where to get your first time home buyers grant? This is money that as an American citizen you can claim in order to help you with the purchase of your new home. It doesn’t matter if you have good credit or bad credit, a high income or a low income. As long as you are at least 18 years old and a US citizen, you can submit a grant application and potentially receive thousands of dollars in free money through a first time home buyers grant program.
First time home buyer grants are typically provided by local and state governments as a way to encourage people to purchase real estate. Especially in a down or stagnant real estate market, the government tends to provide many advantages to those who are willing to purchase a new home. This money can often be used as a down payment fund on your new house, it may be used for closing costs, and many times you can even use the money to rehabilitate or improve your new home.
Once obtained, your first time home buyers grant will never have to be paid back. That’s what makes them uniquely different from loans. As long as you use the money for the purpose the grant terms required, then you get to use the money and never pay it back.
Just search the grant database for the hundreds of grants that are available to American citizens, and submit your application. If you see multiple grants that you qualify for, it’s okay to ask for multiple grants. There’s no limit on the number of grants you can apply for and receive.
Austin is a serial entrepreneur and personal finance expert author. One of the passions he enjoys is showing people how to obtain free grant money for personal use, their small business, or to help pay off debt. The availability of first time home buyer grants and debt grants alone has allowed thousands of American people fulfill their dreams.
Question by htlstyone: Whats the deal with first time home buyer loans?
My fiance and I are wanting to buy our first house. We have heard about first time home buyer loans and that some of loan 100% with no money down. Is that true? If so where do we ask about it? At a bank or what? I dont know the first thing about buying a house, thats why I’m on here asking for peoples opinions/answers.
Also, I live in Nebraska
Best answer:
Answer by audrey j Glad you ask. I specialize in first time home buyer programs. You may contact me for more information.
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For Florida homebuyers this is great news! Congress both extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program Thursday for Florida homebuyers.
The White House says the President will sign it into law.
The up-to-00 tax credit’s expiration date has been pushed forward to spring, requiring Florida homebuyers to be under contract before April 30, 2010, to take advantage and to be closed by June 30, 2010.
The program’s basic eligibility requirements remain the same:
Florida Buyers can’t purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child Florida Buyers can’t purchase the home from an entity in which they’re a majority owner Florida Buyers can’t acquire the home by gift or inheritance All parties to the Florida purchase must meet eligibility requirements
The new law includes some notable updates, however.
For one, the definition of Florida “first-time home buyer” has been expanded to include most homeowners with at least 5 years in their current Florida home. “Move-up” buyers like these are now eligible for IRS tax credits, but with a cap gain at ,500.
This means that you don’t have to be a true Florida first-time home buyer to claim the “Florida first-time home buyer tax credit”.
Other eligibility changes include:
The Florida homes sales price may not exceed 0,000 The Florida home must be a primary residence Income thresholds raised to 5,000 for single-filers and 5,500 for joint-filer
And remember, the Florida First-Time Home Buyer program grants a tax credit as opposed to a deduction. This means that a tax filer would receive a cash payment of ,000 from the U.S. Treasury if his “normal” tax liability totals ,000 and he was eligible for all ,000 available under the new tax credit law.
With the collapse of the Subprime mortgage market, the mortgage landscape has changed dramatically in recent months. Many of the more lenient mortgage programs have been discontinued. How will this effect the demand for first time home buyer loans?
From approximately the year 2000 until the year 2004 interest rates were continually lowered, reaching multi-decade historic lows by late 2004. This historic reduction in interest rates powered a multi-year boom in the real estate market. Real estate prices were rising rapidly with each passing day, and it seemed that everyone wanted to be involved in real estate.
That included lenders, who were happy to gain new business. In the frantic race to make as much profit from real estate as possible, lenders lowered their standards and created new lending requirements that were so lenient it seemed that anyone with a pulse would qualify!
Loose lending standards, historically low interest rates, and rapidly rising real estate values combined to make the perfect formula to attract millions upon millions of people, and create a real estate bubble along the way.
And that is exactly what happened.
And then disaster struck.
In August of 2007, the subprime home loan industry begin to break down. Large investors, monitoring the default rates of mortgage portfolios and concerned about the continuing fall in real estate prices nationwide decided to stop purchasing subprime loans. By late fall of 2007 the entire subprime industry as we knew it had vanished.
For the first time home buyer, as well as seasoned real estate investors, it was easy to take advantage of the lax guidelines offered by these lenders. They had flocked to the real estate market in droves. And then suddenly, the subprime market came to a screeching halt.
With the downfall of the subprime industry, millions of potential home buyers are now searching for alternative mortgage products that will accommodate their financial and credit history.
Does this mean that first time home buyers will no longer qualify for a home loan? No. There are other alternatives besides the subprime mortgage loan.
There are several solutions. Fannie Mae’s American Dream Commitment offers the most exciting, affordable first time home buyer loan solution that we have seen. To quote Fannie Mae, “Many Americans still are being overlooked, underserved, and overcharged in their search for affordable homeownership.” In defining their goals, Fannie Mae strives to “expand access to homeownership for first time home buyers and help expand the minority homeownership percentage with the ultimate goal of closing the homeownership gap entirely.”
This commitment translates into flexible, accommodative, and low cost home financing available to first time home buyers with less than perfect credit and restrictive budgets. But that’s not all. Reading into the guidelines carefully one will discover some amazing and thoughtful criteria. Amongst these guidelines are included a surprising and liberal allowance for “undocumented income”, expanded seller contribution tolerance, and a complete absence of saving and asset reserve requirements. All of these flexible rules make possible the lowest cost, no money down mortgage program available anywhere.
Credit score requirements are now the easiest of all of the first time home buyer loan programs available in the home loan market. The guidelines provide for a score of 620, but with moderate compensating factors lenders may approve loans with scores as low as 600.
In addition to this program, nearly every state offers some form of downpayment help for first time buyers. First home buyers are not completely shut out of the market. There remains ample state and Federal funding for first time home buyer programs.
J Stromsteen is a small business owner with many years experience in the finance and insurance industry. She writes for the website First Time Home Buyer to provide information for various First Time Home Buyer Programs.
Economic news around the country has certainly appeared to be dim in the last few months. As if the housing crisis was not enough, now it appears that the country is in the midst of a recession. The dollar has weakened and many consumers find themselves wondering whether relief is in sight. Quite surprisingly, these problems may actually provide some encouragement for foreign investors to rally the housing market.
One of the reasons that many homeowners are finding it difficult to sell their homes is the fact that many would-be buyers either cannot afford the prices or they cannot qualify for mortgage loans. As a result, they have found they have little choice but to continue to rent and wait for the housing market to stabilize before they venture into the home buying process. Some homeowners are finding interested buyers in a surprising source; however. Today, homeowners are just as likely to discover buyers hailing from abroad as from next door.
Experts speculate that investment from Europeans is likely to increase in the coming months. Many speculate that foreign investors have recognized the value in buying homes in the U.S. Prices have declined, making them far more attractive. In fact, in some cases, foreign buyers could be poised to replace the niche that first-time home buyers held before they were squeezed out of the market as a result of the recent real estate crash.
If this trend continues, it could very well provide some relief for homeowners who either need to upgrade to larger homes or who need to get out of homes they can no longer afford.
Brokers are reporting that inquiries from foreign investors are definitely on the rise. Compared to the number of inquiries that were received just a year ago, many brokers are seeing an increase of as much as five times the amount witnessed just a year ago.
A foreign buyer who invests in a home today would need far less money in terms of euros to make a substantial down payment on a home as a result of the weakening dollar. In fact, foreign buyers today could make what is essentially a $50,000 down payment for little more than 34,000 euros today. A year ago that same buyer would have needed nearly 38,000 euros in order to offer the same amount for a down payment. Quite simply, foreign buyers are able to buy homes in the U.S. for less of an investment than American buyers.
The exchange rate has definitely provided support for increased spending power in many locations. In certain areas, like New York and Chicago, the demand has definitely increased. In some cases, the demand has grown so much that it is actually outpacing supply. California and Florida are also proving to be popular with foreign buyers and investors. The latter two markets, which have been among the hardest hit, are embracing the relief with open arms. Florida, in particular, is still struggling with the crash of the condo market.
Sellers and agents have quickly latched onto the idea that the place to look for interested buyers could very well be overseas. As a result, many properties are now being marketed specifically toward foreign buyers. High-end luxury homes that have languished on the market for months are some of the first to be targeted for interested foreign buyers.
The Internet has proven to be a successful marketing tool in the past and today agents and sellers have discovered it is often the easiest way to reach foreign buyers. Compared to other advertising mediums it is often far less expensive and allows them to reach a broader audience. When marketing properties toward foreign buyers, this can be particularly important.
Foreign buyers may not be the full salvation that real estate agents and homeowners need to completely recover from the housing bust; however, they are certainly providing a bit of welcome relief in many beleaguered markets.
It is the opinion of many people that the government, despite what the President may say, will in fact bail out mortgage high players Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For these companies to fold would be detrimental to the economy. But what exactly are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and what do they do? Simply put, a home buyer achieves a mortgage from a lending institute and Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac purchase the mortgage to then resell it again to investors. They receive money from the sale to the first lender to continue lending.
In the last decade Freddie Mac handled nearly $164 billion in New York mortgages alone; serving over 1,325,000 families. If Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have serious financial problems then credit will tighten and it will become increasingly difficult for any consumer to get a mortgage; but particularly for the first time home buyer. At this point it is speculated that these companies will not need to borrow money from federal reserves, the government or the treasury; however, the government has stated that if they do need it they can come for it. With the potential for government bailouts confidence is building.
When push comes to shove, impact from national news or news on a local level does not change the rules in applying for a first mortgage; make sure you have your finances in order before shopping for a home, make sure your credit is in line and be aware of your credit score. The first time home buyer needs to educate themselves more than ever as lenders begin to tighten their belts. Knowing what your credit score is, how to increase that score and look favorable to the lenders will increase your chances of obtaining a mortgage regardless of what is happening in the financial world; these are basic rules.
Before a lender will grant a loan for a home he will first run a credit report on the buyer to help them get a picture of the buyer’s ability to pay the loan. The last thing a lending institute wants is for a buyer to get in over their head and default on their mortgage. It is therefore recommended that before shopping for a home or showing up at the lending institute to apply for a first mortgage you run a credit report of your own. This will help you figure out any areas that need to be corrected and what areas could be improved. Once you are satisfied and your lender runs the report he will be able to help you understand what you can afford. If you have discovered your credit is in shambles or your credit score is low there are ways to bring up your credit score and you will have the time to do so.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae having financial problems is just the reflection of what is happening in the economy today; we are all feeling the pinch. This is a time, more than any to tighten our own belts, avoid using credit excessively and manage your credit well; doing these things will allow you to be among the few buyers that the lenders extend a first time mortgage to.
