buying a house question

[xonicolemarie]

Say I graduate from college and.get a full time job, how long does it take for the bank to give me a mortage for a house? Do I have to wait a few years working first or does my school years get counted towards it if its in the same field as my job..I'm really confused with that, I have good credit score and would be buying a place with someone who already has a house and stable job

[mybunnyslipperz]

Its based on your credit worthiness and the amount you can afford to pay back, based on your income and down payment.

[lavenderdove]

Yes, you need to save for a good down payment, have good credit, and show that you can make the mortgage payments. The length you have a job isn't so important as your credit history and that you have a sufficient down payment and enough monthly income to cover the mortgage. They have certain ratios they use (your debt to income ratio) such as your mortgage can't be any higher than 30 % of your gross month income but that ratio can vary based on the mortgage co and type of loan you are getting

[hers]

We got an FHA loan, which required just 3% or something down. We paid $1000 and then borrowed $2000 from my husband's grandfather (though its supposed to be a "gift" with no intention of paying back--that's how it's documented anyway bc they are apparently picky on that). The process was very tedious for us and we hated every second of it. It involved a lot of letter writing ("dear underwriter, I deposited $3 in my bank account on such day bc I found it on the ground"--seriously you have to have explanation for EVERYTHING). We had also been at our jobs for less than 2 years and had to write letters for that too ("dear underwriter, I worked at XYZ for 3 years before I started my current job. I left bc of ABC reasons").

 

I'd bypass a lot of those issues we had by giving yourself time. Save up for a good down payment so you don't have to borrow it, be at a job for a couple years, don't let your bank account overdraft at all for at least a year (I don't recommend it anyway but in the off chance it happens sometimes, he careful). Try to avoid having to write all those letters.

 

I would also make sure you have a good mortgage broker. Ours was a freaking moron. Our realtor is a good friend of ours and he swore by this lady, but she made stuff hell for us. Things like "I can't find your tax return that you have me so you just need to sign something saying you didn't file your taxes so you don't commit mortgage fraud" (really think about that there. I'm not exaggerating here). We had such an awful experience with her and she was so unorganized. Our friends were buying a house a couple months later And used our same realtor. We warned them not to use the broker he recommends (realtor knew we had an awful time) and they still used her and she was so unorganized that they lost their house days away from closing).

 

Anyway I'm not sure this answers your direct questions but that was my experience. We just bought our house in October so we are fresh out of the experience. And it was sucky. But we like our house and enjoy it. It was just a month full of absolute stress.

[redrose85]

Unlike hers, our experience was a cake-walk. It was literally in linear order: go to bank, get approved, shop for a house, look at said house, put offer in, move in. Done. Here they want you to be working for at least one year, but I think it is different everywhere. We put $20,000 down for a $190,000 home, so that gives you an idea of the different rules between Canada and the States. Down payments are a much higher percentage in Canada.

 

I highly doubt that school would count towards your years of employment, unless it's been a well-paid co-op or internship. I know my fiance's co-op didn't count towards his gainfully employed status when he finished school.

[Fudgie]

I say it's worth taking a few years to stay employed for longer and save up for a bigger down payment. Don't rush it. You'll have an easier time and perhaps get a better interest rate.

[Stay_home]

Debt-to-income ratio is the main concern of the banks; the fact of whether you can or cannot afford the mortgage payment is what they're looking for.

 

If you're at home and you absolutely hate it.... stay there a little while longer and you'll thank me that you did.

 

Save, save, save, save. Take your lunch every day, be a frivilous spender.. if you keep this up for a couple years you'll have enough money saved to put up a good downpayment so that you won't have to live in the hood if you don't want to.