There are several ways to qualify to buy a home beyond making a million dollars and / or getting a big fat gift from your mom or dad (although both those things will help, immensely).
Here’s a great little blog entry from someone, about how she got a loan (I did a minor edit), courtesy of the Lifehacker.com website:
Prepare to purchase a home
In a recent email newsletter, real estate broker Cynthia Kern offered some practical, no-nonsense tips for folks interested in buying a home but not sure where to start. While Kern is based in New York, her advice applies beyond the bounds of the Empire State. With permission, I’m reprinting an excerpt here.
Cynthia writes, “Several folks have asked me recently what they need to do to get ready to purchase an apartment … First, do NOT go look at condos. FIRST you should go to a mortgage broker, specifically ACORN Housing if your total combined household income is around $75,000 or below.�
“You can call ACORN to confirm the income limit. If you can go to them, do it NOW. Seriously. If you have any desire to buy a place anywhere in the country at any point in your life, they can help you NOW. After you attend two housing seminars, they’ll pair you up with a loan counselor who will go through your income, assets, debts, and credit. They’ll then tell you how much apartment and mortgage you can afford now, or what you need to do to make yourself more attractive to a bank. They’ll help you get on a budget, so you can be on a six-month, one-year, or five-year plan to be ready to purchase. A regular mortgage broker can do the same thing. You’ll just end up paying them some fee or commission. … (more)
And, here’s all about ACORN. This non-profit helps people get prepared to buy a home. I think they offer up good advice.
ACORN Housing is a national non-profit organization that has provided free housing counseling and helped over 50,000 low and moderate income homebuyers since 1987. ACORN Housing provides one-on-one mortgage loan counseling, first-time homebuyer classes, and helps clients obtain affordable mortgages through our unique lending partnerships.
By joining AHC (ACORN Housing Corporation) you receive:
* Lower down payments and closing costs.
* No Private Mortgage Insurance.
* Banks generally require 3 months of mortgage payments in the bank at settlement.
* With our program, they don’t, which allows you to buy a home sooner.
* Most banks won’t count public assistance or voluntarily child support in determining if you’ll qualify for a mortgage.
* With our program, all steady income counts.
More information: ACORN: Housing Services
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