SlapActionJackson posted:

for the 28% rule, you should include Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance (PITI) whether or not all of those things are included in the amount you send to the bank

FidgetyRat posted:

Mortage Insurance is tax deductible, but it has some pretty low income requirements.

"families with adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 were able to deduct 100 percent of their mortgage insurance premiums while families with incomes up to $109,000 were eligible for a partial deduction." (And by partial, it drops pretty dramatically between 100 and 109k).

I believe this is currently in effect until 2010 (which likely will be extended again, but could very well be terminated by the gov't).

tortilla_chip posted:

Are all lenders roughly equal from a cost perspective? If interest rates are basically set by the Fed, is it worth shopping around with different lenders? Will I see large differences on closing costs or is the mortgage industry basically a commodity?

H110Hawk posted:

Yes. Because most people think they're all the same or don't know they're allowed to shop it around and negotiate pricing. Get 3 bids for the same loan and compare them. Pretty much the only thing you need to worry about is their ability to close within the deadline. You will likely see thousands of dollars in difference between lenders. Some are as simple as "This bid is entirely identical but this one says Mortgage Fee: $2,500" or whatever - It's the ticketmaster game but without the monopoly.

Get your bids on Loan Estimate forms, this is a HUD form - accept no substitutes. Compare the boxes and fees, then literally just call the other banks and say "I have a bid here that shows Box A at $1000 less" (ignore that this banks box B is lower, it's not relevant.)

Have Some Flowers! posted:

While you can lock in an interest rate at any time after you're approved, most of the time you will want to wait until you actually have a property under contract. The importance here is having a closing date in mind when you go to lock the rate.

When you lock in an interest rate, it is done for a certain amount of days and there's a cost associated with the length of the lock. Extending the lock is costly as well.

Unless you can say for sure that you are buying a house by a certain date -no matter what- (which is a bad way to buy), it's probably better to lock the rate once you're under contract. Getting the best rate is important, but not as important as getting the right house at the right price and performing due dilligence with inspections.

Do know that once you're locked in, there are still ways to lower your rate. Some lenders offer a "Float Down" option, typically a one-time offer to lower the rate. Double check the terms, but typically these are good for the borrower.

If rates happen to drop after your lock, your mortgage broker can also switch to a different wholesale lender. They typically won't do this unless the change is drastic, because their rates go up if they do this too often. It makes sense - wholesale lenders give better pricing to mortgage brokers that are more consistent.

The biggest advice that I can offer here is to make sure you get your lock in writing. Ask for a Rate Lock Confirmation Letter. Some unscrupulous mortgage brokers will tell you they locked your rate at great terms while they continue to watch the market, hoping it reaches those terms. If the market never does, they'll probably drop this little bomb on you right before closing know that you won't be able to address it in time.

damnhooligan posted:

I'm not sure it's done the same way all over the US, but there are a couple different routes you can go to buy a foreclosured house here in Colorado.

1) Government foreclosures. Counties hold public auctions in their court houses/official buildings on a regular schedule. Some counties have one auction a week, others less often. Lists of properties up for auction are generally a few days before the auction is held, as to give the owners as much time as possible to cure the foreclosure. This is the first place to find proper foreclosures and deals can be found, but do your research on the value, condition and lien status of the properties. These types of auctions are full of lenders, mortgage companies and other such types hoping to find the very same deals, so come prepared for a bidding war. Bids start with the very minimum the lender holding the mortgage is willing to accept for the property. If no one bids, the property defaults to the lender and they're stuck with it. If you win, the county will expect the funds in full on the day you bid (or very shortly after) as either cash, cashier's check, certified check or electronic transfer. Some fees will be charged, but they're generally only a few thousand at most. Generally in a few weeks, you listed as the grantee of the deed and it's all yours. If you don't have thousands of dollars in your bank account to pay for the property, pay for repairs and pay for the possible eviction of former deadbeat residents, this is probably not the way for you.

2) HUD foreclosures: http://www.hud.gov/homes/ These are available all over the US and are aimed at people who intend to be occupants, not so much investors. All HUD listings give full and comprehensive inspection paperwork so you'll know exactly what you're up against. Prospective occupants have a deadline to place their bids, generally a few weeks after the house is listed. From what I've seen, there's lots of interest in these properties but realtors can take you around the property on generally very little notice.

3) Pre-foreclosures: These properties have had paperwork filed against them by the lender for foreclosure, but has not yet made it to the government auction. People in this situation, who have no intention of staying and don't want to be foreclosed on will put the property up for sale on the regular market with a real estate agent. If the bank approves a "short sale", the owner can sell the property for less than is owed on the house, but will satisfy and release their existing mortgage. Short sales can take for goddamn ever, so if you're looking to move quickly, you might have better luck elsewhere.

4) Bank owned real estate: Well, the bank's stuck with a foreclosed property it doesn't want because some dick didn't pay his mortgage and no one bid on it at the government auction. In an attempt to cut their losses somewhat, banks put these homes for sale on the regular market, sometimes at market values, sometimes more, sometimes less. Much of this depends on the quality and condition of the property. This can be a great way to pick up a home for cheap, provided you aren't opposed to doing a lot of work to fix it up. Mold, structural damage, ruined interiors and general disrepair are common issues with these cheaper properties, but drat are they cheap. Make sure you know exactly what you're getting yourself into with a property like this as they can quickly become money pits.

5) Public auctions held by private companies: You've probably seen commercials, posters and signs for these things. Giant events held at convention center boasting hundreds of homes up for auction, starting as low as $500! Attend an auction, drink some free coffee, bid on the property you want either in person (if you're in the state) or online (if you're out of state) and it's yours after lots and lots of paperwork. Lots of the properties for sale here were for sale at county auctions just months earlier for less. Auction companies like this generally have their own lenders which they'll try to talk you into using. These guys always seemed shady as gently caress to me. Between the pushy lenders, overblown appraisals, deceptively low starting bids ($500-$1000 which can magically jump to 50k in one bid) and accusations of using shill bidders, you might be able to find a fantastic property for the right price but I wouldn't count on it.

If you're not sure which way to go or what's best for you, I recommend sitting in on a few county foreclosure auctions, asking a real estate agent to take you around to a few preforeclosures/bank owned properties, keeping your eye on the area you're interested in. Sites like http://www.realtytrac.com collect information on several types of foreclosed properties, but charge a membership fee. Though, if you're resourceful enough, you can find all the information for free yourself.

Farking Bastage posted:

During the artificial housing boom/bubble/clusterfuck/whatever, an apparently large number of prospective home buyers used some sort of credit "service" to inflate their scores. What they did to up people's scores was basically dispute everything negative on their file. This would trick the automated underwriting at fannie/freddie into ignoring all the disputed(derogatory) info and sign off on the loan. When Fannie/Freddie went bust, this practice was identified as responsible for a large number of defaulted loans. Therefore any files with disputed items will not pass automated underwriting and go to manual.

Well the problem is, they took it a step further. Often when a tradeline is disputed, it either goes away, or the dispute finishes and there is a note on that tradeline similar to " Dispute Resolved ". Even though there is nothing actually being disputed, that leftover note will tank your loan. Yes, you heard it right. Exercising your rights to dispute through the FDCPA will leave a note on your tradelines and render you unable to buy a house, even if it's just a note and not an actual dispute.

For my situation, I have been through complete and absolute hell trying to get these notes removed. Experian and Equifax have been the easiest to deal with on this. However, Transunion are IMPOSSIBLE to deal with, which leads to my last remaining account note.

The account in question has the damned "dipute resolved" note on it which the underwriter keeps kicking back. I call Transunion repeatedly only to be told that they can't do anything about it, but they'd be happy to open a new dispute for me I call the creditor and they "do not report to credit agencies anymore".

No one will take ownership of it which leaves me pretty much hosed. The really funny thing about this situation is there are no problems with my credit score, the house appraised for more than we are paying, down payment money is documented well, DTI ratios are off the charts good, title stuff is done, WDO and all is good, inspections are all good, but we can't get approved because of a note on one tradeline on my credit file.

Have Some Flowers! posted:

Most people find their Realtor by calling up 'For Sale' signs at random, or accepting a referral from a friend, family member or co-worker. I would recommend caution if you're going this route - this can be a risky way to decide who handles a deal worth potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Someone who worked well for your mom or boss might end up being terrible for you because their methods or specialties don't sync with your needs. First time home buyers often need more coaching and hand holding when maybe your parents or boss wanted to be left alone during their home search. That's just one example of a mismatch.

My recommendation is to do research and base your decision at least in part off reviews and performance history. It's still important to find an agent who is personable and communicative, but your ultimate concern with a Realtor should be going with someone who is likely to get you the best deal and the results you want, whether you are buying or selling.

We can also just help you find a good agent for free.

I recently started a company that provides free matchmaking services between agents and buyers/sellers, to a large degree based off concerns I saw in this thread. We interview both you and a number of potential agents to find the best fit.

If you do just pick someone at random, be careful about a few things. Your state may be one where exclusivity contracts are optional when working with agents. I'd recommend not signing one. If you sign one of those contracts and things go sour, you may not be able to work with another Realtor for months. In some cases, even if you find another property with another Realtor, the original one gets a cut of the commission. It's a headache.

I'd be clear with an agent up front with what you expect. You want frequent communication, regular showing appointments that accommodate your schedule, due diligence in the inspection of the home and a clean transaction. Any challenges/bumps/unexpected events should be explained ASAP with an idea of what to expect. I'd also set expectations about staying within your defined criteria.

Do realize that the best agents are also the busiest, so it may be difficult to schedule appointments with them. If you're interested primarily in a ready-to-go recently remodeled home, you may not need the best Realtor in town. You may just need one that's free to accommodate your schedule and who's hungry to work hard for you. If you're interested in fixer-upper or foreclosure/short sale options, I'd hold out for the most seasoned agent you can get.

Make sure your prospective Buyer's Agent can satisfactorily answer these concerns:

Can they help you analyze lenders and GFEs, and point out which fees are legitimate and which ones are junk?
Do they have a plan for making sure your next home meets your lifestyle, financial and long-term investment needs?
What is their availability like for viewing homes? What is their typical response time for communication?
How can they help you analyze your costs of ownership and homeowner responsibilities?
What is their negotiation strategy, both at the offer stage and the post-inspection repair negotiations stage?
What process do they follow for performing due diligence when considering a home?
What systems do they use to ensure a clean contract-to-close process?
What do they offer you after the transaction to help your home ownership experience? Do they have a vendor referral network or any resources to help you when it comes to repairs or updates to your home?

Good luck! A great agent should easily earn their commission by helping you navigate through the process and negotiate the terms of the deal.

Helado posted:

I used this:
http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/tp/Agentinterview.htm

To get me started on questions to ask. Word of mouth is probably easier, but that doesn't always work out either. Just make sure they know where you stand. If you really aren't getting along, I doubt any realtor is going to force you to use them if you're constantly clashing.

Don Wrigley posted:

Before you say you're "throwing money away" on rent, think about the money you're "throwing away" when buying a house.

1) Looks like you're spending $5400 on closing costs, money down the drain.

2) PMI for not hvaing 20% equity, lets say $100 a month, down the drain.

3) Property taxes. Lets assume $2000 a year, down the drain.

4) Mortage interest. You're financing a staggering 97% of the house, you're going to end up paying, on a roughly $120K mortgage, $150K in interest payments, down the drain.

5) Maintenance. When you rent, the landlord is responsible if anything breaks...ever pay for a new roof? More money, down the drain.

In other words, the money you spend on rent is money you'll never see again. An overwhelming chunk of the money you spend on a house is money you'll never see again.

This idea that "renting is throwing away money" is a lie perpetrated by the real estate industry. Do some real research into buying a house if that's what you want to do; buying a house because "renting is throwing money away" is a great way of losing money in the short/long term.

Dead Man's Ham posted:

What Ive liked about owing a house:

1. Rent income - I decided to rent out one of my rooms to a friend for 300 dollars a month and 1/2 utilities which worked out to a little under 4800 dollars for the year. I do not need to do this to afford the house, but by doing so it does make it a significantly more attractive financial option then renting. As an aside - if I do not have a roommate then renting would be a slightly better option for me from a purely financial standpoint. However, if I do lose my job I could rent out both extra bedrooms and total cost to me would only be between 50 - 200 dollars a month so there is so peace of mind there.

2. Workspace - I have a huge garage that I get to tool around in. I enjoy working with my hands and I have total freedom on when/what kind of mess I make.

3. A Yard - this will show up in the cons as well, but there are a lot of things to like about having a yard. I have a plenty of space between me and my neighbors so I can be as loud as I want as late as I want. I have a small garden, and a little deck (still 4x the size of any apartment deck ive had) with a grill on it.

4. Pride - I still get a great feeling of "This is mine!" when I pull into the driveway. I feel like its a real accomplishment of mine to me able to own a house. Looking at the house brings me much more joy then looking at the 30k that was my down payment had brought me when it was scattered though various investments.

5. The ability to change poo poo up - I havent done a lot with the place as I really liked what the previous owner had done, but I have made some changes. As an example - I have a cat and I needed a place to put its litter. I have an out of the way closet that is perfect for it, but I didn't like having the closet open all the time. I took the door off, brought it downstairs, cut a hole in it, installed a cat door, and put the door back up.


What I dont like about owning a house:

1. Fear of losing it - with the pride of owning comes the fear of losing. No matter how many precautions I take there is always a chance that something will happen that will put me in a situation where Ill have to lose the house. Ive never worried about getting kicked out of an apartment. Ill also include fear of losing its value in this category. Even though I believe I did my due diligence and bought the house for at or below its actual value at a good time in a stable area, poo poo can always go wrong and I could stand to lose a lot of money. Its not a good feeling.

2. Yard - With its pros comes its cons. Sometimes you feel like mowing the lawn, sometimes you dont. It can suck with its 90+ degrees out, your lawn looks like poo poo, and its going to rain the next day. Suck it up and get mowing! Also I loving hate weeding. I did not know this until I had a lawn. gently caress weeding.

3. Neighbors - Their not as bad as when they share a wall with you, but they can still be annoying, and they can affect the value of your home. I don't have any awful neighbors in direct proximity, but there is one house 2 blocks away that feels compelled to burn their yard waste instead of letting the city pick it up, has yard sales every weekend with the same broken poo poo that no one bought last weekend, and has a new broken down hooptie in their front lawn every month.

Tricky Ed posted:

Old construction is better than new construction because older homes were usually overbuilt in structural terms. They'll also usually be in better parts of town, in more established neighborhoods, and closer to city centers and services because they were built before everyone drove everywhere. Old houses were built by tradespeople who treated construction as a career and took pride in their work. They were built to last forever. You'll have a yard and a sidewalk that leads somewhere you want to go. You'll have a cozy fireplace and a formal living room.

New construction is better than old construction because it follows modern building codes. You'll have outlets every six feet, laundry connections, a two car garage, cable in multiple rooms, and more than one light in any given room. You'll have a living room built with a TV in mind and a kitchen built with a microwave and dishwasher in mind. You'll have a media room rather than a formal living room. You'll have insulation in the walls and the ceiling, efficient appliances, a complete HVAC system, double-paned windows, and insulation-wrapped hot water pipes. You'll have bedrooms that fit king size beds, an eat-in kitchen, and a bathroom that's wider than a bathtub. You'll have special foundation reinforcement (where applicable) or storm-proof roofing. You won't have to worry about your roof for 20 years.

Old construction is worse than new construction because the walls hide horrible problems, like support beams cut in half, old wiring, leaky pipes with lead solder, and asbestos-lined heating ducts. There are never enough outlets and if you use the hair dryer and the microwave at the same time you'll have a brownout. Your drainage to the sewer, if it's present, will be clay pipes full of roots. You'll have tiny rooms with low ceilings and a tiny kitchen that doesn't have a dishwasher. You'll have the most inefficient heating system possible, and if there's air conditioning it will triple your electrical expenses and drop the temperature by 5 degrees and drip water down the inside of your wall. You'll have single-pane aluminum windows and no insulation in the walls. Your roof will have three layers of shingles on it or will be leaking or both.

New construction is worse than old construction because it was built by people hired that morning in a Home Depot parking lot, using the minimum amount of material in order to meet the too-lax building codes, designed to last through the three year warranty and not a day more. New construction sometimes employs new techniques in an incorrect manner, which often ends up trapping moisture somewhere in the walls and causing horrific mold or rot problems. New construction is all about the finishes and not about the structure or mechanicals. You'll get a yard that funnels water into your foundation covered in some sod and maybe a 2-year-old tree. Your brand new roof was flashed incorrectly and water's running underneath all of it.

All of the above is true, simultaneously. Home ownership is awesome.

Economic Sinkhole posted:

Consider all the angles of condo ownership. I lived in my girlfriend's condo for a year and a half before she could sell it and we bought a house. To me, a condo seemed like all the worst things about owning a house combined with all the worst things about living in an apartment, with an extra layer of bullshit spread thick on top in the form of the HOA. Every situation is different and a lot of people are very happy with their condos, but I could not wait to get the hell out of there.

Living is a condo is a lot like living in an apartment. Parking, shared amenities, landscaping, etc. Also you're right on top of your rear end in a top hat neighbors and their lovely barking dogs, their disgusting smoking, loud-rear end TVs, car door slamming parties, etc. Unlike an apartment though, you can't just move when your lease is up. Also you can't complain to the manager but you can complain to the HOA.

If you're lucky, your board will be full of empathetic, responsive folks who take their positions seriously. Chances are though, the board is made up of petty, useless, and uncaring folks who have nothing better going on in their lives than the HOA. Ours was made up of apathetic do-nothings. They spent a year (a whole year!) putting together a list of owners and phone numbers in a 36 unit complex. So complaints about rules violations never went anywhere.

Your idiot board is in charge of finances. Inspect the most recent reserve study and run screaming if they don't have one. Many boards either won't or can't increase dues to keep up reserves, so the owners get hit with huge special assessments when the complex needs new siding, pavement, pool equipment, roofs. Another crappy thing is even if the board appears to be in good shape now, all that can go to poo poo when the sitting members keel over and die and new members replace them. That is, if you can even get a quorum to elect a new member in the first place.

In apartment living, I put up with all the bullshit, minus the HOA stuff, because I had the perks of being a renter. My water heater broke and I called maintenance. My stinky loud neighbors wouldn't shut up so I just moved. In a condo, you're stuck with what you get. Our board got involved in a lawsuit, suing the developer for underfunding the HOA. It spent something like 6 years in the court system, during which time nobody could sell, since banks don't want to lend on condos with pending litigation. My point here is that so much stuff is beyond your control in a condo living situation that just isn't a factor with a house.

I don't mean to convince you not to buy a condo, just consider the details. If the idea of buying an apartment is OK with you, go for it. No yard to keep up, probably no major maintenance expenses, you get a pool or whatever to use. But in a house, you can hire someone to cut the grass, save monthly for major expenses (no association fees!) and swim at the Y.

swenblack posted:

In most major markets, the answer is still 'no.' Every market is different, so you're still going to your own research, but you should consider a couple different factors. First, check out the historical home prices. The Case-Shiller Index[broken link] is a good place to start. They compile housing data for most major markets and the numbers account for inflation. The February data shows that prices are only down to Sept 2003 levels, and probably will fall another 20%+ in most major markets to be in line with post-WWII historical levels.

Next, check out https://housingtracket.net[broken link]. This site will show you a whole bunch of raw data from the relative short-term, but they track significantly more markets than the Case-Shiller Index. It will give you a good idea of how big the bubble was in your area and whether it's over yet in your particular market. You should look for a price/income that's at pre-2000 levels. Most people don't realize it, but the bubble actually started with the massive creation of wealth during the internet bubble around the turn of the millennium.

Finally, you need to consider the long term potential in your market. Some houses will more than likely never go up in value. Two good examples are areas that are unlikely to recover economically like towns with big Chrysler plants or townhouses an hour outside of Sacramento. Also factor in macro-economic trends that will alter home prices. If interest rates go up, prices will likely come down. Also, real income growth will likely cause a rise in home prices.

Cheesemaster200 posted:

Past prices of housing does not dictate future prices of housing based on some curve. Population growth, social trends versus housing, and population movement are all major factors that are completely different than 20 years ago. Trying to estimate where house prices will be next year or 5 years from now based upon a graph of the past prices is just going to be nothing more than a complete guess, especially with this administration and this market.

Don Wrigley posted:

It's even simpler than that. House prices are based on affordability, period.

PC LOAD LETTER posted:

The truly exceptional places will do better of course, but even the exceptional places did bubble up quite a bit. Just pick a property and look at its price 8-10 years ago vs. now. If its gone up some ridiculous amount like 100% in that time frame you'll know it bubbled like everything else, and so in the end must bust like everything else.

That is why bubbles/booms are so horrible and should be avoided at all cost, they always bust no matter what, you just never know quite when it'll happen. Anyways, we still have quite a bit more pain coming in the housing market. This is the updated version of that Credit Suisse chart:


Looking at that, it seems we'll get continued price declines all the way out til' late 2012, so you have to factor in at least 2 more years that'll be on par or worse than what you saw happen in 2009. Bear in mind that we had those declines even though the gov./various states have had multiple mortgage moratoriums, massive price propping programs like HAMP and HARP, and rates have been at historical lows. Depending on how things work out you may see price declines go on for much much longer, or have a steeper decline over a shorter period of time.

necrobobsledder posted:

I'm the usual HOA bitcher in these threads and didn't get much from my own "let's bitch about our HOAs" thread, so I'm going to rant about HOAs here hopefully not into the cold darkness of the forums.

Not everyone wants to own a house with a yard, white picket fence, and all that nonsense or you live in an area so expensive to purchase a single family home (SFH) and so a condominium starts looking attractive. Unfortunately, buying a condominium means that you will be subject to a private, almost completely unregulated semi-socialist organization known as a Homeowner's Association (HOA). But wait, if you do want that house with yard and fence, you may have an HOA as well! There are HOAs for certain SFH communities, but they are all but guaranteed to exist in any place where there are continuous, shared costs among homeowners. In some parts of the country, it is becoming impossible to find a home anywhere near a major city without an HOA.

Here's what to look for in an HOA:

1. Budget. An HOA without a solid bankroll will be unable to basically do anything and the value of your property will be affected. If an HOA goes bankrupt, it can't exactly file chapter 7 and reform or something - the HOA represents a community's interests and collective economic means. Would you marry someone with a repetitive history of bankruptcy / financial mismanagement?

2. Litigation history. About 85% of all HOAs in the country are going through litigations whether they be against homeowners, the city, the builders, or some random unlucky person. Lawsuits are obviously very costly and usually wind up raising the HOA dues considerably.

3. Annual / monthly due history. My HOA fee used to be about $70 / month about three years ago according to records. They have since raised the dues to now $309 / month over time due to various factors completely out of my control. Refusing to pay these dues will get a lien placed upon my property and make it impossible to sell until I have paid them as well as fines & interest. Most HOAs in the country for SFH communities do not have such high rates unless they're very exclusive or costs of everything are expectedly high (gated, private security, masseuses, community 2-screen theaters, etc.). If you're interested in such a place, the rest still applies to you anyway, so keep reading.

4. Percentage of owner occupied units. If there is a high percentage of renters in a community, you will probably want to avoid buying there. There are also restrictions on the types of loans available to you (for example, FHA loans) if your property is in a community of significant percentage of investment properties. Warning: some HOAs will lie to you and some HOAs are so inept at communicating with homeowners that they will not know which units are rented and which not. My HOA grossly underestimates the number of units that are rented because of extremely poor communication with a large number of poor English-speaking (but wealthy!) homeowners.

5. Good paperwork / bookkeeping by the HOA. An HOA that is organized and knows what it's doing is an HOA that is informed and more likely to be stable, keep your costs low, and provide you with a lot of things that most people living in SFHs will be jealous of as a result of their competence. Emergencies will happen, but an HOA that's well organized will handle it faster and help keep you as an owner informed.

6. Well-written, well-defined bylaws. The covenant / bylaws should be available for any potential homeowner upon demand and should be updated regularly. Poor HOAs will go overboard on the legalese or be so loose in wording that legal professionals just may call the bylaws null and void. This does depend upon your state.

7. Fines / penalties. These are the speeding tickets of an HOA. Many HOAs exact fees upon residents and their guests to keep their budgets in good check. A healthy HOA should be fining individuals that really do cause problems rather than those who have never caused problems. A poor HOA will be too lax and wind up costing residents big time because there are always stupid people that do dumb things to their property in an HOA - no exception.

Captain Windex posted:

So you've read this whole thread, and for some dumb reason you still want to buy your own home. Do Never Buy. But if you do really want to buy, hopefully this post will provide some insight and tips on the mortgage process so that you can successfully get the loan to buy the home of your dreams (nightmares).

To get it out of the way, I work at a large bank as a mortgage underwriter. My job is to review your loan application, credit report, appraisal, and other supporting documentation and use it to make a decision on whether we will approve you for a loan or not. I'm not going to try to sell you on getting a loan or not, and I will not recommend any particular brokers or banks to go through. I'm also not going to argue about the current financial crisis, housing bust, retarded underwriting practices from 2008 on back, or related topics. This post is simply tips and general information that will hopefully help make the loan process as painless as possible.

A few things to note before I get started then:

I only do conventional loans, so what I've written here has those in mind primarily. That said, the info mostly is general enough that it should be applicable still to FHA and VA loans as well. If I get into more specific topics I'll try to specify when something applies to just conventional or just government (when I know).

KEEP EVERYTHING YOUR BROKER/BANK GIVES YOU. THIS APPLIES TO DOCUMENTS PROVIDED BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER YOUR LOAN CLOSES. DISCLOSURES, GFEs, TILs, YOUR APPRAISAL, NOTE, MORTGAGE. EVERY-loving-THING. This really should go without saying, but I see so many loans where the borrower “can't find” something and it holds their loan up for some dumb reason. You probably won't need them, but we are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars of money – there is no excuse to not hold onto every scrap of paper as it may become essential later on. There are tons of regulatory changes that have come down over the last few years (particularly in regards to the fees that can be charged to you) and almost all of them protect you if your broker fucks up. Your GFE and TIL are a key component of this.

Definitions/Key Terms:

GFE – Good Faith Estimate. 3 page document that outlines the fees/costs that you can expect to incur in closing the loan. Lenders are now required to adhere to the fees quoted for the most part (there are some tolerances of what is allowed to change, but it's better than the old system where they could change whatever they wanted, whenever). An important document, definitely hold onto it. An example can be found at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/gfestimate.pdf

TIL – Truth in Lending. Another disclosure, this one talks about your interest rate, has an amortization table for your payments, and a few other things.

AUS – Automated Underwriting System. The vast majority of loans are actually underwritten in conjunction with an AUS program. Fannie and Freddie each have their own system, and have offshoots that handle the government loans as well. These systems analyze your credit report as well as the stated income, liabilities, assets, etc and make a base decision on whether you are acceptable or not. It is then the underwriter's responsibility to verify the accuracy of the information and review the stuff that can't be automatically reviewed (appraisal, title, occupancy, etc).

LTV – Loan to Value. Your loan amount divided by the value of the home, if there is subordinate financing there is also the CLTV or Combined Loan to Value (1st loan + 2nd loan divided by value). This is a large driver of what programs are available to you, mortgage insurance requirements (if any), and the interest rates that are available to you. Lower is better as far as the bank is concerned (this is also where your equity in the property comes from).

DTI – Debt to Income. This is the ratio of your expenses versus your income. This is also further split up into front end which is just your housing expense (mortgage payment) and the back end (mortgage payment plus every other debt you have). Again, impacts your eligibility for various loan programs and lower is better.

HUD-1 – Document that you'll receive at closing, basically itemizes out every fee/charge that you and the seller pay, shows who gets what, etc.

Title Report – This will be ordered for you by the processor/loan officer, the title company does a review of the county records for the property and confirms who owns it, what type of ownership, and what liens, judgments, easements, encumbrances, etc. apply to the property. Having a clear title is very important as it determines that you (or the seller) have legal ownership of the property amongst other things. Left over judgments/liens/etc. can hold up your loan approval and are generally a bad thing.

ARM – Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Pretty much what it sounds like, your interest rate can change over the life of the loan. I'll go into more detail about how these work later.

IO – Interest Only. Much less common and much stricter standards these days, for the first 10/15 years of the loan you will only be making interest payments on the loan. After that you'll begin to make principal and interest payments for the remaining 20/15 years of the life of the loan (or refinance into a new loan, or sell the house, whatever).

Occupancy: Whether a home is going to be your primary residence, second home, or an investment property. Determines program guidelines, documentation requirements, as well as your interest rate. Also has to do with how “believable” a purchase is for owner occupied properties. Currently have a 5000 square foot mansion on the beach and you want to buy an 800 sq ft condo in downtown Detroit as your primary? Probably not.

Short Sale- A property where the seller's existing bank has agreed to settle the loan for less than the total amount owed. The sale becomes contingent upon the bank agreeing to the terms of your offer. You can get some good deals here, but it can also cause some massive headaches due to the extra party. Short sales hurt the seller's credit rating/eligibility for future loans less than a foreclosure.

Foreclosure – Property has already been repossessed by the bank and the bank is acting as the seller.

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac – The two government sponsored entities that purchase and securitize conventional loans. They set down the standards that conventional loans are underwritten to and so conventional loan requirements are going to be mostly the same between all lenders (though banks will always have a few overlays for various situations where they are more stringent). There are some differences between the two as far as their standards/requirements, but the differences are largely irrelevant as far as you, the borrower, are concerned (gently caress Freddie).

MI – Mortgage Insurance. For conventional loans, if your LTV is >80% then you will be required to have MI on the loan. This is an additional cost to your loan that can take a few different forms (monthly premium, paid up front as a lump sum, or paid by the lender in exchange for a higher interest rate are the most common). In the event of your defaulting on the loan, the mortgage insurance company will reimburse your lender for a portion of their loss depending on how much coverage you were required to get. FHA loans have both a monthly component as well as an upfront fee that you pay for coverage which can be financed into the loan amount. VA you just pay an upfront fee, and depending on your circumstances I think that fee can even be waived (disabled vets I think?)

I'll add more as I think of them. I'll try to avoid throwing too many technical terms/acronyms at you guys, but I'll be damned if I'm going to fully type out LTV and DTI every time I need to use it.

Important People

Loan Officer (LO): Takes your initial loan application, discusses various product offerings/options available to you, quotes you fees, etc. Paid on commission, and generally only gets paid if your loan closes.

Processor: Once the LO has taken your application and gotten you started on the loan process, the processor will work with you to collect the required documentation, order title, appraisal, probably coordinate your closing, order loan documents, work with the lender, etc. Basically they do all the heavy lifting.

Underwriter: Me! Works for the lender you're trying to get the loan through. Reviews the loan application, income, assets, title, appraisal, etc. Confirms the data integrity for the parts that get run through AUS, and verifies that the rest of it meets the banks underwriting standards. You'll (probably) never talk to me directly though, questions/concerns about the process will be addressed by your processor or LO.

Settlement Agent: Your title officer, escrow agent, or an attorney that is handling the closing – can take a few different forms depending on the state you're located in. Often the title officer and escrow agent are the same individual/company. Sometimes it's an attorney that specializes in this type of law. Again, method is state specific but the basic role is the same. They handle the loan closing – the funds will be wired to them, they approve your final HUD-1, disburse funds, reconvey the existing liens, record the new mortgages, transfer ownership with the county, etc.

Documentation

First of all, the documentation I'm listing here is basically the worse case situation you'll run into (as far as time length required), for a lot of loans you can get away with less (so 1 year instead of 2, 1 month instead of 2, etc). That said, if you still have everything mentioned here keep it available but ONLY PROVIDE WHAT YOUR PROCESSOR ASKS FOR, AND NOTHING MORE

Quick notes:
Asset statements and paystubs are only good for 90 days. Additionally, monthly asset statements should be dated within 45 days of your application, and quarterly statements within 90 days. Paystubs should be dated within 30 days of application. In either case, since they're only good for 90 days you should provide the most recent ones.

Credit Report

This will be ordered by your LO/processor and will contain information from all 3 credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian). This is one of the most important documents related to your loan, as it will tell the bank about your historical use of credit, credit score, and your currently outstanding liabilities (which will figure into your DTI later on).

There's not a whole lot to them from your perspective, the key factors are the credit score (impacts your program eligibility and what your interest rate will be) and the listing of your liabilities.

The credit report should contain all of your revolving debts (credit cards), installment, mortgages, auto leases, etc. It'll tell your bank the current balance, allow credit line, minimum payment, and payment history. The AUS system will analyze the credit report and spit out a recommendation. Assuming the recommendation is acceptable, then congratulations you've gotten past the first major hurdle of the loan approval process.

DO NOT OPEN NEW ACCOUNTS OR MAKE ANY MAJOR PURCHASES WHILE THE LOAN IS IN PROCESS, PARTICULARLY IF YOUR DTI RATIOS ARE HIGH This should be a common sense thing, but borrowers do it all the time. I know you're excited for your new home and want to go out and buy all new furniture and a new car and a drat aircraft carrier or something equally absurd while the application is still in process. Don't do it. Credit reports are only good for 90 days, and there are a large number of reasons your bank may re-pull credit on you mid-loan application (we're required to on a certain percentage of loans for quality control purposes).

Loans get denied all the time because the applicant took out a new auto loan or racked up a huge balance on their credit cards after the initial credit pull, which was subsequently discovered on a new credit report and they no longer qualified with the new debts. It's a dumb, easily avoidable problem.

Income

W2 Wage Earners: You'll want to have your current year to date pay stub, and the last two years of W2s handy. An important thing to note is that different types of income have varying time frame requirements. If you're able to qualify using your base salary/hourly rate then just your YTD pay stub will be enough (and probably a W2). If you receive bonus, overtime, or commission AND you need that income in order to qualify for a loan then you have to document a 2 year history of receiving that type of income.

To do this your processor will probably need to have your employer complete a written verification of employment to document how much of each type of income you've received over the last 2 years and your income will be calculated appropriately. So if you've just started receiving a totally awesome quarterly bonus, too bad you can't use that as income. Also, for you commissioned goons if >25% of your total income is commission then you'll get treated as a self employed borrower essentially, in which case you're also going to need to provide tax returns.

Self Employed: Your income is almost always going to be calculated using your tax returns. Some banks may allow for YTD profit and loss statements as well to help calculate income, but not a lot. You'll want to have your two most recent years tax returns (all filed schedules) handy. If you run an S Corp or similar company where you pay yourself W2 wages you'll want to have the W2s handy as well. You may only need 1 year depending on your AUS response, but again HAVE two years handy but ONLY PROVIDE what you are asked for.

For those of you on the fence as to whether you'll be considered self employed or not, ask yourself the following:
Does my employer report my earnings on a form 1099 instead of W2?
Does commission represent >25% of my earnings?
Do I file Schedule C, receive K-1s, or any of the business tax return schedules?
If you answered Yes to any, you're self employed. There are other situations that can make you self employed as well, but they're going to be somewhat lender specific.

Your bank will also need to verify your employment. For W2 earners this is usually pretty easy, they'll call the employer and speak to payroll/HR and confirm that you're still employed and probably start date and some other easy things. If your company isn't large enough to have a dedicated HR/payroll department then your direct manager, company owner, executive, or some other authoritative person can do it as well. It's probably a good idea to find out from your employer how they do it - some companies use outside vendors such as the Work Number, others require that the employee initiate the request and they will contact the lender directly, that sort of thing. It can definitely save your bank time and help avoid unnecessary delays if we know exactly who to contact to get it done.

Self employed borrowers also have to verify employment, but this can be a bit trickier. They generally need to prove the business exists, but different banks have different standards for what is required. Ask your broker what their lender will want to see and act accordingly.

On a related note, unless it's completely unavoidable don't quit your job, retire, or anything stupid like that during the application either. We're going to be verifying your employment at the last possible instant, and if you no longer have income then you've got problems. If you do have to switch jobs for whatever reason, be prepared to wait a while to proceed as your lender will probably want to see a few pay stubs come through before they will recalculate your income.

Assets

Be prepared with two months of current statements or the most recent quarterly statement, depending on type of account. Again, only provide what is required though.

Your assets will fall into two basic categories: liquid and reserves. Liquid assets are basically your standard checking and savings accounts, money market funds, most kinds of CDs, etc. Basically depository accounts where you have immediate access to the funds. Only liquid assets may be used to cover your down payment and assorted closing costs.

Reserve assets are things like your stocks and bonds, 401k, IRA, etc. There is typically a percentage modifier applied to these types of accounts (60-70% in most cases) that determines how much you are able to qualify with. For example if you have $100,000 in your 401k you are allowed to “use” $60,000 of this to qualify. If you need to use a reserve account to cover a portion of your down payment then you will need to liquidate the funds from that account and transfer them to a checking/savings account of some sort. The entire liquidation and transfer should be paper trailed.

How much in the way of assets you'll need to document is mostly determined by the loan program you have selected as well as your AUS response. Once your LO/processor has figured out how much you need to document, you'll want to provide them with enough assets to cover it and nothing more. For example, your down payment and closing costs are going to be $25,000 and your AUS is additionally asking for another $5,000 reserves. That $25k will need to be verified via liquid sources (checking/savings) but the other $5k can be your 401k or whatever (remember that you can only use a portion of the total account balance though). If, on the other hand, you have a checking account with $40k in it then just provide that since it'll cover both your liquid and reserves.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Large deposits into accounts need to be explained and documented. What qualifies as a “large” deposit will depend on your total income, whether it appears to be a regular deposit, if you receive direct deposit, how strict your lender is, etc. Try to look at your bank statement from the perspective of knowing only “I know the guy makes $XXX/month” and see what jumps out at you as “where'd that come from?” Your processor/LO should be able to let you know exactly what you'll need for the deposits if you let them know what the source is.
- You've been considering buying for a long time (or you better have been considering for a long time, read the thread if you haven't), so you should have plenty of time and forewarning to remember to hang on to the supporting documentation for any large deposits you may have to make, given the above. Keep copies of your deposit slips, check images, etc.
- DON'T MOVE MONEY BETWEEN ACCOUNTS IF YOU CAN AVOID IT. A huge chunk of large deposit issues on asset statements, in my experience, is overly eager borrowers moving their money around so they can consolidate it into a single account to wire out/get a cashier's check from. DO THIS AFTER THE BANK HAS VERIFIED ALL YOUR STATEMENTS. A few days before settlement is when this sort of thing should occur, not in the middle getting your documentation. Your processor and underwriter will have to go through every asset statement and make sure that the deposits/withdrawals are all explained, and if anything isn't fully documented or explained then they'll be sending you off to get more documentation.
- The exception to the above is, as previously mentioned, when you're liquidating a reserve account for cash to close. You'll want to provide the relevant source statement, proof of the liquidation, and proof of deposit into the liquid account. Try to keep this to a short time frame as well, a $10k withdrawal and then deposit the next day is a lot easier to accept than “I bought this cashier's check 3 months ago and just deposited it today.”
- Provide ALL pages to every asset statement. Yes, ALL PAGES. You and I both know that the last page of your Bank of America statement is that stupid “This Page Left Intentionally Blank” page. I don't care, provide it. This actually goes for every document you provide. All pages, all the time.
- Don't black out anything on the statement. Lenders hate blacked out documentation, even if it's inconsequential crap. I don't care that it's just your account number and everything else is visible, my bank won't accept it and many others won't either.

Appraisal

I won't go into a lot of detail here since you don't have much say or input when it comes to your appraisal, but I'll briefly describe the process and what factors are important for an appraisal to be acceptable.

Firstly, your broker/lender will order the appraisal through either an appraisal management company or appraisal company directly. They're usually in the neighborhood of $300-$400 depending on locale, complexity of the property, and additional factors. The appraiser will come out, look over the property, take measurements, take grainy/poorly lit photos, etc. A few days later you'll have a 30-40 page report going into great detail why the home you bought 2 years ago for $400k is now worth $270k (sucker).

How do they determine the value of the property? They look for similar properties in the neighborhood that have sold recently (also known as comparables or “comps”) and after adjusting for marketable differences in the properties come up with an opinion of value. Ideally, comps will be within 1 mile of the subject property, dated within 6 months prior to the date of the appraisal, and feature comps that are similar to the subject home in terms of square footage, condition, quality, amenities (pool, deck, sunroom, etc), room count, and other factors that influence market appeal.

Incidentally, this is why foreclosures and short sales impact the value of your home so greatly. Foreclosures in particular tend to sell for greatly below market value as the bank is a motivated seller and wants to get rid of the property as quickly as possible. When it sells, then it becomes a potentially usable comparable which can drag down the value of your home accordingly. Appraisers generally do note when they have used foreclosures and try to adjust accordingly, but it still has a net negative impact.

I can go into more detail about how comping works (voodoo mainly) if anyone is interested, but it's pretty dry. The short version is they're looking for recent sales nearby your home that have similar feature sets and market appeal, then look at what they sold for and your value is probably somewhere in the middle.

General Tips

- Allow for more time than you think you're going to need, particularly on purchases (and in your purchase contract in particular). There are a LOT of parties to this transaction, and a screw up on any of their parts can cause delays throughout the whole loan process and most of those delays are things that YOU ultimately are going to pay for. Things get held up in underwriting, title companies run into snags getting title issues resolved, sellers go out of town, you go out of town, whatever. You'd be surprised how many times I get screamed at by loan officers/processors to do something now because “my borrowers are at the signing table!” This is almost always due to poor planning foresight on their part, but that's neither here nor there.
- As a corollary to the above, do NOT go out of town anytime around your anticipated settlement date (if you can avoid it).
- Avoid faxing documentation if you can, things like purchase agreements (tiny loving text most of the time), photo IDs, overly colorful pay stubs and asset statements can be hard to read after getting faxed around a bunch. If you can access it on your computer, use PDF printer software and send your LO/processor a PDF of whatever you've got, can help immensely with having to resubmit documents multiple times.
- Again, and I really can't stress this enough, Provide only the documentation that is requested from you by your broker and nothing more If I only need 1 year of tax returns and you give me 2, then I can't ignore that second year and have to take it into account. At best, giving more than is required is going to create extra unnecessary work for your broker/lender, and at worst it can result in your loan being denied.
- Ask questions of your LO/processor. If there's anything you're confused about or you're not sure what you need to provide, ask them. They should be more than happy to answer, and given they only get paid if your loan closes it's generally in their best interest to help you as much as possible.

uwaeve posted:

Here is the bulk of a random advice email I wrote up for a couple of friends that are first-time homebuyers.

anitsirK posted:

Those calculators are usually talking about gross income, so some of it would certainly go to income taxes. I would expect the rest to be expected to go to food, utilities, insurance, home repairs, retirement savings, clothes, entertainment, travel, etc.

Don Wrigley posted:

It's even simpler than that. House prices are based on affordability, period.

Cheesemaster200 posted:

lots of things

Don Wrigley posted:

Historical data is useless except that for the most part, home prices have stayed at roughly the same price--relative to wage inflation--since...I guess WW2.

Tap posted:

That reminds me, what is the most ideal (or common) place to put money you expect to use for a down payment?

Gravitee posted:

My husband and I have been pre approved for a loan (YAY) and we want to start to look at houses. How do you go about finding a good realtor? Everyone I've asked either didn't like theirs very much or the realtor they used is in a different county.

Inept posted:

They may not be working for you in any case. The higher the selling price, the higher their commission. This does not necessarily mean that they will try to get you to pay more for a house, but it is something to watch for.

smackfu posted:

The problem with CDs is getting your money out quickly. I suppose you can break the CD if you're desperate though.

One of the pages linked in the first post suggests just going to your local bank to get preapproval... is that a good idea, or should I shop around on the internet?

xaarman posted:

Then you know, I could rent which is an option. I was thinking about renting the first condo since he's trying to rent or sell, and then buy if I like. Any input would be awesome.

HankHill posted:

glompix posted:

There's a clause stating that the contract is completely nulled if I cannot get financing. From the sounds of it, that's exactly where I am.

And yes, I had a feeling I was getting into a mess from the start. I basically just knew I needed 20% for some reason, and that I didn't have that. This thread is amazing and now I feel a lot more confident in myself and can rightly tell my agent, parents, and girlfriend to gently caress off. Thanks a ton.

Ashley Robertson posted:

Since she found out about the $8,000 credit, my girlfriend is really gung ho about a house.

Job situation: Girlfriend just out of school.

Savings: Only $1,000 or so. Haven't been able to save much while she was in college.

Debt: About $500/month combined in student loans. (both of us, total) She has about $1,000 in credit cards (I have $0.)

limegrnxj posted:

Closed this morning! Only hitch was an incorrect middle initial, took about 20 minutes to fix! I'm so glad to be done with it. Bring on the actual moving!

MrMidnight posted:

I close on the 29th of this month. Is it too late to tell my lender to not set up an escrow account?

SlapActionJackson posted:

Even buyer's agents will want you to sign an exclusive agency agreement. Read what you agree to.

fatman1683 posted:

The asking price of the house is 95k, it's bank-owned and has been on the market for about two months. The county puts the appraised value of the house at around 102k, and from the pictures I've seen it looks to be in good shape.

Ophelia's Ashes posted:

I have a semi-stupid question so please bare with me:

xgalaxy posted:

I was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew the area enough to provide some guidance? Is now the time to buy in the area or will housing prices continue to drop (seems like they have been hit pretty hard already)?

ObsidianBeast posted:

How often can you find home listings with the floor plan of the house listed as one of the pictures? I like to be able to see room sizes and the flow of the house without having to actually go there.

Strict 9 posted:

Anyway, my question is: We're currently in an apartment. At what point during the process could we give our apartment 60 days moving notice with 95% confidence that the house deal would go through? Basically, I want to avoid paying rent and a mortgage for too long.

Shazbot v2.0 posted:

Renting would be cheaper, but with a house I could build equity (slowly), and even rent it out for more than the mortgage if I decide to leave with my girlfriend in a year and a bit to seek greener pastures. My Dad has also said he would act as a landlord for me if that was the case, and I would pay for work to be done if necessary.

HankHill posted:

Has anyone went through the experience of trying to get a mortgage while you are self-employed? I know that usually banks like to see a couple months worth of pay stubs, but as an affiliate marketer, I'm paid in a different way. If you have gone through it, what would you suggest, and what other advice would you have?

HankHill posted:

No LLC, I've heard its a good idea though if you start making over $70k/year. drat, I didn't realize they required 2 years of employment data, I haven't been at it for that long. Would the be more leinient if I were to put say $65k down on a $130k house?

Mister Fister posted:

huh, that's weird, i'd rather go through the long application/approval process first without having to do another one when i'm looking at houses

Mister Fister posted:

thanks guys, where can i find the lowest rate lender for a pre-approval?

Leperflesh posted:

although I'd have been more comfortable waiting, we're basically going to get $8k back within a few months, which I'll give back to them

Cmdr. Shepard posted:

Can you make these types of negotiations when dealing with a bank-owned property? Everything in my price range is bank owned, foreclosure, or short sale, and it's my understanding that you make an offer and it's either accepted or rejected - no room for bargaining.

Michaelos posted:

What State do you live in? That sounds like crap, but states do have different laws. I know that doesn't seem to be the case in Maryland.

quote:

What I am writing about here is mostly in response to Fair Housing laws and the governments attempt to eliminate discrimination in Real Estate/Lending.

The first important definition to understand is a practice called steering. Steering is “the illegal funneling of home buyers to particular areas based on a desire to keep the make up of a neighborhood the same or intentionally change it” (definition provided by ask.com). The second important definition to understand is the practice of Redlining. This term was coined when lenders actually drew a redline on a map and refused to lend money to people buying in that area. The lenders argued that they were unacceptably risky areas to lend in. The lenders lost that argument on the grounds that they were discriminating against people based on racial and income profiles.

So please don’t ask me (or your Realtor) if there are a large percentage of one type of people (read: Race) or another in a particular neighborhood. Even if I knew (which I usually don’t) I won’t tell you anyway.

geetee posted:

When did you file your amendment? My state came in last week, but my federal is lagging behind.

budgieinspector posted:

gently caress. I was ten pages into this before the DON'T BUY IN CALIFORNIA NOW warnings started popping up. Is there any way this info could be added to the OP? (Or did I miss it?)

swenblack posted:

In most major markets, the answer is still 'no.'

budgieinspector posted:

If a decent house in an okay part of town (with kinda-sucky schools) is available for $300K right now, and a decent house in a much better part of town (with pretty drat good schools) will likely be available in two years for the same price due to a much-needed market correction... hell yeah, I'll wait.

But if that decent house in a good neighborhood is likely to remain way out of my reach (barring a significant and unlikely increase in my income), then I'd be better off just moving forward with what's out there right now.

Leperflesh posted:

Even so... just wait till your wife gets that job. You do not want to be in a situation where the employment situation worsens, you've got zero equity in your house, your savings are rapidly dwindling, and you have to try and sell into a saturated, crappy market, taking a bath on costs, and getting nothing from the zero equity you don't have in the house.

Zfuut posted:

We think 20% would be an insane down payment considering the interest rate and the fact that our 80,000 savings is in mutual funds, which on average do better than 5% growth.

Zewle posted:

Actually, does anyone here any knowledge of general repair prices?

Like how much would it be to repaint, redo plumbing, water heater, windows, and fix a crack in a foundation? Cause that seems to cover most of the damage to a lot of the HUD junkers being sold around here.

geetee posted:

First time home buyer tax credit question: Was your check sent to your old residence or the new one?