I want to buy a house

[stop the bleeding]

I have been at the same job for over 3 years, I make a modest but adequate salary and have credit scores in the low 700's. I live in Florida and have an attractive housing market to shop in. My problem is I am a bit overwhelmed as to who I should shop for a loan from. I know this may be the wrong forum but I wasn't sure where to ask/post my question.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can point me in the right direction(s).

[NMDemDist2]

1. you might try the Economy forum but my first stop would be a credit union

if you belong to one.

if you don't try and join one. a local one.

and good luck.

next summer might be a good time to move in the Fla market

:hi:

[SoCalDem]

2. Stay away from the online or teeeee-veeee stuff

Start at your own bank.. Show up with your tax return, & a folder with paycheck stubs & your monthly bills.. Call for an appointment..Show them you are a serious prospective buyer..

Ask THEM what you can realistically afford, or failing an approval, what you could do to improve your odds.

and ONLY get a FIXED 30 yr with no pre-payment penalty.. If you can get Bi-weekly, DO it:)
and ONLY after you know what you can get financiing for and ONLY Then, should you start looking..

Buy LESS house than you can "afford"...You can always fix a house up, but if you buy more than you can afford, you will have NOTHING to work with, and if you lose a job, you lose the house too:(

[we can do it]

6. Good Advice- Also Consider Getting 3 Quotes, Check Closing Costs and Fees

A loan officer who family or friends trust is also a good idea.

[SoCalDem]

8. and NEVER take "affordability" advice from a realtor

especially NOW!!.. They are in-it-for-the-money..even if they are your "friend"..

A sale means money in their pocket..regardless of how well you end up on the deal:(

[Tennessee Gal]

25. Not all are like that.

A reliable REALTOR will send a buyer to a trusted mortgage company who will give sound advice on affordability. Ethical REALTORS do not give financial advice.

People should know that REALTORS must abide by a code of ethics.

I am a REALTOR and I teach ethics as provided by the National Association of REALTORS.

[Rockholm]

26. Ethical realtors do not discuss mortgages.

It is not their job.

[Tennessee Gal]

28. That is what I said.

REALTORS are not financial experts, attorneys, home inspectors, or appraisers. In fact, in Tennessee we have a disclaimer form provided by the state that every buyer and seller signs acknowledging those facts.

Ethical REALTORS continually take advanced educational classes to keep themselves informed of the latest legalities regarding contract writing and disclosures.

[Rockholm]

29. I was responding to the poster above you.

Thanks for posting what REALTORS do.

[3waygeek]

3. My just-retired folks bought a house in SW Fla last month...

and they used Coldwell Banker for their mortgage (no closing costs since the selling broker was with CB). However, their scores are in the high 700s, and Dad's sitting on over $2 million of retirement savings -- they got the mortgage for tax purposes, not because they needed it.

[RB TexLa]

4. If you work for a large company talk to HR and see if they have relocation people

I know you are not relocating but they will have a group of lenders, realtors and such that they work with and can help. Often there might be a mortgage person who will literally give free advice to you just because of the amount of business they get from the relationship.

[chucktaylor]

5. Have 20% down, shop for at least 6 - 12 months and visit your credit union.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! A good neighborhood goes bad WAY slower than a bad neighborhood gets better. I have lived and owned in both.

[Fran Kubelik]

7. When I bought my first house I sat down with a buyer's agent I trusted

He specialised in first-time buyers. We sat down and filled out a worksheet to determine how much I could afford, and he recommended a couple of lenders he recommended. It worked out great for me.

[helderheid]

9. I'm an agent. PM me and I will contact my mortgage guy and ask who he recommends that way and I am

happy to send you a real estate agent in your area as well. :)

[customerserviceguy]

10. I'd put it off for awhile

we haven't hit bottom yet in the real estate market plunge. Figure out which day of the week foreclosure notices get published in your paper, and keep count of them. When that number declines, we might be approaching a bottom.

One possibility is to look at foreclosed homes, while you're looking at those foreclosure notices, take note of the addresses in areas you like, often the lender that takes them back will be willing to extend you financing, if they consider you credit worthy. You might have to work with an agent who can get to somebody in the institution, lenders get besieged with all the house-flipper real estate mogul wannabes who just waste their time looking for zero down deals, goaded on by late-night infomercials.

Just twenty-five years of title insurance experience talking here. Thank goodness I'm out of that.

[kristopher]

11. Recommend this reply!!!

Especially the first two sentences. Don't forget that homes went up 300-400% almost overnight; how much have they dropped?

[Greyhound]

12. Especially in FL. Double rec. n/t

[csziggy]

17. It depends on what parts of Florida

The Orlando and coastal areas were highly inflated prices and are still dropping. Other areas went up some but not as much and will never drop as much.

Find a buyer's agent that knows your area and will help you look for properties that are down in price. Also, most Florida counties Property Appraiser offices have web sites with every property in the county and the last few sales listed - usually with the prices. Leon County has links to the last contract on the property, if that has been digitized. and links to the permits so you can see how much a house cost to build or how much work has been done recently and if it was permitted and inspected. Florida's open government policy really works well for researching properties, whether for sale or in the neighborhoods you are considering.

To find your local property appraiser office, just Google your county, Florida and Property appraiser.

[Greyhound]

19. That's the same pattern found all over the country, but we're still not at the bottom.

There is a still-growing glut of housing almost everywhere.

The higher the values inflated in the boom the worse they're crashing in this bust.

[customerserviceguy]

20. It's true that some areas inflate faster than others

and those areas show the largest drops, but remember that they were the most desirable areas to begin with. When everything finally settles to an equilibrium, the most desirable areas will still be that for reasons intrinsic to their locations. Another thing to consider is fuel prices. When gasoline was selling for four bucks a gallon, commuting for an hour each way made things quite expensive, at $1.50 a gallon, that will make the properties an hour away from metropolitan centers fall less in value.

One other big fat thing to consider in Florida, the insurance market is absolute turmoil there. Until it stabilizes, things will be in flux. I've heard of people paying more for insurance than for property taxes.

[customerserviceguy]

21. It's true that some areas inflate faster than others

and those areas show the largest drops, but remember that they were the most desirable areas to begin with. When everything finally settles to an equilibrium, the most desirable areas will still be that for reasons intrinsic to their locations. Another thing to consider is fuel prices. When gasoline was selling for four bucks a gallon, commuting for an hour each way made things quite expensive, at $1.50 a gallon, that will make the properties an hour away from metropolitan centers fall less in value.

One other big fat thing to consider in Florida, the insurance market is absolute turmoil there. Until it stabilizes, things will be in flux. I've heard of people paying more for insurance than for property taxes.

[Rockholm]

27. Good advice. Real estate is LOCAL.

Just because prices are dropping in one area, it does not mean it is dropping everywhere. Prices in my town are down about 5% from its high. Not so bad when the stock market is down 40+% from its high.

[Neshanic]

14. Exactly. Best advice given.

[Lorien]

15. Agreed. My home lost over 5k in value last week according to Zillow

I've read that we won't hit bottom for another two years!

[Tennessee Gal]

24. Don't trust Zillow.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

13. Your housing costs payment, taxes and insurance should not exceed 30% of your net income.

Make sure you get a fixed rate loan if they say they can't give you one find another lender. Make sure and look very closely at the house you want at various times of the day and night with and without your agent (obviously don't break in or anything). See if you can ask people in the neighborhood about the effects of past hurricanes in that area. In regards to who to finance through I agree with the others on the credit union if that's not an option ask some friends who they used and see if they recommend them and not just yes they were okay. I mean yes I'll never use anyone else as a recommendation. Once you figure how much you can spend, don't let an agent show you a bunch of houses that are $20,000 more than you are willing to spend. If they have someone trying to sell one near your price they may push you in that direction so they can have the whole commission. Hope this helps. Good luck.

David

[Alcibiades]

16. We used Suntrust

Last year when we bought in NC. Our loan officer told us they hold all their own loans. Was tremendously happy with the service, rate and terms.

[kristopher]

18. According to J.P. Getty

"If it appreciates, buy it. If it depreciates, lease it."

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. If You're In Florida Taylor Bean And Whitaker Should Be There. Great Place To Get Your Mortgage.

[EnviroBat]

23. Best advice I can give you.

Check the sewer lines, and other utility lines, gas, water, etc... This is something the home inspector is NOT going to look into, and it can bite you in the ass. My first house has a shiny new $6000.00 sewer line now. Not something I wanted to pay for the first year there, and the back yard still looks like hell now. The inspection can cost around $300.00, but I would have paid for it had I known...