Wheda?

[Cutlass Queen]

Looking at purchasing a home this year and read a few things about Wheda but still have a few questions..what's your feedback on it? What's required for a downpayment? Is the home buyer workshop 1 day class free? Anyone have experience with this type of loan?

[4eyedstang]

When i bought my home about 8 months ago. i was told wheda loans where no longer available.
If you go with a FHA loan you can go as low as 3% down on a 30 year fixed

[pOrk]

You want more then 3% down, just cause you can doesn't mean you should.

Look at it this way, if you can't save the money to buy a house, you won't be able to save money for when you need to fix the house. IMO.

[supra213]

Wheda loans have recently became available again. I believe you can finance 100% of the house ie. no down payment. Be ready to jump through hoops to get approved for one. I was semi jokingly told that the approval process stops just short of asking for a DNA sample.

[URLOZIN]

I used an FHA loan and was very happy with it. The guy was great and I put 3% down.

[lordairgtar]

You want more then 3% down, just cause you can doesn't mean you should.

Look at it this way, if you can't save the money to buy a house, you won't be able to save money for when you need to fix the house. IMO.

Ding ding ding!!! We have a winner. I got one of those sub prime loans when I was looking for a house. After some research and calculations regarding interest and property tax and the probability of having to repair a furnace or a roof or whatever, I decided to forgo the approval and stay in my nice cozy apartment.

[Car Guy]

You want more then 3% down, just cause you can doesn't mean you should.

Look at it this way, if you can't save the money to buy a house, you won't be able to save money for when you need to fix the house. IMO.

I just sold my house for this reason, in a nutshell think realistically about the situation you are about to enter. Owning a house can be a great experience but can also be a nightmare if you are not financially ready and capable.....

[GRM-REPR]

WHEDA

http://www.wheda.com

You go here if you are a first time home owner because you can't afford a great percentage rate and you also want NOT to be taken for a fool like all the dummies who signed into a long term contract for a sub-prime home loan.

If you qualify (anyone with a good credit rating and years put into employer) you can almost be guaranteed a good fixed rate loan at a lower interest rate. You won't however get a lower rate that a good reputable lending institution is selling and if you have outstanding credit.

Also, don't buy a house unless you can put the 10% down payment on the house/loan or you will have PMI (Private Mortgage Ins) and you don't want that at all. It will also feature a 2nd mortgage and the interest rate will differ from that of the principal loan amount. In essence you are paying two loans.

Don't ever buy a house unless you can get a good loan rate and NEVER sign into a sub-prime loan. Those should be banned from this country as it is one of main reasons AIG, Fannie & Freddie and our entire economy collapsed.

Jon...

(Degree in business w Major in/ R.E)....

[PureSound15]

Also, don't buy a house unless you can put the 10% down payment on the house/loan or you will have PMI (Private Mortgage Ins) and you don't want that at all. It will also feature a 2nd mortgage and the interest rate will differ from that of the principal loan amount. In essence you are paying two loans.

The era of 80/20 and 80/10/10 is gone. There are a few brokerages that will still create the HELOC to avoid the PMI, but now-a-days you're better off eating the PMI.

W/great credit PMI (90/10) is .37 where I work - $30/month on 100k.


In general, you're better off being able to put down enough on the mortgage, but I don't think PMI is the devil in all cases.

[jbiscuit]

I would say 10% down minimum with at least $5k in the bank as reserve. Houses are expensive. Not one thing cheap about them. Even if you can afford the mortgage today, make sure you have enough saved up to pay at least 3 months of in case you get let go from your job. The economy still sucks so better to be over-prepared. FHA is a good loan if you qualify. They are ridiculous at times with what they will want from you or the seller to get the deal done but all in all it works out. PMI isn't a bad thing IMO. Just depends on the situation and the home you are buying. I crack up when I hear about people in $300k house paying PMI and $2800/month mortgages on modest salaries. Some pay more in PMI than their damn property taxes hahaha. If you have any other questions, ask away. A lot of us have gone through these programs and can offer some tips. But in the end what is most important is having the down payment and buying within your means!

[GRM-REPR]

The era of 80/20 and 80/10/10 is gone. There are a few brokerages that will still create the HELOC to avoid the PMI, but now-a-days you're better off eating the PMI.

W/great credit PMI (90/10) is .37 where I work - $30/month on 100k.


In general, you're better off being able to put down enough on the mortgage, but I don't think PMI is the devil in all cases.

I agree with you but sadly there are still mortgage lenders out there selling off SPM's. Not only should those institutions be ashamed of themselves, they should take a stab at ethics instead of putting $$$ in their pockets. You have a good point on PMI being "acceptable" but we have to consider the source of the lender/broker and the buyer. Your example of 100k works but unfortunately, lenders were still purporting the customer to "buy bigger" and that meant 200k+... A loan those customers probably knew and the lender certainly knew, they couldn't afford.

You truly do want to avoid PMI still if it's the example I have. I don't know where you work but I'm sure your business is more reputable than the thousands that ripped people off (while still keeping in mind the prospective client "bought" into the bullshyt the lender was selling. It's why 10% will usually cover that aspect of home loan shopping. Also, there are still mailers going out for sub primes that still feature no $$$ down and "pre-approval" and it still gets people in the door that don't know any better. Common sense would tell a buyer, you're getting an 11% primary loan with a 10% secondary (PMI) loan. I just think it was a dirty scam that got our county into a downward spinning toilet.

Good point

Jon

[GRM-REPR]

I would say 10% down minimum with at least $5k in the bank as reserve. Houses are expensive. Not one thing cheap about them. Even if you can afford the mortgage today, make sure you have enough saved up to pay at least 3 months of in case you get let go from your job. The economy still sucks so better to be over-prepared. FHA is a good loan if you qualify. They are ridiculous at times with what they will want from you or the seller to get the deal done but all in all it works out. PMI isn't a bad thing IMO. Just depends on the situation and the home you are buying. I crack up when I hear about people in $300k house paying PMI and $2800/month mortgages on modest salaries. Some pay more in PMI than their damn property taxes hahaha. If you have any other questions, ask away. A lot of us have gone through these programs and can offer some tips. But in the end what is most important is having the down payment and buying within your means!

Good point on FHA loans. However, the onus is on the seller big time. He/she has to have it in pretty nice shape for a prospective buyer to get an FHA loan, for that subject. I've seen many loans rejected just for paint or old windows.

WEHDA is still a good bet for a first time, novice home buyer

[Yooformula]

I think my pmi was only $35/month on my FHA/first time buyers and we got a 30yr fixed rate of 4.7%. I agree about having money saved up to repairs but luckily in our case the house came with a warranty and we used the hell out of it! So much so that we have been renewing it every year.