Sooooo bummed out :(

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Sooooo bummed out :(
8
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 2:15am

So we have been playing with the thought of buying a house. And we stumbled on a new neighborhood being built in the school district that we want to move to... So we scheduled an appt and went in today.

The floor plan we love is $179,900 and alot of upgrades are included... so we wouldn't have to tack on alot to that. They are also offering $2500 if you go with a preferred lender in closing costs and $2000 even if you go with different lenders..

Everything was soooo working out.. I love it. It is cute even though it is a townhouse. It is in a great part of town, best school district, had a garage, couldn't really tell it was a townhouse once you went in etc.

Then the bomb dropped. I knew DH's credit wasn't the greatest since his GRANDMA! opened credit in his name and won't pay it off.. alot of it is in collections, I know we have to dispute some things, they are on there twice or aren't his completely... but the lender he had called previously told us that they could finance us if we had 20% to put down. Do you know how much 20% is? LOL $35,980.

So I sat to see how close we *could* come, if we cut everything to bare bones and Brandon maxed his commissions each month... we only could have $18,534.19 and my debt repayment for the collections items that *are* his would have to be put on hold. I'm disgusted and feel like we will never have a house! We could have over 10% saved but NOPE not good enough.

My aunts solution was to call around and see if 20% was what other lenders said too, since we know our credit score. I just feel helpless. Brandon works sooo hard and thanks to his GRANDMA we might not be able to buy a house. And now we rent in a school district that is MUCH worse (a county over) I just want to cry which of course won't help but I'm pregnant and hormonal!

Stephanie

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-12-2006
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 7:35am

That stinks! Ok, here's a question for you. Did your husband give his grandma permission to open credit in his name? This may sound cold, but if he did not, it would be considered fraudulent behavior and he could possibly clear his name and credit. I know that because it's a family member this may not be something you all would want to pursue. This is a tough situation.

Here is another option...have you heard of that new website called prosper.com? It's a website where people can take out loans from other people. I've seen some posts on there where people are taking out loans for a downpayment on a house.

Anyways.....sorry to hear about your situation. Good luck! :)

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 7:48am

Dear Peach,

Just want to send you a hug! That's awful what Grandma did! I hope everything works out!

Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 7:57am

How disappointing! I would be so bummed, too--especially after getting your hopes up and falling in love...

I do think your aunt may be on to something, though. When we were shopping for this house, lenders varied WILDLY in what they were willing to lend and under what terms. Dh's credit was not the greatest at the time--I think his score was in the low 600s--but we went with a bank that treated us as individuals rather than as numbers (I don't think they even looked at the credit score, though they did look at his report), and they gave us a terrific deal ($1000 down, and the seller paid closing costs--our entire cash-out-of-pocket was $1000 on a $136,000 home--and our interest rate is 5.875% on a 30-year fixed mortgage).

Also, mind you, we had spent about four or five months clearing up dh's credit report from some major problems, which had raised his score from around 580 to 6-something. You can do this too--for each disputed item, send a letter to each credit bureau, certified and return receipt requested, stating which item you are disputing and why. They are required, after requesting additional information (which they probably will do, and you can provide, again by certified return receipt mail), to investigate and provide written proof, within 30 days, of the disputed item. If they cannot provide *written* (electronic records do not count) proof within that time frame, then they must remove the item from your record. We actually had some items that we were asking to have updated that ended up being removed entirely because they couldn't find the paperwork (a charge-off and a collections item that we just wanted to show as "paid in full" but that got removed entirely--yippee!).

Anyway, those are the two things I would try: clean up that credit record with some disputes, and call different lenders. If you have a credit union and/or a bank you have a relationship with, try those first. I highly recommend RBC Centura in the commercial bank arena--they have always dealt with us as people, not just as numbers, and that usually works in our favor. They even helped us out with a FISBO by obtaining the paperwork for a sale contract from a realtor friend of the bank officer's. www.goodmortgage.com is another good place to try.

Good luck and keep us posted. Blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 12:35pm

No he didn't give her permission for anything. It has caused a huge rift but she doesn't have the money to pay it either. Very frustrating for me to think that we are being punished for her dumb@ss mistake... She has no concept of money whatsoever and has never worked a day in her life. Seriously!

I'm feeling a bit better about it today. Technically my aunt could get us the other $10K but I want to do it on my own you know? ERRR

Stephanie

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-28-2005
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 1:01pm

I know just how you're feeling. We were "neighborhood shopping" when we found our house, which felt PERFECT for us the minute I stepped inside. We were not ready to buy! But the house/neighborhood/price ect was perfect. And the apartment we were living in was not good for our family, lots of drug use and criminal behavior and on the highway. So we went to a mortgage broker and asked what our chances were. It went under just my credit, which was at about 640 CR. Not exactly good. They required 2 years worth of bank statements (which cost me $80 to fill in the ones that I couldn't find) and I think they had to show a minimum of $2000 deposits each month.

Let me tell you, I was astounded that we were able to buy. I think we ended up having to pay $7500 at closing (which was abou 7000 more than it started at!!). Good luck, and even if this doesn't work for you, maybe while you're looking at the situation you will find more options.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 4:03pm

Is there a way that you could purchase an existing home that costs a little less? Maybe a small starter home? You could start out like that, knowing that you have a home that belongs to you, don't have to pay rent, and that your purchase will be building equity for you. Then, after a few years, sell that house and search for your dream home. By then, the credit problems will be resolved, and you'll probably be able to make a profit from the sale of the starter home.

I'm not sure what homes cost in your area. I live in the Atlanta metro, and depending on where you live around and within Atlanta, home prices can be from the 90K's through the multi-million dollar mansions.

Good Luck!

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Fri, 03-03-2006 - 4:47pm

I wish that was an option in the school district we want. Lainey will be starting school in two years. And there is nothing in that district any less. Nothing in a decent part of town that is newer than the early 70's for anything less actually... Our town just had a huge real estate boom because of a lot of retail shopping centers etc coming... :(

However! We did call our mortage broker we were working with. She said that she is going to run numbers Mon. (she is out of the office) and said that the 10% that we could do might help us out alot... We shall see.

Stephanie

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 6:47pm

Hi!

We paid 0 money down for our first home 8 years ago. Please check for first time home buyers programs. We just went through our real estate agency's bank and even had the seller pay closing costs. Everyone I know here in PA does this with their first home~ who has 20% to put down??!! We only paid $300 for the application fee.

Right now we are building and need 20% to avoid PMI insurance (but could still get the loan and pay the insurance at around $100 extra per month.) Luckily for us, DH's parents are giving us the 2 acres of land and that will count as equity so we only need $6k down for a $150K loan. THe taxes are going to be crazy though~ you may want to check into those to see if you can afford them plus your mortgage payments. (Ours might be $500 extra per month~ yikes!!)

It's hard to believe a grandma could do that! Hang in there and let us know what happens!
Nicki