CarbonS2000

ok thats cool....obviously a higher score would be better for a lower apr....

orangebarius

lol my goal for 08 is to get to 5 ppd.

Ducmann996

Getting a mortgage now is alot more then just your FICO. Since the subprime meltdown chances are for a first time home buyer which is what it sounds like you are you are probably going to need to come up with at least 5% of the purchase price. You can go lower but that's usually only on a FHA mortgage. Can you show income documentation? what about rental history? If you had a score in the 7's I don't think it would be a big issue but the lower your score the more important these things become in order to obtain a decent rate. Rate's right now for "Prime customers" are anywhere from 5.75% to 7% on a 30 yr fixed. With anywhere from 0 to 2 points. Do your shopping and go with a name brand bank. If you never heard of the bank then I would probably stay away from it. With all the liquidity issues in the market right now your bank may not be around long enough for them to fund your loan. Trust me I've seen it happen.

r34dy2fly

i dunno. i havent missed a payment in a few years and myfico score was 758. i thought mine was average-very good credit.

CarbonS2000

What do you mean by income documentation? You mean my pay stubs? then yes i can...

As for rental history, I live with my parents still but I refuse to pay rent when in fact I'm funding someone else's mortgage.

Ducmann996

758 is a great score. No is that your high score mid or low? Mortgage banks use the middle of the 3 scores as the FICO score that they base their mortgage credit decisions on.

Ducmann996

Banks use a formula known as DTI (debt to income). What this means is after you add up all of your monthly expenses you divide that number by your average monthly income. You should be in the 35-45% range. I have seen where freddie and fanny will go higher but a good rule of thumb is to stay well below the max limits.

If you have no rental history you are probably going to be required to put more money down.

devs2k

A lot of people get trapped into the 'owning is better than renting' mentality, especially in light of the recent run up in housing prices fueled by lax lending standards

Generally, if you are planning on buying a condo/house KNOWING you will leave in a couple of years (4-7), you may have been better off renting.

To really know, you really have to estimate your costs going forward of owning, and compare them to renting.

Carbon, this isn't pointed to you, but it might help you or others reading this thread.

Ducmann996

devs2k

that being said, the amount of money going into my s2000 defies the laws of finance and common sense