Down Payment Assistance - One of the biggest topics for first time home-buyers involves down payment money. The questions range from do I need to have any money to make a down payment on a home to how can I get some money to assist with making a down payment. There are many different ways to buy a home with a down payment or without and there are many different down payment assistance programs available throughout the country. Consult your OH mortgage broker to find out more information about down payment assistance and home mortgage loan programs for first time home-buyers.Mny first time buyers look for down payment assistance programs because they erroneously believe they need a large down payment to buy a home. Actually a good loan officer, with the asistance of a good real estate agent, can usually get you 100% financing with liile or no closing costs.
Down payment assistance programs are not a free ride. The buyer is often required to take first time home-buyer classes and meet with budgeting and credit counselors. The process can be lengthy.
Also, the home usually has to pass an inspection performed by the entity offering the down payment assistance. This can also slow down the transaction.
In addition, the buyer is often required to live in the property for a set period of time.
All down payment assistance programs work differently and not all lenders will allow a borrower to use them.
The types of programs that are available to you will depend largely on your credit history. For many first time homebuyers an FHA loan is an excellent choice because it allows your friend and family to assist you in the purchase of a house by providing a down payment "gift" to help you with your down payment. If you do not have any cash to put down yourself, and do not have family who are able to assist you there are plenty of other types of loans available that do not require a down payment at all.
Seller Credit - Seller credits can be useful when buyers are short of the cash required to make an offer to buy a home.
A seller credit is part of the sales contract. It should be negotiated by your real estate agent.
Another popular tool for sellers to assist buyers is a seller concession. With a seller concession, the seller will credit the buyer to help with the buyer's closing costs. A seller concession will only work if the appraised value is higher than the sales price.
Sellers are allowed to contribute up to 6% towards the buyer's closing costs.
seller assist - A "seller assist" is a feature of many loan programs that is used to help a buyer pay for a portion of their closing costs.
A "seller assist", or the seller paying an amount toward your closing costs, must be written into the original offer/contract. Few lenders will allow that to be written in later, unless the selling price is remaining the same and the seller is simply paying toward your closing costs out of that amount. If you need the seller to assist with closing costs, be sure your real estate agent knows from the beginning.
Usually with a "seller assist" each lender and programs has it's own specific guidelines as to how much assistance from the seller the lender will allow. For example one lender may allow the seller to contribute 3% towards your closing costs, while another lender may allow 6% to be contributed from the seller. Consult your mortgage professional for specifics details for your situation.
Buying a home with nothing down - Buying a home without putting any money down is becoming increasingly popular and even easier than ever before. There are many different mortgage options available for financing a home without a down payment. You can go with an 80/20 combo loan or you can go with a 100% 1 loan. You can choose to have a fixed rate, an adjustable rate or even an interest only type loan. You could also go with a 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 or even a 50 year mortgage option. Therefore, as you can see there are many choices available and you should consult the help of a mortgage professional to find out what is the best mortgage option for you.
There are additional programs and features available to help you pay for closing costs as well. Many of the 100% financing programs allow what is called a "seller assist" this can be either 3% or 6% of the purchase price, depending on what you qualify for. There are also 103 or 107 programs that allow you to finance 103% or 107% of the purchase price to help pay for closing costs.
Buying a home with nothing down is becoming the norm for first time home buyers. Although you are putting no money down on the home, there are still closing costs that need to be paid. Sometimes the seller will pay part of your closing costs to facilitate the transaction. Also, a family member can "gift" money for closing costs.
