Can you finance a home?

If you're like most of us you've heard it's getting hard to finance a home.
We hear that builders are having trouble selling home and part of the reason is problems with financing.

So how hard is it?

If you have good credit scores (over 680), have reasonable debt, have a down payment or equity, an income that supports the mortgage payment, and you have a good job history you will have no problem financing and will receive good terms. However, if you have bad credit below 620, do not have a down payment, and your job history is suspect, you will have problems.

You will also have problems if you are self employed and show little income on your tax returns. It will not matter if you have 850 credit scores. Stated income mortgages are dead.

If you do not have a down payment and cannot finance using FHA you are out of luck. Starting October 1, 2008 the gift program if funded by the seller goes away (Maybe) for FHA. So very soon you will need a minimum of 3.5% down.

What’s the bottom line? Most of us can still finance a home and it is best if you talk with a mortgage professional before you go looking for a home to see what you may need to do to have a smooth closing.