This is topic First time home buyer grants/ loans & PMI questions in forum General Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by rgtrahn (Member # 7133) on :
 
I'm in the very early stages of buying my first home. As I talk to my co-workers, family and friends, I hear about different programs to assist in the process.

One of the programs I am interested in, is a Cal HFA loan:

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/programs/chdap.htm

and more specifically, the School Facility Fee Down Payment Assistance Program (SFF).

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/programs/sff.htm

My question is two parts. First, has anyone on the board had any success in qualifying and receiving down payment assistance? Secondly, when it comes to buying a house and putting money down, how many people were actually able to put 20% down? For those that were not able to put 20% down, what is your opinion of paying PMI and how long did it take for you to achieve 20% equity in your home?

If I were to buy a house in the price range I am looking at, I would pay approximately $275-300 a month in PMI... Just don't know if it is worth it to put 3.5% down or wait and save 20% and risk the real possibility of interest rates and house prices climbing.
 
Posted by 50Reasons (Member # 6452) on :
 
Save your dp just my .02 house prices are still
Falling or do a FHA where it's 0 down but you have to qualify
 
Posted by Cobra 93-4992 (Member # 4992) on :
 
The rates are cheaper on an FHA than conventional financing right now. I'd rather put less money down. Have the sellers pay for your closing costs too, up to 3%.
 
Posted by Mr.Lucky (Member # 1772) on :
 
I went FHA 3.5% down . Have yet to see a 0 down offer pan out. Pmi sucks but I didn't have 20% down. But I'm happy in the end.
 
Posted by wilit (Member # 3367) on :
 
In this market, it's going to take a long time to hit that 20% mark. Look at an amortization calculator for your loan and you'll see for like the first 10 years, something like 20%-25% of each payment goes towards the principal.
 
Posted by adower (Member # 5955) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rgtrahn:
I'm in the very early stages of buying my first home. As I talk to my co-workers, family and friends, I hear about different programs to assist in the process.

One of the programs I am interested in, is a Cal HFA loan:

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/programs/chdap.htm

and more specifically, the School Facility Fee Down Payment Assistance Program (SFF).

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/programs/sff.htm

My question is two parts. First, has anyone on the board had any success in qualifying and receiving down payment assistance? Secondly, when it comes to buying a house and putting money down, how many people were actually able to put 20% down? For those that were not able to put 20% down, what is your opinion of paying PMI and how long did it take for you to achieve 20% equity in your home?

If I were to buy a house in the price range I am looking at, I would pay approximately $275-300 a month in PMI... Just don't know if it is worth it to put 3.5% down or wait and save 20% and risk the real possibility of interest rates and house prices climbing.
If you can save the 20% do it. I don't think that homes are turning around for another couple years. If you're disciplined you can have at least 20k saved by then.
 




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