buying a house questions

[Sfla80]

Ok have a few questions or just need opinions here from you guys.

This will be my second time buying. First one went into foreclosure by choice. Got divorced in middle of the economy crashing. Lost all value on the house. Its been 6 years since then. Got credit back up to 700 with no "major" debt. Car loan is at 6k now and CC 's are less then 1.5k. I also make over 75+ a year....without accounting for bonuses. So I think getting a loan shouldn't be an issue.

Questions:

1. Was also thinking about a new car at this time. Should I wait or get the car before the house loan? Like would one impact the other?

2. There is possible chance of me transferring or even possible promotion. But no telling in time ranges in my business. So my question is how long is a good turn around rate for a house? Meaning how long should I own without losing money when I Re sale it. (Hope that makes sense).

3. Wife makes 55k a year. Credit is a little worse then mine...plus she went to one of the top university in the country so needless to say she paying off student loans for the rest of her life just about lol....question is...should we apply both incomes to the loan or only use mine?

Thanks for any help and opinions...just need different points of views here.

[David LoPan]

1. No new car at this time. You dont want any new credit inquires nor more debt on your credit report. It can effect what type of loan you are going to get. As far as the credit is concerned your foreclosure will have to be listed, if it is not on your credit report for 7 years. And yes both effect your debt to income ratios for your credit.

2. At a minimum of 5 years to break even and that is not a for sure thing with how unstable our economy is right now. If your company will pay to list and sell your home or guarantee your selling of your house I would consider it but if not then wait.

3. Depends on how much house you are looking to buy. It will all depend on that.

IMO - I would wait for a bit. Pay off all of your credit cards and your car note. Aggressively go after that student load debt. Save up at a min. 10% to put down on a house on top of having a 6 month savings for expenses in case something goes wrong.

[Sfla80]

1. No new car at this time. You dont want any new credit inquires nor more debt on your credit report. It can effect what type of loan you are going to get. As far as the credit is concerned your foreclosure will have to be listed, if it is not on your credit report for 7 years. And yes both effect your debt to income ratios for your credit.

2. At a minimum of 5 years to break even and that is not a for sure thing with how unstable our economy is right now. If your company will pay to list and sell your home or guarantee your selling of your house I would consider it but if not then wait.

3. Depends on how much house you are looking to buy. It will all depend on that.

IMO - I would wait for a bit. Pay off all of your credit cards and your car note. Aggressively go after that student load debt. Save up at a min. 10% to put down on a house on top of having a 6 month savings for expenses in case something goes wrong.

I just replied to you and I don't see it lol?? Damn app

[Sfla80]

Damn didn't think 5 years to break even...wow.

And I do have enough saving to pay off CC and car and still have a few k left over. But didn't think that small of debt is that big. Besides my foreclosure. ..my debt to income ratio is minimal. And was thinking those payments will always be there someway or another...always have a cc payment and a car...that was my train of thought.

Now student loans on the other hand....she did just get her payments adjusted. But I wanna say she has over 200k left on it. And no way to pay it down at this point.

[David LoPan]

i went to cash only over 8 years ago and I have never felt better in my life. Its hard to do but there is so much more peace in my life. I have one CC and 2 bank cards. Only keep the CC for a little credit but only used it to make sure they didnt put another death notice on my credit report. Dave Ramsey is whom I listened to and used his system, other than the envelopes, and it change the way I look at money management.

You can speed up the time your catch up on making a house work if you do a 15 year note.

[Sfla80]

i went to cash only over 8 years ago and I have never felt better in my life. Its hard to do but there is so much more peace in my life. I have one CC and 2 bank cards. Only keep the CC for a little credit but only used it to make sure they didnt put another death notice on my credit report. Dave Ramsey is whom I listened to and used his system, other than the envelopes, and it change the way I look at money management.

You can speed up the time your catch up on making a house work if you do a 15 year note.

Thanks for the help man

[< <Samson> >]

As far as I can tell around here at least, the house market is already to high to purchase. Not all areas are same though. I just see what's in central AZ

[Sfla80]

As far as I can tell around here at least, the house market is already to high to purchase. Not all areas are same though. I just see what's in central AZ

I've heard it's a buyers market here now...but prices are still pretty damn high for what u get.

I'm low balling what we are looking at anyways. Looking for quality and upgraded.

[austinite]

Any inquiry on your credit, regardless of approval or denial, would impact your score with the respective credit reporting agencies. Impact from inquiries drop fairly quickly, however, unless there are many without a loan to show for it.

Your second question is tough to answer. I would look at your market and see how well it's doing and has been doing in the past 5 years. The average American moves every 5 to 7 years. Look at sell rate in the neighborhoods you're interested in.

Applying jointly can be good and bad. Her score could impact your interest rate negatively. If you have an AMEX or other card that's been good for a long time, you could add her on it and her credit would get an instant boost.

[Sfla80]

Any inquiry on your credit, regardless of approval or denial, would impact your score with the respective credit reporting agencies. Impact from inquiries drop fairly quickly, however, unless there are many without a loan to show for it.

Your second question is tough to answer. I would look at your market and see how well it's doing and has been doing in the past 5 years. The average American moves every 5 to 7 years. Look at sell rate in the neighborhoods you're interested in.

Applying jointly can be good and bad. Her score could impact your interest rate negatively. If you have an AMEX or other card that's been good for a long time, you could add her on it and her credit would get an instant boost.

Aust totally agreed with the second two things you said. But for the first I spoke to an agent today. And he told me yes the first check will come up as an inquire on your credit. So I asked I am worried about shopping around then for a better rate...I don't want to have multiple inquiries for shopping around. He told me credit checks allow you to shop around and expect u to. So it allows u within a certain time frame and certain amount of them and won't show on your credit report.

Does that makes sense or was he blowing smoke up my ass?

[austinite]

Agents will likely say anything for a sale. Inquiries do impact your score. It's a very small impact and in many cases where credit is great, it's negligible. However, if your score is just hovering at a number that allows for a great interest rate, multiple inquiries can place you in the higher interest rate bracket. Most of this stuff is automated to start with, so a 701 beacon score that drops to 698 because of inquiries, can yield a higher interest rate with some lenders.

Credit reporting agencies consider them "Applications for new credit", and all 3 agencies report them. Common applications such as loans for Mortgages and car loans are lumped into one with respect to the category, because they understand you're shopping rates. Credit cards are not lumped into one when multiple applications are submitted in a short span. Keep in mind that these are no longer lumped as one inquiry if credit is not granted, and the term is very very short. The expectation from the bureaus is that after several inquiries, a new account is established.

The point is, while it may be a negligible difference, it could place you in a higher risk category and boost your interest rate, which is costly over the years. Read up on myfico.com, lots of good info there.