Before You Buy

Before you start looking for a home, figure out what you can realistically afford to pay per month. Check out the market in the area you want to buy. Find out what price houses are going for and what the payments are per month. Remember that you may end up paying a little more per month than someone with a conventional bank loan, so keep that in mind as you figure out what you can afford.

You are going to have to work harder to find a home you can get without a loan. You will have to shop around more. So, concentrate on your needs in housing before your wants. Make a list of the minimum that you will accept in a house. Only write down your essential needs. Do you have to have three bedrooms or can you make do with less? Do you have to have a two-car garage or will a carport do? Do you have to have a single story home for health reasons? How close do you have to be to a school?

Make a separate list of the things you want. Wants might include things like a pool or hot tub, a walk-in closet, wooden floors, a deck, or a certain type of architecture. It would be nice if you can find a home with some of your wants, but to begin with, concentrate on finding a home that meets your needs. Often many of these things can be added to a home later.

Also make a third list of things you absolutely do not want in a home, such as: too many stairs to climb, a fixer-upper, certain areas of town you dislike, a location too close to a freeway, or a location too far from the center of town.

You may not be in a position to be too picky. Perhaps you can make do with a smaller home for now, while you establish your credit and get equity in the smaller home. Then you will be in a position to trade that home in for a bigger home.

Re-establishing your financial footing is not as difficult as it used to be, but it is impossible if you attempt to buy more house than makes sense. Be conservative!

Are you ready to get started? Go to I-can-buy.com and get the instant download e-book, "Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit."

From the book "Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit-- 12 Ways to Purchase a House When You Can't Get a Home Loan" by Alexis Dey. © 2005 Mohave Publishing. All rights reserved. http://i-can-buy.com

ABC News
US MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Fell 1.5% (Update1)
Bloomberg - Aug 20, 2008
... as fewer homeowners sought to refinance their loans The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to buy a home or refinance a loan dropped ...
US mortgage applications hit 8-year low Times Online
Mortgage application volume hits multiyear low The Associated Press
Mortgage volume fell 1.5% last week: MBA MarketWatch
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Housing And Economic Recovery Act
Mondaq News Alerts (subscription), UK - 13 hours ago
The Act also expands the target population served by the FHA and creates the "Hope for Homeowners" voluntary FHA-insured mortgage refinance program. ...

Mortgage penalty unlikely to vanish
Fall River Herald News,  USA - 3 hours ago
I have a prepayment penalty on my mortgage loan for three years. I’d like to refinance sooner. Is there a way a lender can waive the penalty? ...

COMMENTARY: FHA is riding to the rescue, taxpayers beware
Reuters - 9 hours ago
(Ann Schnare is an economist specializing in housing and mortgage finance. She was former senior vice president for corporate relations at Freddie Mac and ...

Mortgage Rates for Best Borrowers Rise as Bonds Slump (Update2)
Bloomberg - 7 hours ago
21 (Bloomberg) -- A decline in mortgage bond prices is raising interest rates on US home loans, even for borrowers least prone to default. ...

Some Fear Commercial Property Loans Will Be Next Stage in Downturn
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Fannie, Freddie: Plunge then rebound
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The Wall Street Journal Thursday said that the firms needed to refinance $225 billion in mostly short-term debt by the end on September. ...
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Housing market keeping couples together
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If one wants to keep the home, it's difficult to refinance the mortgage so the departing spouse can be cut loose from the debt. And evaporated home equity ...

Economist
A Treasury bailout of Fannie and Freddie is all but a foregone ...
FT Alphaville, UK - 18 hours ago
Failure to refinance would be an immediate signal to the Treasury to step in; it would force its hand. Mish Shedlock notes that $225bn is an aweful lot to ...
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