Down payment assistance programs?

[Brandi]

Has anyone ever used a down payment assistance program such as the FHA Nehemiah program?

I don't think we're going to go with the VA loan b/c a fixed 30 FHA loan appears to possibly be our best option right now if we can get approved for the down payment assistance. I was just wondering what programs you've heard of or used and how they worked out for you!

http://www.fha.com/program_nehemiah.cfm

[Bex]

We have a 30 yr FHA.... It's awesome!!

I've heard of the Nehemiah program, haven't used it personally but I can ask someone in the industry if you want.

[Brandi]

Originally Posted by Bex We have a 30 yr FHA.... It's awesome!! I've heard of the Nehemiah program, haven't used it personally but I can ask someone in the industry if you want.

My mom is really familiar with it and says she signs contracts with people all the time who use it and have had great luck with it, but I didn't know if us being in Cali would have any bearing on it being any different... seems like Cali has all sorts of weird rules and loopholes for everything Cali is not a normal state.

She also said that a lot of times, people are better off with a 30 yr FHA and especially if you can get the assistance with down payment and closing.

So, we're going to explore both and any additional info is most definitely appreciated!!!

[Bex]

Are you guys planning on going through USAA or?

[*~*Cori*~*]

We are looking into that as well trying to buy a home... well a mobile home... we can't afford a "real" home in a million years.

[Brandi]

Originally Posted by Bex Are you guys planning on going through USAA or?

We're actually not going through them b/c it seems like we can not get the best rate through them. My mom did say that that's actually kind of typical b/c she sells to a lot of military and a lot of times their lender can do better than usaa can. So, probably not. I do usaa but for loans they just haven't worked out the best for us.

[Heather]

We have a 30 year fixed rate FHA loan back with a VA loan. The Va doesn't actually give loans they only back the loan you can get. With our credit it was the best way for us to go.

We looked into every down payment program we could find. Most of them required the seller to pay either a fee, all or part of the down payment as well as the closing costs. Some of the programs are only available to certain people in certain areas of the country in certain neighborhoods and on certain houses.

For us it was just to much to ask of the sellers. We were already asking them to pay closing costs.

I wanted to add that because we got the VA loan we didn't have to come up with a down payment.

[piggypunkinetta]

Navy Fed has a FHA loan now.

Some other programs.
http://www.famonline.org/

My friend got this information from her pastor.

San Diego also has their own, I am not sure how they work.
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/sdhcd/homeowners/dcca.html
http://sdhc.org/hafirstimebuyer1.shtml

We didn't use any of these. The two San Diego ones require a class and both of us would have to attend. JJ is gone so it wasn't possible.

[guynavywife]

You may also want to look into a 80/20 loan.
You make two loans from the lender at the same time. The first is the primary mortgage for 80%. The second is a home equity loan for the other 20% (less what ever down payment you can afford to make.) You use this 20% as the down payment for the big loan.
You get the better interest rate on the bog loan because of the 20% down. You also avoid the PMI which become a HUGE cost as part of your monthly payments.
You do need to sit down and do the math on the individual repayments and costs to see whether it is worth while for your situation.
I know this isn't directly on point with your question, but it is another option.

[Bex]

Originally Posted by guynavywife You may also want to look into a 80/20 loan. You make two loans from the lender at the same time. The first is the primary mortgage for 80%. The second is a home equity loan for the other 20% (less what ever down payment you can afford to make.) You use this 20% as the down payment for the big loan. You get the better interest rate on the bog loan because of the 20% down. You also avoid the PMI which become a HUGE cost as part of your monthly payments. You do need to sit down and do the math on the individual repayments and costs to see whether it is worth while for your situation. I know this isn't directly on point with your question, but it is another option.

I do not recommend that now. Besides, with the way the market is, most lenders will not do 2nds or 80/20s. Also, it's very hard to find any lender who will let you use the 20% as the downpayment...................... In fact, in my 5 yrs of doing mortgages, I've never seen any allow that.