Kentucky and Indiana First Time Home Buyer Common Questions and Answers:

What kind of credit score do I need to qualify for different first time home buyer loans in Kentucky/Indiana?

Answer. Most lenders will wants a middle credit score of 620 to 640 for KY/IN First Time Home Buyers looking to go no money down. The two most used no money down home loans in Kentucky being USDA Rural Housing and FHA with their down payment assistance will want a 640 middle score on their programs.

If you have access to 3.5% down payment, you can go FHA and secure a 30 year fixed rate mortgage with some lenders with a 580 credit score.

Another popular no money down loan is VA.  Most VA Lenders want 620-640 Fico.

A lot of times if your scores are in the high 500’s or low 600’s range, we can do a rapid rescore and get your scores improved within 30 days.  We go directly to the 3 scoring companies.

Does it costs anything to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan?

Answer: No. I will pre-underwrite your loan based on credit, income and automated approval(I have over 10 years of undewriting experience direct endorsed through HUD).  If there is something questionable, we will have it pre-underwritten by the lender.

How long does it take to get approved for a mortgage loan in Kentucky/Indiana?

Answer: 5-10 business days.  Generally, I will pre-approve your loan until you find a home, then your loan will go to underwriting.

Are there any special programs in Kentucky/Indiana that help with down payment or no money down loans for KY First Time Home Buyers?

Answer: There are some programs available to KY First Time Home Buyers that offer zero down financing: FHA 100% down, USDA, VA, Fannie Mae Home Ready and Freddie Mac HomePossible, HUD $100 down and City Grants are all available to Kentucky First Time Home buyers if you qualify for them.

When can I lock in my interest rate to protect it from going up when I buy my first home?

Answer: You typically can lock in your mortgage rate and protect it from going up once you have a home picked-out and under contract. You can usually lock in your mortgage rate for free for 90 days, and if you need more time, you can extend the lock in rate for a fee to the lender in case the home buying process is taking a longer time. The longer the term you lock the rate in the future, the higher the costs because the lender is taking a risk on rates in the future.

How much money do I need to pay to close the loan?

Answer: Depending on which loan program you choose, the outlay to close the loan can vary. Typically you will need to budget for the following to buy a home: Good faith deposit, usually less than $500 which holds the home for you while you close the loan. You get this back at closing; Appraisal fee is required to be paid to lender before closing. Typical costs run around $450-$550 for an appraisal fee depending on the type of loan; home inspection fees. Even though the lender’s programs don’t require a home inspection, a lot of buyers do get one done. The costs for a home inspection runs around $300-$400. Lastly, termite report. They are very cheap, usually $50 or less, and VA requires one on their loan programs. FHA, USDA, Fannie Mae does not require a termite report, but most borrowers get one done.

There are also lender costs for title insurance, title exam, closing fee, and underwriting fees that will be incurred at closing too. You can negotiated the seller to pay for these fees in the contract, or sometimes the lender can pay for this with a lender credit. The lender has to issue a breakdown of the fees you will incur on your loan pre-approval.

How long is my pre-approval good for on a Kentucky/Indiana Mortgage Loan?

Answer: Most lenders will honor your loan pre-approval for 90 days. After that, they will have to re-run your credit report and ask for updated pay stubs, bank statements, to make sure your credit quality and income and assets has not changed from the initial loan pre-approval.

How much money do I have to make to qualify for a mortgage loan in Kentucky/Indiana?

Answer: The general rule for most FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional loans is that we run your loan application through the Automated Underwriting systems, and it will tell us your max loan qualifying ratios.

There are two ratios that matter when you qualify for a mortgage loan. The front-end ratio, is the new house payment divided by your gross monthly income. The back-end ratio, is the new house payment added to your current monthly bills on the credit report, to include child support obligations and 401k loans.

Car insurance, cell phone bills, utilities bills does not factor into your qualifying rations.

If the loan gets a refer on the initial desktop underwriting findings, then most programs will default to a front end ratio of 31% and a back-end ratio of 43% for most government agency loans that get a refer. You then take the lowest payment to qualify based on the front-end and back-end ratio.

So for example, let’s say you make $3000 a month and you have $400 in monthly bills you pay on the credit report. What would be your maximum qualifying house payment for a new loan?

Take the $3000 x .43%= $1290 maximum back-end ratio house payment. So take the $1290-$400= $890 max house payment you qualify for on the back-end ratio.

Then take the $3000 x .31%=$930 maximum qualifying house payment on front-end ratio.

So now you know! The max house payment you would qualify would be the $890, because it is the lowest payment of the two ratios.

Do I need a realtor in Kentucky/Indiana?

Generally, I reccomend a realtor for first time home buyers since the process can be complex.