1st time home buyer - need help

[pstall]

I haven't seen many forecloseures in my hood(which is good) but I still say this is the place to be. MoFo.

[Niner National]

Montford is awesome. Out of my price range though :/ . I'm walking distance to Uptown and Plaza Midwood though, so I'm not too bummed out.

[TheThrillIsGone]

Yeah if you want to live in the burbs, you'd be foolish not to buy a foreclosure.

I wanted to live as close to Uptown as possible (or in) and none of the places were in foreclosure except one loft complex on Graham, but the units were small. I got a 1400 square foot townhome walking distance to Uptown for $132,400, so I feel like I still did pretty well. I'm going to rent the place out of the DNC hopefully. People a similar distance away have their's lists for $1100/night.

Where about on Graham? Inside Hwy16?

I'm looking to buy something around April myself and have been looking mostly in 28202 (uptown but includes some Graham in 4th Ward) and 28204 (Elizabeth)

Found a couple places on Hawthorne between 7th and Central that look good and also some in 4th Ward (4th Ward Square and a few on Chuch St near 10th or so)

What Realtor did you use?

[Panthro]

We have an FHA loan and that's not how it works at all; we paid a certain percentage up front, and if we get re-appraised or pay 20% equity within the 5 years the MI goes away and we get a prorated portion of the up-front MI back (it's not private, as it's govt. subsidized). Also, since it's not private the cost is only $75/month on our $160K loan - PMI was running $150 - $200.

Also, one nice perk about FHA loans is that they are assumable, meaning that when you go to sell your home years from now, the buyer can qualify for your mortgage just like you did and just take over the payments at the current interest rate and cover the rest in cash/down payment. Given where rates are currently, I'd bet good money that they will be appreciably higher in 5-10 yrs.

Yeah this

For mortgages with terms more than 15 years, the annual mortgage insurance premiums will be canceled when the Loan to Value ratio reaches 78 percent, provided the mortgagor has paid the annual premium for at least 5 years.

[dimbee]

If I want to buy foreclosed, will FHA work with 4% down? How do I qualify to buy a foreclosed home?

Absolutely. FHA doesn't care if it's a foreclosure as long as you have the 3.5% down.

[Niner National]

Where about on Graham? Inside Hwy16?

I'm looking to buy something around April myself and have been looking mostly in 28202 (uptown but includes some Graham in 4th Ward) and 28204 (Elizabeth)

Found a couple places on Hawthorne between 7th and Central that look good and also some in 4th Ward (4th Ward Square and a few on Chuch St near 10th or so)

What Realtor did you use?

Garrison Lofts are on Graham Street and 10th.

http://www.highrises.com/charlotte/the-garrison-at-graham-lofts/

They are not currently for sale. The building was foreclosed on and the new owner will be putting them on the market sometime this year. They're actually a lot bigger than I thought. They start at 1200ish square feet.

I purchased in 28204. This is the community I bought in:

http://seiglepoint.com/

It is technically in the Belmont neighborhood although it shares the same zipcode with Elizabeth.

I used MyTownHome. My realtor was Jay Sperry.

[TheThrillIsGone]

Garrison Lofts are on Graham Street and 10th.

http://www.highrises.com/charlotte/the-garrison-at-graham-lofts/

They are not currently for sale. The building was foreclosed on and the new owner will be putting them on the market sometime this year.

I purchased in 28204. This is the community I bought in:

http://seiglepoint.com/

It is technically in the Belmont neighborhood although it shares the same zipcode with Elizabeth.

I used MyTownHome. My realtor was Jay Sperry.

I drive past there a lot and have looked (albeit online) at those as well.

You happy with the purchase?

They definitely look nice just driving by.

EDIT: 715 Church has one or two for sale as well that I would consider.

[dimbee]

Another option to look into, Arsen, is a 203-K "Rehab" loan. These are especially good loans when buying a foreclosed property that is in need of repairs. You get a loan amount for more than the purchase price (based upon the home's assumed value after repairs are done) with the extra monies put into an escrow account that your contractor(s) draws against to perform the necessary repairs. Say, you agree on a purchase price of $120K, the house needs $50K of repairs, you get a mortgage for $170K. A couple of great things about this loan is you can have it put into the contract that you will not inhabit the home until the repairs are completed. As such, you don't start paying on the loan until you move into the home. The repairs, of course, have to be necessary repairs in order for the home to be habitable. Updated color scheme and nicer wall paper don't count. But, if you know a licensed general contractor who will do the work on the cheap for you, you can benefit thusly: if you get $50K for the repairs and he gets the work done for only $35K, you can either put the left over $15K in your pocket or have it deducted off of the final mortgage amount. IMO, having $15K at a ~4% interest rate is pretty solid if you turn it into a wise investment.

Just an idea I thought I'd mention, since it has not been...

[Ja Rhule]

Another option to look into, Arsen, is a 203-K "Rehab" loan. These are especially good loans when buying a foreclosed property that is in need of repairs. You get a loan amount for more than the purchase price (based upon the home's assumed value after repairs are done) with the extra monies put into an escrow account that your contractor(s) draws against to perform the necessary repairs. Say, you agree on a purchase price of $120K, the house needs $50K of repairs, you get a mortgage for $170K. A couple of great things about this loan is you can have it put into the contract that you will not inhabit the home until the repairs are completed. As such, you don't start paying on the loan until you move into the home. The repairs, of course, have to be necessary repairs in order for the home to be habitable. Updated color scheme and nicer wall paper don't count. But, if you know a licensed general contractor who will do the work on the cheap for you, you can benefit thusly: if you get $50K for the repairs and he gets the work done for only $35K, you can either put the left over $15K in your pocket or have it deducted off of the final mortgage amount. IMO, having $15K at a ~4% interest rate is pretty solid if you turn it into a wise investment.

Just an idea I thought I'd mention, since it has not been...

I actually know people who can do repairs for dirt cheap. I will def look into that. Thanks a bunch.

[dimbee]

Another benefit to the loan that I failed to mention is that it is an FHA loan. You will still need the 3.5% down. However, if you had the scenario where you had the left over $15K deducted from the final loan amount and that put you under 80% Loan To Value after final appraisal, you can refinance 6 months later into a conventional loan and get out of the .5% MIP that all FHA loans require.

[Niner National]

I haven't moved in yet. I love the floorplan on the place I got. The entire top floor is a master suite with a skyline view.

I liked the fact that Seigle was kinda halfway between the bars of Uptown and the bars of Plaza Midwood. It's walkable to both (although a bit of a hike at about 1 mile in each direction), but if I ever don't feel like walking, its a very short cab ride to Uptown, Plaza Midwood, Southend, and NoDa. There aren't really any other areas I'd go out in Charlotte anyway.

[dimbee]

I actually know people who can do repairs for dirt cheap. I will def look into that. Thanks a bunch.

They will have to be a licensed G.C. Or you can work with a licensed G.C. and tell them they have to use your guys. One caveat to the loan is that if the repair costs are greater than $30K, then an FHA inspection is required after every phase of work. If the kitchen needs repair, the escrow'd funds are given for the kitchen repairs. Kitchen work gets done. Kitchen gets inspected. All good- move onto next phase (HVAC, Living Room, whatever). The multiple inspections can rack up cost.

[dimbee]

I haven't moved in yet. I love the floorplan on the place I got. The entire top floor is a master suite with a skyline view.

I liked the fact that Seigle was kinda halfway between the bars of Uptown and the bars of Plaza Midwood. It's walkable to both (although a bit of a hike at about 1 mile in each direction), but if I ever don't feel like walking, its a very short cab ride to Uptown, Plaza Midwood, Southend, and NoDa. There aren't really any other areas I'd go out in Charlotte anyway.

Tensor, have you gone hipster on us? :lol:

[Niner National]

Tensor, have you gone hipster on us? :lol:

Ha no, I just don't like the burbs.