buying a condo stress

[kimmae17]

so i am trying to buy a place before the first home buyers tax credit ($8000) is up in december. Mostly my parents have been stalking me to do it since prices are low and you get the 8grand back. so i went to get preapproved for a mortgage and turns out my credit isnt so hot. i had two incidents with a limited bill (the FREAKING LIMITED) and neiman marcus, where i never really used them, then maybe put like $80 on each at different times, and the bills got sent to my old address and i totally forgot about them. so of course months later i have crazy late fees and all that added on. I argued them got most off, but my credit is mostly bad because of those two stupid cards! i have some credit card debt. and the mortgage guy was like if you paid it all off it might up your credit score enough, but otherwise since its the late issue, all you can do is pay on time for a long time,. which obviously is a problem since the home buyers credit is up dec 1 and you need to close by then. My dad said hes willing to co sign, will that be good enough?? i REALLY dont want to tell my parents about the credit because i will NEVER hear the end of it from my mom ( who by the way hasnt worked a day since i was born so i reallllly dont want to hear a peep from her )

anyone have in experience with this? i am waiting for the mortage guy to call me back to ask about the co signing . i am so stressed i might vomit .


haha if you want to help me out go to my sale!

mac_cosmetics: sale

 

[NikkiPucka]

Hey there,
I'm sure you're already aware, but the tax credit "deal" isn't all that great. It's pretty much an $8k loan that you have to pay back to the government. I currently own a condo, and let me tell you, the condo resale market is quite poor. Are you still living with your parents? If so, and you want to increase your credit score, pay your bills on time, as well as more than the minimum amount. While doing this, bank as much money as possible while staying with your parents. That way, when you go to purchase a home (whatever type it may be), your credit will be in a little better shape, but you'll also have a big down payment which could help overshadow a lower credit score.
Just my opinion!
Good luck!
Oh, and P.S. My father is the SAME way. Forever preaching about good credit.

 

[kimmae17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NikkiPucka Hey there, I'm sure you're already aware, but the tax credit "deal" isn't all that great. It's pretty much an $8k loan that you have to pay back to the government. I currently own a condo, and let me tell you, the condo resale market is quite poor. Are you still living with your parents? If so, and you want to increase your credit score, pay your bills on time, as well as more than the minimum amount. While doing this, bank as much money as possible while staying with your parents. That way, when you go to purchase a home (whatever type it may be), your credit will be in a little better shape, but you'll also have a big down payment which could help overshadow a lower credit score. Just my opinion! Good luck! Oh, and P.S. My father is the SAME way. Forever preaching about good credit.

thanks for the response! unfortunatly i do not live with my parents, i rent in hoboken NJ which is VERY expensive, so paying down my debt and saving is hard to do. i am working on it (hence massive makeup sale on here) and always bringing my lunch little things like that. but my credit is not going to go up fast enough by just paying on time. it turns out it may not matter becuae the place i like is a co-op and apparently they have different rules and i may not be able to get it anyway. soooo stressful. its the only place that was in my price range. and it was beautiful!

 

[gildedangel]

If you can't get that place just keep looking, you still have time. The tax credit is not much of a deal at all anyways, don't stress about it too much. Your dad co-signing would actually help a lot; but keep in mind that you have the potential to ruin his credit if something were to happen and you couldn't pay ontime. Save where you can until you get a place that is within your price range, oh, and paying off a credit card in full every month helps a lot instead of paying just the minimum balance.

 

[kimmae17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gildedangel If you can't get that place just keep looking, you still have time. The tax credit is not much of a deal at all anyways, don't stress about it too much. Your dad co-signing would actually help a lot; but keep in mind that you have the potential to ruin his credit if something were to happen and you couldn't pay ontime. Save where you can until you get a place that is within your price range, oh, and paying off a credit card in full every month helps a lot instead of paying just the minimum balance.

why is the tax credit not much of a deal? i have a small amount of credit card debt so i cant pay it all off right now, althought i did just pay a large chunk, and next pay check i will pay another chunck. i will have it paid off in prob 3-4 months, problem is RIGHT NOW my credit looks bad.

 

[Sayde]

Unfortunately the ppl who do credit scores look at quite a few months of your history to determine your score...a lot goes into your score and it's really hard to understand how you are scored. Here's a good article I read recently about credit scores:
Credit Scores: Shattering Some Common Myths - WSJ.com
Hope this helps!

 

[TISH1124]

Well....I have been there done that...However when I was younger and I had credit cards...I paid them off every single month....this did not help my credit score it did not hurt it but it did not help it....Some creditors want to see you have established credit and that you can make monthy payments on time and consistently....I was told by my financial advisor to get a credit card and pay monthly payments for a while until I could establish a good payment history then after that point pay it off every month...Again every creditor is different....you don't want your credit cards maxed out but if you are paying them on time and making decent payments monthly I don't think that will hurt your crdeit score...If you have a lot of debt it will bring your debt ratio down on how much they will lend you....But it will not bring your score down IN my experience....and this is just based on my knowledge and on house number 5 at this point.

But owning a home does allow for a great tax credit....owing any property of value does and a bunch a kids...i'll go for the property LOL

 

[kaliraksha]

You can try to write to the CEO's of the companies you owed money too (look directly on your credit report for some of these store cards it could be HSBC) and see if they will take it off your report. My mom did this with one of my dad's old cards that he had lent to his brother who charged stuff and never paid it off. As a courtesy and because they legally only have 30 days to respond the company just took it off his credit report which improved everything.

Of course paying off a big chunk of your CCs will help because part of your credit report is based on your credit to debt ratio.

You should really try out a few of the credit and finance forums... they are really helpful and even have templates to contact your creditor to ask that things be verified and/or removed.

Good luck! Buying sounds awesome, I can't wait. Also, this is your decision and your money... it's not like your parents are offering to pay or give a down payment... so take your time and don't rush into anything. If you don't do it by Dec 2009, but find yourself in a better place next year to buy with more time to find the perfect place, then wait. You have to look at so many things when buying, especially resale when you're younger because there is a pretty good chance that your life will change and you will need a different place and need to sell your current place (such as in starting a family or getting married).

 

[kimmae17]

to anyone that is reading this. the first home buyers tax credit IS that great a deal. its $8000 you get back when you do your taxes. you never have to pay it back. i assume the person who posted it wasnt so great was referring to last years first home buyers tax credit, which was $7500 and had to be paid back over time.

 

[xxManBeaterxx]

^8,000 certainly does help a great deal. Its far too late to get the $8,000 rebate now, my husband who is a broker told me a lot of people were rushing to close the deal way back in october because the sale has to be out of escrow and finalized before dec 31 and it normally takes 2 months. My brother whose condo is in escrow right now was 1 week too late

 

[kimmae17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxManBeaterxx ^8,000 certainly does help a great deal. Its far too late to get the $8,000 rebate now, my husband who is a broker told me a lot of people were rushing to close the deal way back in october because the sale has to be out of escrow and finalized before dec 31 and it normally takes 2 months. My brother whose condo is in escrow right now was 1 week too late

hey! it was extended thru next year

First-Time Homebuyer Credit

i think it was decided last week. you must close by July 1, 2010.