ramjet

Looking to buy our first home soon. North of outer loop 8 in IAH. Would like to get a preapproval to see if our budget matches the loan limit.

1) Where did you research morgage companies and rates?
2) What company did you go with?
3) How do you like the company and their service?
4) Is it a straight 30yr fixed or a "creative" loan?
5) What are the terms and the rate?
6) Do you have online access to the account?
7) Any other info helps.

Thanks!!!

Captain X

1) Where did you research mortgage companies and rates?
All the advertised on-line places like lending tree. The local paper. Preferred lender from builder and Realtor.

2) What company did you go with?
Bank of America. They have an awesome first-time home buyers mortgage. I can't remember the name but I think some people refer to it as an ACORN or CRP (Community Reinvestment Program) loan. It was basically either 1% or 0.5% (depending on the loan amount) off of the best rate you can get with your credit.

3) How do you like the company and their service?
Outstanding. Automatic semi-monthly for free. Closing on the lender's end was painless.

4) Is it a straight 30yr fixed or a "creative" loan?
30 year fixed. Only other thing I would do is a 15-year fixed.

5) What are the terms and the rate?
Back in 2001. 30-year. 6.5%. No pre-payment penalties. No points required.

6) Do you have online access to the account?
Yes. And automatic semi-monthly payments for free.

7) Any other info helps.
You will get pre-approved for a lot more house than you should probably buy. Don't get suckered in. If you wanna figure out how much home you can "afford" look at your GROSS monthly salary and take anywhere from 25-33% to calculate what your total payment should be (the full PITI).

Another excellent source is Homebuying For Dummies. They have a chapter to help determine what your monthly expense will be for a certain mortgage. Following that I was within $11 of the Good Faith Estimate we got from Bank of America.

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Jetlink1175

1 - I used the internet.
2 - Went with my Credit Union.
3- Love them!
4 - 30 year fixed.
5- 5.6, $0 down (first time buyer deal)
6- Yes, but you don't need it. Just mail a check once a month.
7 - We moved to Houston not knowing a whole lot more than that I wanted to be near the airport. We lucked out and found a great house in a good area. Problem is that we are in soccer-mom central. We have no kids and do not plan to change that. If we had it to do over, we'd look closer to downtown. Ideally have a place located near the fun stuff. We have to drive 35 minutes now to get to that. Guess how often we do it? Lastly, if you are going to live in Harris County, stand by for a raping on property taxes. Have fun! We're coming up on 3 years here.

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IAH CA
USMC Veteran