ok so in this picture... first question is, under Total Monthly Obligation... whats MI mean? second question, same column, the HOA it shows $156... is this monthly? If so, it's not added into the total there. Or is this like a yearly fee, of $156 x 12? I would ask my realtor these but hes away for a few days.
MI = Mortgage Insurance. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage_insurance The HOA fee is a bit harder to answer. $156 a month seems really, really high. But $13 a month seems a bit low. You might want to contact the HOA directly to ask.
I thought it was mortgage insurance too but it already has a column for "insurance" separate from the MI so I thought it wasn't it.
$156*12 = $1872/a year. If your yearly HOA dues are $1,872.00, then you better be in a gated neighborhood, w/ an olympic size pool and yard maintenance and a daily BJ included.
Also, those ARROWS. On column A it shows my upfront MI would be $3,734, and then it shows it connecting to column B, but if you input the $3,734 in there the total would be totally different.
Looks like they are are rolling your PMI into the loan and letting you pay it over 30 years instead of paying it all at settlement.
Bingo. Property insurance is protecting YOUR investment in the house. Mortgage insurance is protecting the BANK's investment in you. EDIT: One of the best things I ever did was taking a class through continuing ed at the local community college that was all about how to buy property. The teacher, who was an experienced Realtor and former loan officer, walked us through the whole process, had us check out sample loan docs, etc. It was one of the best choices I ever made, and has saved me untold thousands of dollars. It may be too late at this stage in your purchase, but for anyone out there looking to buy: get schooled first.
If I were you I would save up 20% of the sales price, to avoid escrow all together and avoid the PMI and MIP that comes with a FHA loan. Also when applying for a conventional loan go with a credit union they will charge less closing cost than a mortgage broker and even better interest rate than banks. Like Chase offered me 5.25% and wanted me to purchase points as well. F that while Shell Federal credit union I recieved $1600 closing cost and 4.5% with no points at all.
Nice job, ToyCen. Congrats. I bought a house in March. I spent about 55K less than you (I live in Western Pennsylvania. The average home price is a little less than Houston's), but because of relatively high property taxes, my monthly payment is only about one hundred dollars less a month than yours. I regret nothing about our purchase, though. We're loving the house. We just got our refund back (spent some on furniture...we're gonna use some on a honeymoon). I was looking on zillow.com, and our house is estimated on that site at 15,000 dollars more than what we payed. Couple that with the fact that we bought at near bottom of the barrel real-estate prices(debatable, I know), and we're sitting pretty right now. Once again, congrats.
Right on!!! I've read 3 books to fully understand the process and having a better understanding. Took me one whole month but it did pay dividends at the end.
Haven't bought anything yet. Won't do so probably until 2012 lol. Just want to get educated and really look around to see what I'm interested in. So I had a realtor send me estimate worksheets on a property.
Yeah, if I go with the home builders finance company (NVR) I get $2,500 toward the closing cost, plus new appliances (stove, microwave, dishwasher) Don't see why I'd go with anyone else but them. Also, the interest rate would be 4%
How many points will you have to purchase for that??? Look into short sales, more bang for your buck.
wow I guess people living in different areas really have different views in terms on what is a lot and what is low. If your HOA is 156 in California that is considered low (not counting older constructions/single family homes) But newer master planned communities the HOA's are usually 250-300/month. Near downtown its on avg 500-700/month.
are you in Cali? If so that is very normal and pretty low actually. I am assuming this place is a townhome/condo?
First it's awesome no one has derailed this thread with UFO posts yet ToyCen! That's pretty good for a condo or something where the HOA fixes sheetrock and pool areas and such. crap, sorry
