Want a house so bad :(

[freefreefree]

Thank you for replying, you guys are awesome for taking the time to do so.

But frankly, these are not the answers I am looking for.... (except for Mortgage Queen answer)

I think we did our share of suffering and making sacrifices and all.

I find it frustrating and unfair to see people with many late payments in their credit history or people having low incomes being able to have a house (sometimes with only 5% cashdown or even no cashdown at all) only because their credit history is free of the words bankruptcy or consumer proposal. And please do not think that I am saying that to be snotty or anything, I am not like that at all. I am just stating a situation which is annoying me a lot.

When we wanted to buy me a car (it was needed for me to be able to go drive my son to his kindergarden and then to go to work) we were still in the proposal and I went to 3 places, some told me I could forget it, others told me that I would have to give a big cashdown of 3000$-4000$ to be able to access a 6 years old/almost 100 000 km car , another offered the same 29% interest rate that my husband was paying on the car he had for a car for me.

I had decided to abandon the idea and was driving a old car my dad was not using anymore asking myself everyday if it would make the winter. Until one day I found an ad on internet about being able to buy an almost brand new car with a reasonable interest rate. I called and the lady who work my file was a gem. She made me pass through and proposed that my husband change his car too because his interest rate was terrible. She made us both pass at 10% with 2 one year old cars, both under 40 000 km. She fought hard and she succeded, she made the bank look more into our files and trust us and until now 2 years later we never prove them wrong! Until lately (she left the city working elsewhere in Quebec) I was referring people to her, she is amazing. 10% of interest is not the best rate and sure that she was working for her pocket too in that deal BUT still she fought hard to get us the best rate available and to give us the possibility to walk away with 2 good cars, and I will never be thankful enough for that.

That is what I am looking for. Someone who can "work" our file deeply, something we can do which can make us access our dream. I don't think I am daydreaming for asking such thing.

What I find more ridiculous and more frustrating is that we are paying more in renting than what we could be paying in morgage for many houses that we saw. How much of a proof do these banks need to understand that we can pay our dues?

I do understand that a cash fund is needed in case of emergencies 100% and I do want to wait more to save some money for that but I find it disgusting that I have to save 20%-25% for the only reason of this word showing in my credit file.

I may sound sour and I am very sorry for that, really. On a daily basis I am sweet, sweet lady but this situation is having the best of me.... Totally unfair as I see it now...... and I want to find a way to have a house before 5-6-10 years. I am resilient, I don't want to give up.

If you guys still want to answer,feel free to do so, I am listening and reading to all of your advices although some of them made me feel so discouraged , you know some tips? Know someone? Know a "gem" mortgage broker?, An "easier mortgage lender" bank or anything, feel free to post it.

Thanks

You might want to check this out. I know someone with a bankruptcy used this. http://www.getacceptance.com/ I don't know if it will work for your city, but the person I know is in BC

[Shwa Girl]

Thank you for replying, you guys are awesome for taking the time to do so.

But frankly, these are not the answers I am looking for.... (except for Mortgage Queen answer)

I think we did our share of suffering and making sacrifices and all.

I find it frustrating and unfair to see people with many late payments in their credit history or people having low incomes being able to have a house (sometimes with only 5% cashdown or even no cashdown at all) only because their credit history is free of the words bankruptcy or consumer proposal. And please do not think that I am saying that to be snotty or anything, I am not like that at all. I am just stating a situation which is annoying me a lot.

When we wanted to buy me a car (it was needed for me to be able to go drive my son to his kindergarden and then to go to work) we were still in the proposal and I went to 3 places, some told me I could forget it, others told me that I would have to give a big cashdown of 3000$-4000$ to be able to access a 6 years old/almost 100 000 km car , another offered the same 29% interest rate that my husband was paying on the car he had for a car for me.

I had decided to abandon the idea and was driving a old car my dad was not using anymore asking myself everyday if it would make the winter. Until one day I found an ad on internet about being able to buy an almost brand new car with a reasonable interest rate. I called and the lady who work my file was a gem. She made me pass through and proposed that my husband change his car too because his interest rate was terrible. She made us both pass at 10% with 2 one year old cars, both under 40 000 km. She fought hard and she succeded, she made the bank look more into our files and trust us and until now 2 years later we never prove them wrong! Until lately (she left the city working elsewhere in Quebec) I was referring people to her, she is amazing. 10% of interest is not the best rate and sure that she was working for her pocket too in that deal BUT still she fought hard to get us the best rate available and to give us the possibility to walk away with 2 good cars, and I will never be thankful enough for that.

That is what I am looking for. Someone who can "work" our file deeply, something we can do which can make us access our dream. I don't think I am daydreaming for asking such thing.

What I find more ridiculous and more frustrating is that we are paying more in renting than what we could be paying in morgage for many houses that we saw. How much of a proof do these banks need to understand that we can pay our dues?

I do understand that a cash fund is needed in case of emergencies 100% and I do want to wait more to save some money for that but I find it disgusting that I have to save 20%-25% for the only reason of this word showing in my credit file.

I may sound sour and I am very sorry for that, really. On a daily basis I am sweet, sweet lady but this situation is having the best of me.... Totally unfair as I see it now...... and I want to find a way to have a house before 5-6-10 years. I am resilient, I don't want to give up.

If you guys still want to answer,feel free to do so, I am listening and reading to all of your advices although some of them made me feel so discouraged , you know some tips? Know someone? Know a "gem" mortgage broker?, An "easier mortgage lender" bank or anything, feel free to post it.

Thanks

Sorry I couldn't help you.
Glad that Mortgage Queen's advice helps.
Good luck.

[Newtothisbutloveit]

By the way, do you know a lot of people buying houses with 5% down or 0% down and 5% cashback? I thought it was rather rare.

I know 2 couples who bought with the 5% cashback. Their interest rate is around 5% 5.5% for 5 years. It is more than the usual, I agree.

[MortgageQueen]

I know 2 couples who bought with the 5% cashback. Their interest rate is around 5% 5.5% for 5 years. It is more than the usual, I agree.

It's true, you can do this, but there are other ways that are cheaper.

I think what some find hard to understand is that there are people that REALLY want a house badly. . .for whatever their reason might be. Many of us take on car leases, credit card debt, loans, etc. We all take on some sort of debt. . .because in that particular instance it's worth it to US.

That said, if your going to go the Cash Back route, what you need to know up front is: It will be more expensive and you need to be completely sure you can carry the costs involved.
After that, it's a personal decision.

Most SCer's are natural born money savers . . .so it "pains" them to see one of our Fello SCer's lose any money. Everyone has everyone else's best interest at heart, which I love about this group.
But in the end, we're all individuals and we have individual wants and needs. "sometimes" they cost more then we'd like, but we make the sacrifice any way. . . cause we just want it that bad.

So in summation. . . you are all correct.. ha ha! For most, it is without a doubt best to save the downpayment. But for some (for whatever their personal reason might be) they would rather have the home sooner and pay more. It's just simply worth the extra to them.

[anisa]

Thank you for replying, you guys are awesome for taking the time to do so.

But frankly, these are not the answers I am looking for.... (except for Mortgage Queen answer)

I think we did our share of suffering and making sacrifices and all.

I find it frustrating and unfair to see people with many late payments in their credit history or people having low incomes being able to have a house (sometimes with only 5% cashdown or even no cashdown at all) only because their credit history is free of the words bankruptcy or consumer proposal. And please do not think that I am saying that to be snotty or anything, I am not like that at all. I am just stating a situation which is annoying me a lot.

When we wanted to buy me a car (it was needed for me to be able to go drive my son to his kindergarden and then to go to work) we were still in the proposal and I went to 3 places, some told me I could forget it, others told me that I would have to give a big cashdown of 3000$-4000$ to be able to access a 6 years old/almost 100 000 km car , another offered the same 29% interest rate that my husband was paying on the car he had for a car for me.

I had decided to abandon the idea and was driving a old car my dad was not using anymore asking myself everyday if it would make the winter. Until one day I found an ad on internet about being able to buy an almost brand new car with a reasonable interest rate. I called and the lady who work my file was a gem. She made me pass through and proposed that my husband change his car too because his interest rate was terrible. She made us both pass at 10% with 2 one year old cars, both under 40 000 km. She fought hard and she succeded, she made the bank look more into our files and trust us and until now 2 years later we never prove them wrong! Until lately (she left the city working elsewhere in Quebec) I was referring people to her, she is amazing. 10% of interest is not the best rate and sure that she was working for her pocket too in that deal BUT still she fought hard to get us the best rate available and to give us the possibility to walk away with 2 good cars, and I will never be thankful enough for that.

That is what I am looking for. Someone who can "work" our file deeply, something we can do which can make us access our dream. I don't think I am daydreaming for asking such thing.

What I find more ridiculous and more frustrating is that we are paying more in renting than what we could be paying in morgage for many houses that we saw. How much of a proof do these banks need to understand that we can pay our dues?

I do understand that a cash fund is needed in case of emergencies 100% and I do want to wait more to save some money for that but I find it disgusting that I have to save 20%-25% for the only reason of this word showing in my credit file.

I may sound sour and I am very sorry for that, really. On a daily basis I am sweet, sweet lady but this situation is having the best of me.... Totally unfair as I see it now...... and I want to find a way to have a house before 5-6-10 years. I am resilient, I don't want to give up.

If you guys still want to answer,feel free to do so, I am listening and reading to all of your advices although some of them made me feel so discouraged , you know some tips? Know someone? Know a "gem" mortgage broker?, An "easier mortgage lender" bank or anything, feel free to post it.

Thanks

those ppl you see who have horrible spending habits and have a house, well they might not have that house for long.
and it might seem unfair that you have to make sacrifices, but really those so-called sacrifices are to make it easy for you
you can't look at life in terms of monthly payments. it is important to look at the dollars and cents and take small steps that will bring you to your goal.

if you compare yourself to others, it's not fair to yourself. sometimes everything looks nice on the outside when a person has newer cars, a big house, and other flashy items, but you can't compare yourself to it when you are trying to save money for a bigger goal. it will drive you nuts! everyone's situation is different, and sometimes we don't really see what is happening in the other person's life if they don't want us to know.

putting large amounts of money as down payments is not something that is unfair to you. it is a real way of measuring if you can actually afford what it is that you are buying. really a car isn't something you should be borrowing money for. a car is something that you should be able to afford by paying cash. so if you can't afford the car you want, either save up more money, or bring your expectations to a more realistic level.

hubby and i have had modest incomes. we have been married 10 yrs, and more than half of that time i have been at home with the kids. we have saved for and paid off $30,000 in vacations, bought a 15,000 car (cash), bought a house and done it without stress. the only debt that we have is our mortgage. we also have money in savings. i'm not trying to brag, i'm just saying that it can be done if you put your mind to it.

no one can make you save. but trying to buy everything on credit will only put you behind in the long run.

i wish you the best of everything, really it's not easy, it takes some practice to really get into saving seriously. i know you can do it!

[MortgageQueen]

those ppl you see who have horrible spending habits and have a house, well they might not have that house for long.
and it might seem unfair that you have to make sacrifices, but really those so-called sacrifices are to make it easy for you
you can't look at life in terms of monthly payments. it is important to look at the dollars and cents and take small steps that will bring you to your goal.

if you compare yourself to others, it's not fair to yourself. sometimes everything looks nice on the outside when a person has newer cars, a big house, and other flashy items, but you can't compare yourself to it when you are trying to save money for a bigger goal. it will drive you nuts! everyone's situation is different, and sometimes we don't really see what is happening in the other person's life if they don't want us to know.

putting large amounts of money as down payments is not something that is unfair to you. it is a real way of measuring if you can actually afford what it is that you are buying. really a car isn't something you should be borrowing money for. a car is something that you should be able to afford by paying cash. so if you can't afford the car you want, either save up more money, or bring your expectations to a more realistic level.

hubby and i have had modest incomes. we have been married 10 yrs, and more than half of that time i have been at home with the kids. we have saved for and paid off $30,000 in vacations, bought a 15,000 car (cash), bought a house and done it without stress. the only debt that we have is our mortgage. we also have money in savings. i'm not trying to brag, i'm just saying that it can be done if you put your mind to it.

no one can make you save. but trying to buy everything on credit will only put you behind in the long run.

i wish you the best of everything, really it's not easy, it takes some practice to really get into saving seriously. i know you can do it!

Wow Anisa. . .you GO Girl! That's awesome! (the figures you spoke of) You should do us all a favour and post some of your savings habits. You sound like you've got it all together. I think we can all use the hints and pointers. . .starting with myself.
keep up the awesome finances!

[Giving-Small]

I have a couple of ideas to suggest that might help you get where you want to be a little or a lot sooner. First know that I want you to have your house but I'm going to tell you it as I see it - I'm a pretty practical pragmatic person and I want people to have their dreams but sometimes that means taking a slightly different route.

From your description, it doesn't sound like you have much of cushion for the unexpected in your budget. Part of the reason, it's hard to get the cushion because of rent. Part of the reason, is the 10% on the cars. Part of it is the costs of living is increasing faster than pay scales. Part of it is having a family and expenses. So saving is tough and that means getting to a house looks hard. But if saving is that tough, then doing the house without a chunk down to lower payments is a risk (not because of past history, but because of the fact, most of your income seems to be going places already).

The fact is houses are expensive - every time you turn around there's $$. Say you pay $400 less rent. Sounds great. $4800 more in your pocket. But is it really? But your taxes are $2400 and your water and power etc. are additional $100/month over renting. Now you're at $3600 of the $4800 you saved and you haven't done repairs, maintenance, bought a lawnmower, snow shovel etc etc.

If your a handyperson type it helps but it still costs. It is different than renting. More than I could have imagined. Even if the house is "fixed up", you still need to put aside money each year for the "biggies" - new roof, major plumbing issue (you may dodge this for 3, 5 or 10 years, but some major fixit will bite you), painting or siding.

Living house poor (ie no extra $$) is tough.

So I have 3 ideas to suggest that I've seen other people use successfully that were friends and family.


#1 Best Option (IMHO)

Buy a house with a suite - ideally a decent raised basement suite. Here's the part you might not like so much. Move into the basement suite and rent the more expensive floor out.

This will change the "mortgage" picture because it's a revenue generating house. And it will help you out a lot in not adding tons of pressure on your day to day budget. And you'll be able to make payments AND hopefully bite into the principle a lot for a couple of years. Eventually 3-5 years - move upstairs, still rent. Sometime in the 5-10 years take over the whole house OR sell (it'll sell for more as it's revenue generating) and move to "family home" for all for you. OR buy a new home, keep the rental and rent both suites.

2nd Best Option (assuming #1 fails)
Is there someone in your families who knows you well, who believes in you both, that you can show the numbers too for a property with a rental, co-signs. Give yourself some breathing room. Don't be so house poor each month is a stressor.

Worst case scenario for that person is they rent both suites if something doesn't work out for you and the house. And then they sell it if need be.

3rd Option

Find a smaller house (reduce your costs as much as possible) but with a decent extra room. Rent out the room. It's not always easy to share but if you look at
no house vs. share house (often you can find people who need a place for only part of the month) or a student. You choose someone that you can get along with.


Good luck ... you will have the house. It sounds like you are a very dedicated and hard working couple.

[anisa]

Wow Anisa. . .you GO Girl! That's awesome! (the figures you spoke of) You should do us all a favour and post some of your savings habits. You sound like you've got it all together. I think we can all use the hints and pointers. . .starting with myself.
keep up the awesome finances!

i forgot to mention we also rent out our basement (as giving-small has suggested) and that helps with a lot the way i see it, when we come to a point when the kids are a little older we can stop renting out the basement, and use the whole house, instead of upgrading to a larger home. i do envision one more move in the future, and that will be my forever home (God willing)

honestly, i have never been a keep-up-with-the-jones' kind of person, so i'm a bit of a dork one thing i do is always think twice about a purchase. sometimes i think 3 times. then i try and see if there is something i can utilize in my home that i have already to solve the situation i am mulling over. it's not a glamorous process, but hey when things are tight, you make it work.

once you get in the habit of saving, it becomes easier and easier.

i don't have it all together, but that would be awesome haha.

[Kayotic]

Just so you know people with consumer proposals can get mortgages with a 5% down payment if their consumer proposal has been paid in full and some time has passed since (usually 12months) and their credit has improved.

I recommend that both you and your husband have at least 2 active credit accounts with a minimum limit of $2,000 for 2 years (2-2-2 Rule) to open up lender options. Also aim for a credit score over 680 as this will also open up more borrowing options.

Don't get discouraged, it will just take a bit more time. I'm not sure what province you are in and if your province has first time home buyers benefits or not but generally you will need the 5% down payment and 1.5% to cover closing costs. Some of the down payment can be borrowed but you will need a stronger credit to qualify to do so and when you use borrowed down payment monies your High Ratio insurance costs will be more.

You can also pull your own credit at equifax.ca to see where your score is at without affecting your credit score for a small fee. And I recommend you pull your credit every so often to make sure everything is correct.

Anyways hope that helps!

[freefreefree]

Just so you know people with consumer proposals can get mortgages with a 5% down payment if their consumer proposal has been paid in full and some time has passed since (usually 12months) and their credit has improved.

I recommend that both you and your husband have at least 2 active credit accounts with a minimum limit of $2,000 for 2 years (2-2-2 Rule) to open up lender options. Also aim for a credit score over 680 as this will also open up more borrowing options.

Don't get discouraged, it will just take a bit more time. I'm not sure what province you are in and if your province has first time home buyers benefits or not but generally you will need the 5% down payment and 1.5% to cover closing costs. Some of the down payment can be borrowed but you will need a stronger credit to qualify to do so and when you use borrowed down payment monies your High Ratio insurance costs will be more.

You can also pull your own credit at equifax.ca to see where your score is at without affecting your credit score for a small fee. And I recommend you pull your credit every so often to make sure everything is correct.

Anyways hope that helps!

True. Keep working on it.

[croman7]

By the way, do you know a lot of people buying houses with 5% down or 0% down and 5% cashback? I thought it was rather rare.

I was one of those people. We put a 5% down payment on our house...but we paid it using a Line of Credit. so essentially, we put 0 down... and we owe the whole amount to two different places. It was a TERRIBLE IDEA. don't do it. i would scream to anyone listening, don't do it!

[Newtothisbutloveit]

For an unknown reason, I do not receive all the notifications when someone post on this thread. I have to come to see the answers. Newbie problem I guess

Thanks to all of you, I've read all of your answers and have to admit that the "2nd batch of answers" (after my last post) gave me more about the infos needed. We decided to save the 5% which is 10 000$ to 15 000$ and then we will go on the market with it, we already have 5000$ we think we should be able to do it soon enough by cutting all our extra expenses (many many restaurants (I do not like too cook too much), NYC or Ottawa getaways to go see my family and do some shopping once every 6months or so, movie nights, etc...) in 2012, we will be more reasonable than we have never been.

One of the poster suggested that we buy a house with a suite. Wonderful idea! But my husband has always been against it for an unknown reason. I've suggested it to him many times already.....

Again, thank you all for your answers, they are truly appreciated!

[momof5boys]

My suggestion would be to check out thesimpledollar.com and follow his suggestions on frugal living....some fantastic advice and good book suggestions there.

[freefreefree]

For an unknown reason, I do not receive all the notifications when someone post on this thread. I have to come to see the answers. Newbie problem I guess

Thanks to all of you, I've read all of your answers and have to admit that the "2nd batch of answers" (after my last post) gave me more about the infos needed. We decided to save the 5% which is 10 000$ to 15 000$ and then we will go on the market with it, we already have 5000$ we think we should be able to do it soon enough by cutting all our extra expenses (many many restaurants (I do not like too cook too much), NYC or Ottawa getaways to go see my family and do some shopping once every 6months or so, movie nights, etc...) in 2012, we will be more reasonable than we have never been.

One of the poster suggested that we buy a house with a suite. Wonderful idea! But my husband has always been against it for an unknown reason. I've suggested it to him many times already.....

Again, thank you all for your answers, they are truly appreciated!

Some people don't like the idea of having other people living in their house (eventhough they pay), I guesss your Hubby might be one of them.

[travel-mum]

Every loan and credit card you have lowers your credit score. My advice would be, like others, save like mad to get the downpayment. Buy a fixer-upper. And cancel as many credit cards and other loans as you can, so you don't look like you're already cash poor. And have you tried going to a mortgage broker? Often they can find someone to lend you the money when banks won't. Also, would you be willing to live outside of Montreal and comute in? I know people who live in small communities near the Ontario border, or in Ontario and drive to Montreal for work. The houses are a lot cheaper there. Maybe you could live there for a few years until you're in a better position to buy a house closer to Montreal? The drive from the Ontario border to Montreal might be about 45 minutes.