Hello Debbie,

I hope you found all the information you needed. It looks like you received some very good answers. If you would like to discuss your financing options any further, feel free to contact me. Not everyone is truly trained on FHA financing and handling purchase transactions which are two of my fields of expertise. Contact me today for a complimentary home buyer handbook that has everything you need to know about home financing.

Joshua Lerette - The Tampa Bay Mortgage Pro
Innovative Mortgage Services, Inc.
727-488-7355
Josh@TheTBMortgagePro.com
http://www.TheTBMortgagePro.com

Good Luck with the condo Debbie! :-)

Thank you so much to everyone who answered! This is SO HELPFUL and I am SO HAPPY!

Best,
Debbie

Make sure the condo is HUD approved...

https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm

3.5% down if you are buying the house as a primary residence with a FHA loan.

Debbie-
If you are buying a condo in Florida, your only option is to go with an FHA loan if you want to put anything less than 20% down. The reason is that no private mortgage insurers will do an MI policy on condos in Florida, thus limiting your financing to FHA only. The good news is that you only need 3.5% down and you can know if the condo is FHA approved beforehand. Your realtor can assist you with that.

If you have any questions about qualifying, you are more than welcome to contact me.

Luke Allison
Bank of America Home Loans
828-777-8828
luke.allison@bankofamerica.com

Debbie,

An FHA loan will allow you to borrow up to 96.5% on a purchase, so your down payment can be as low as 3.5%. Any loan amount borrowed that's over 80% will require mortgage insurance, so be prepared for that extra expense.

As a side note, if you are a new home buyer the $8000 tax credit can be used towards your closing costs.

Good luck!

Kind regards,

Jason Diperstein
E Mortgage Management
800.793.9633 ext. 156
jdiperstein@emmloans.com