Thanks for all of your help. My daughter decided to move to NC instead and has purchased a home there. She did speak to her bank and a broker there but since she ended up buying a single wide which cannot be financed, she got "private financing" from Mom!

We are all curious if your daughter took the steps to get prequalified by a lender...or what is her status?
We are all here to help ..

Is your daughter still looking for a place??

Your daughter should first get Pre-Qualified by a Lender for the amount of Mortgage and payment schedule. We can certainly assist her with both pre-qual. and finding her a very well priced home. She should certainly consider a home and attached garage for safety and her dogs. Many condos have pet restrictions and some condos are difficult to finance. She has an advantage with First Time Home Buyer $8000 credit. It expires the end of this year buy many think it will be extended. Robin made a good point unless she can find a Value, she may be better off renting, if she plans on selling and moving in two to three years. She can search the area for local information and homes at our website: http://www.jimsoda.com Please call or email us any questions or further assistance. Thank you, The Jim Soda Group
Jim Soda 941-809-7759
Web site: http://www.JimSoda.com
Your Real Estate Resource for the Greater Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch Areas.
Jim@JimSoda.com
Prudential Palms Realty - Fine Homes International
Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch-Siesta Key-Longboat Key
info@jimsoda.com

Thanks for all the great answers. Since she plans to move within a year or two, based on some of the feedback, she has decided to wait and try to buy a house in the Santa Cruz area once they move. She does need to save up money since one of the issues might be she has very little saved on her own (

Bill Eckler gave you some great advice.

Best thing is for your daughter to consult with a loan officer.
Her credit will be analyzed along with her history and her buying power.

After she is qualified, she can then begin to review listings in her
price range.

There are tremendous values at the moment, and she really
can afford a nice home.

Since she has two dogs, you have to be careful of any condo rules and
regulations.

Happy to help if you have questions or need assistance.

I see that your daughter wants to move west in a few years...if she is planning on moving within a 4 year span, perhaps she is best renting and saving her money...as closing costs will eat into some profits..

Also, if she is set on buying, check into the First Time Home Buyer Programs for up to $8,000 in credits.

Robin DiSabatino
Michael Saunders & Company
cell: 941-685-5368
robindisabatino@michaelsaunders.com http://www.FineHomesOfSarasota.com

No guarantees about selling "easily for a profit" in a couple of years, I'm afraid. Five years, yes. Two years might be iffy unless you buy a foreclosure or a short sale. Short sales mean you have to wait about 4 months until you get a yes or no from the various banks that might be involved so if she is not in an immediate hurry I'd show her those. Foreclosures move fast so that is an option.

Her credit needs to be more than good, it needs to be great, to get a mortgage these days, especially if she has debt that cuts into her earnings. At a restaurant, a lot of her earnings are hidden because they are tips and I'd imagine not totally declared. What about you folks signing on with her? That would be a help....as long as you could sustain in case she were to lose her job and not be able to contribute at all to a monthly payment.

25K down is good and about what is required but she would have to buy a real deal to keep her monthly nut down to $800 including taxes, insurance, and mortgage.

Call me and I can begin sending you photos and data on what I think might work. You can also email me and I'll get your daughter set up to begin looking. You said you wanted 'safe' areas: well I think 99.9% of Sarasota is safe. I moved here from Atlanta and all I wonder about is what do the police do here on an hourly basis.....it is pretty quiet and running red lights seems to be the major 'crime'.

Renee
what do you consider a nice and safe area? this is pereption and any real estate agent who tells you differently is beaking the law. for crime will happen anywhere.
now if you are looking for a home in this monthly range then you are looking at homes around 100,000. so you know Sarasota and think about where 100,000 are and know you tell me if you and your daughter feel these areas are safe and decent.
As far as agreat deal, most of these homes for 100,000 are good deals, whether it will be easy to sell when she moves thiere is no guarrantee on this for if I could promise this then this would mean I could tell the future and i would be alot more weathy if i could tell the future. I can tell you 1 thing, more than likely the home will be worth more than it is more in 5 yrs. and should be able to be sold for a profit, but then again we never know
Let me know if you need help finding this home
David Levventhal
941-38306411

Hi Renee,
Your daughter has options! With prices lower now, there are more possibliities than ever. To determine her financing needs and options, she should talk with 2 lenders and discuss FHA and conventional financing. If she reported all of her income on her tax returns, she will have proof of income to base the Good Faith Estimate of costs and interest rate, so she can see what her payments will buy before she starts looking. The other option is seller-provided financing or private financing. That is available in some instances. She has a nice nest-egg for her downpayment. If she would like, we can send her sample listings with the financing / payment information attached, so she can see what the payments would be as she begins to browse. We highly recommend talking with 2 lenders before "shopping", since everyone's situation is a little different, even with the same income and downpayment. If she does not know of a reputable lender, we can give her some examples. I've been polishing my crystal ball, but even thought it's hard to believe that prices would be lower in 2 years than they area now, my crystal ball won't
Please let me know if I can help. Susan Keal

Hello Renee,
I can completely understand why she wants to buy now. I have come across some fantastic bargains that would work for her, particularly foreclosures and even some sellers who are competing head to head with bank pricing. The bank-owned homes are really driving the market right now, and many buyers are jumping on them. (That's why the local recent housing reports are showing some very nice gains lately) Due to the credit crunch though, banks do want that pre-approval letter with any offer. Many foreclosures are selling within a few days and with multiple offers (yes, multiple offers!...heck, everyone wants a great deal, right?) I can refer several reputable lenders that can get that done in one day at no cost to her. After she has the lender pre-approval, she can "jump" on a great deal when it comes.

If she is interested in foreclosures, she can search for them on this page of my website: http://www.wesellsarasota.com/search-all-listings/sarasota-b…

Renee,

This is an excellent time for your daughter to be considering this option. The best way for her to determine her course of action is to meet with a loan specialist to review her finances and get prequalified. This way she will if and how much she qualifies for and can base her search upon this information.

We would be happy to refer her to several loan specialists that can help her get started.

Good luck
The Eckler Team
Michael Saunders & Company
billeckler@michaelsaunders.com
941-408-5363

Dear Renee:

The way I see it, getting the financing will be the issue. Even with an FHA loan, the fact that she is a server will have a huge impact. Lenders have very strict guidelines today when it comes to lending and they will most likely consider her a great risk because she does not receive a W2 and depends on tips for income. There are many types of FHA loans and I reccomend James Wheeler as a mortgage broker if you don't already have one, because he does all of them, 813-600-3428. He is also a member on Trulia. I would start there and see if she qualifies first. You might want to explore options of co-borrowing which might help her look stronger to a lender.

Once she is approved, she will know how much house she can buy and then start her search based on that number. If your daughter is not working with a realtor, I can help with that.

My best,
Terri

Teresa M. fellows
Broker/Associate
941-350-4297
tmf4257@mac.com http://www.floriawestproperties.com

Renee: we work with first time home buyers as well as high-end properties. The first thing is to get her PRE-Qualified which we can do thru several reputable Mortgage Lenders. She may be able to finance FHA or a Conventional Loan package. Once that is completed we can go shopping. We service the Greater Sarasota-Mantee area. Many Foreclosure properties are excellent deals right now, but Buyer has to be Pre-Qualified with a letter from Lender as required. Inspections are important which we can guide her and make recommendations. What area does she want to be close too. Please use our website at: http://www.jimsoda.com to search all areas and to contact us. Sarasota is a wonderful place to Live and Work! Thank you,
Jim Soda 941-809-7759
Web site: http://www.JimSoda.com
Your Real Estate Resource for the Greater Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton Areas.
Jim@JimSoda.com
Prudential Palms Realty - Fine Homes International
Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch-Siesta Key-Longboat Key
Immobel International Property Realtors