Expert: Denise Monaco - 7/4/2009

Question
My husband and I are newly weds who paid for our wedding ourselves.  All of the money we've been saving up for the past year went to that.  We are now living in an apartment and our lease is up in October.  We really want to take advantage of the first time home buyer $8,000 tax credit before it is over.  The problem is coming up with the money for all the closing costs and downpayment.  We are doing the FHA loan where you need 3.5% down.  Our combined income is around 75,000 a year, which is more than the median income in our state.  We were just wondering if you could recommend any kind of assistance for us.  Would it be a good idea to take out a second loan possibly?  We are kind of stuck between a rock and hard place because we don't want to rush into anything, since this is such a big decision but $8,000 is a lot of money to pass up.  We are hopeing they extend that longer!  Well thank you in advance for your advice, it's very much appreciated!

Answer
Hi Hillary

The only other thing I can think of would be to see if your property is located in a RURAL area.  If it is you would qualify for the 100% financing.(http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do).  You would need to check with the USDA website (listed above), all you need is the property address and it would tell you if the property qualifies.  Also if you can come up with the 3 1/2% down (it can also be a gift) you can have the seller pay for 6% of the closing costs which usually covers all but the down payment.  Good Luck and let me know how you make out.

Denise