Approvals?
Please be honest and tell me if you think I could get approved.
I’ve always rented, but I’m wanting to buy a house in the future.
I’ve thought about talking to a loan officer to see what I’d be qualified for just so I can start looking in my range.
But I’m terrified to do that step because it will hurt my credit?
Useful information:
I have about $7000 in student loans (no car payment- bought it in cash years ago)
I make $120,0000 a year. Good solid job but I’ve only been there a year. (And I can’t work from home so I have to be within 1 hour one way commute to be able to see my kids for a few hours at night. The job is in Alpharetta).
My credit card debt isn’t bad- about $5,000 from a few hospitals scares. I’m keeping up with payments since my rent is so cheap (1,000 a month).
My credit score is 745.
I have only 11k saved so far, but I’m working on it. I don’t have family or friends who could help with the down payment.
I had terrible credit from years of financial abuse I escaped from. It’s been only about 2ish years since I’ve had a number above 500. But I’ve kept consistently in the 700s for the past year.
I’m not a veteran so I don’t qualify for any veteran discounts. I think I make too much to qualify for any first time buyer discounts.
What is the likelihood of being approved for $400k loan?
I want to be realistic and only plan for $200k, but I live in Atlanta, where housing is crazy expensive. 200k will get you a dilapidated moldy house 2hrs from anywhere. I need at least 3 bedrooms bc kids but I don’t care if it’s outdated and old. Just that things aren’t falling apart and there’s no mold. My expectations are pretty low. I’m a single mom, so a relatively safe area would be nice.
What’s realistic? I want to know what is possible and what is false hope.
My rent is cheap bc I live in the upstairs part of a lady’s house. It has a kitchenette but no stove or oven so I just microwave everything… not really sustainable but oh well. It’s also really tight so I just leave a lot of my stuff in suitcases or boxes because there’s not a whole lot of room. Psychologically I feel like I haven’t left my financially and emotionally abusive ex bc I’m just in survival mode and I want to be settled somewhere. I want to unpack. My land lady also has some strict rules that’s been a struggle like I can’t walk around my area past 9pm- I have to physically be in bed. Because she will wake up if she hears footsteps. So I feel like a little kid, even tho I’m 34. So that means by the time I put the kids to bed I have 5 min to clean up and reset for the next day. So our living space is mostly messy usually. And my land lady will routinely come upstairs and make comments about the mess (yes I know about tenant rights or whatever but it isn’t an official rental, it’s just a friend of a friend).
Thanks in advance.