A single mom writes in asking for advice about how to buy her first house. This 23-year-old mom has a son and currently lives with her mom and stepdad. She receives no financial support from her son’s party father, nor does she want financial support from him. She wants to buy a house on her own for her and her son. But she doesn’t know where to start. Any advice for this single mom and first-time homebuyer?
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A member of the community asks:
“How can I go about buying a house? I’m 23, going to be 24 this year, and I’m a single mom. I live with my mom and stepdad, but more than anything, I want to buy my own house for me and my son. I don’t get help from his father, and I don’t ask for help.
I want to do this so I can be on my own. I’m ready for my son and me to start this next chapter in our lives, and I’ve thought so hard about this. What are the steps to take into doing this? What am I looking at? I’ve seen friends my age buy homes, but I’m so scared to do this. “
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
Community Advice for This Single Mom Who Wants Advice on How to Buy a House
To see what advice the Mamas Uncut Facebook community has for this mom in need, read the comments of the post embedded below.
Advice Summary
The community offered this mom in need a lot of great advice. Read some of their responses below.
“The main thing you need is good credit. You need to be pre-approved for a mortgage in order for a buyer to take your offer seriously. Hope this helps.”
“If you make enough by yourself, good credit you can do it. I make decent money and have decent credit and I couldn’t do it myself. I had to have a co-signer. And depending on the price, you will need to have money for closing which is thousands of dollars.”
“What you need to do is get child support because, I mean, it takes two to tango! Your child deserves it! Plus, it will add to your income. He gets to be all free and happy wasting his money on who knows what while you struggle to figure it out? No no no, girl, get it together.”
“USDA loans have no down payment, lower interest rates, and usually no closing costs. They aren’t available in big cities though. Have 2-year employment history. Credit above 660.”
“I bought my first house when I was 23. You need to have a job that pays enough to afford the payments. Check your credit and save money. Talk to a mortgage lender and see what else you need to do to qualify and how much you can afford.”
“Look into first time home buyer programs.”
“Guess this depends on where you live. Here, a realtor has nothing to do with finances. We went to a mortgage broker who took all our financial info and got us pre-approved for our mortgage up to $500,000 based on our credit, debt, income, and downpayment (we had the necessary 20% saved, $100,000 for a downpayment, as well as another $15,000 to cover additional costs). Then we went to a realtor with our desires and she helped us find our house and get the inspection done. Next was a lawyer to handle the exchange of funds, registration, title, and deed.”
“Call your bank/credit union, tell them you’re interested in buying a home, and want to find out what it will take and they should guide you from there. They will look at your situation (income, credit score, etc) and tell you where you stand for buying a house. We thought we weren’t in a good enough situation yet, but wanted to figure out what we needed to do to get there, come to find out we were right where we needed to be! Good luck to you.”
“I’m 19, and my husband and I (and our two children) just bought our home in March. The best way to start is by getting a realtor. They will help you find the right loan for you, then what you want in a home, and have so many more resources than anyone else could get their hands on. A lot of younger people don’t know about buyers agents and just think you need a realtor for selling.”
“First things first, get your credit in order, then speak with a mortgage broker to find out what mortgages are out there for you and get you prequalified, after that find a realtor and look for your dream home!! You can do it.”
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