ACORN vs. NACA

[Miss2Shoes]

So, I met with NACA about a month ago. I am trying to schedule a meeting with ACORN this Saturday for a seminar. It is hard for me to determine which is the better program, I am 25yrs/1st time buyer/salary 39k/scores 620-655 looking for mortage in TX 90-105k. I currently have saved 3,500 and continue to save 250+ per month.

 

With NACA I pay no deposit but I have to pay money up front for inspection, earnest deposit, so many months in advance insurance and some other stuff. It was almost $4,000. They do not consider this closing costs. Then I had to pay a $50/month fee for like 3-5 years. Rate will supposedly be 1% below market. Was told to save the money then come back, basically. Looks like total cost up front will be $4k but $50/month fee? But they help you if you become behind on payments (supposedly). Do not have to be 1st time buyer, no income restrictions.

 

ACORN, reffered there by BofA. Had to make less than 45k, which I do. With ACORN I was told by a lady at BofA... will need to pay 3% down (on 105k that is 3,150) and 3% closing costs but she said I could probably have seller pay closing (?). No monthly fee. So I guess I'd be looking at anywhere from 3,150-6,300 down depending on if I can get seller to help cover closing costs. Supposedly rate will be .75% below market. 1st time buyer's only.

 

Has anyone tried these programs before? They are supposed to help you "learn" the process I think but their seminars and couseling have left me with many unanswered questions. I am not sure how to know what program will work best for me. I have heard that NACA is better is you can wait (I hear it is like a 3-6 month process). I just found out about ACORN so I know very little about them at this point.

[creditlife99]

i'm not familiar with acorn, but with naca, anything that the sellar pays ie downpayment assistance or closing costs can go toward paying down your interest rate. so, their interest rates are already 1% below market, plus the commision that the realestate agent would usually makes goes towards reducing your interest rate- that 3% of the house price, plus if the sellar agrees to pay closing cost or down payment assistance of 10k, that all goes towards reducing your interest rate. some have been able to reduce their interest rate to 1 or 0%. you can use this money to reduce the total cost of the home, but if you use it reduce your interest rate (paying down your points), then you end up paying significantly less per month. i hope this helps you.

[GA ADD]

NACA has a lot of positives and some negatives. I would say to do a search on this site for NACA if you haven't already done so, there is some good insight in previous threads.

 

I went through the process a little recently so I'll share my perspective:

 

A lot of your experience with them will depend on the office you are dealing with. In areas with lots of foreclosures they are very busy and getting follow-up contact (phone calls, email, meetings) can be very difficult.

 

The lack of follow-up across the board seems to be the main complaint and the issue that was a deal breaker for me.

 

Also the 3-6 months time you mentioned for the process may be conservative. If you have a lot to clean-up financially (I'm not saying you do), then it could be much longer.

[ashrob123]

So, I met with NACA about a month ago. I am trying to schedule a meeting with ACORN this Saturday for a seminar. It is hard for me to determine which is the better program, I am 25yrs/1st time buyer/salary 39k/scores 620-655 looking for mortage in TX 90-105k. I currently have saved 3,500 and continue to save 250+ per month.

 

With NACA I pay no deposit but I have to pay money up front for inspection, earnest deposit, so many months in advance insurance and some other stuff. It was almost $4,000. They do not consider this closing costs. Then I had to pay a $50/month fee for like 3-5 years. Rate will supposedly be 1% below market. Was told to save the money then come back, basically. Looks like total cost up front will be $4k but $50/month fee? But they help you if you become behind on payments (supposedly). Do not have to be 1st time buyer, no income restrictions.

 

ACORN, reffered there by BofA. Had to make less than 45k, which I do. With ACORN I was told by a lady at BofA... will need to pay 3% down (on 105k that is 3,150) and 3% closing costs but she said I could probably have seller pay closing (?). No monthly fee. So I guess I'd be looking at anywhere from 3,150-6,300 down depending on if I can get seller to help cover closing costs. Supposedly rate will be .75% below market. 1st time buyer's only.

 

Has anyone tried these programs before? They are supposed to help you "learn" the process I think but their seminars and couseling have left me with many unanswered questions. I am not sure how to know what program will work best for me. I have heard that NACA is better is you can wait (I hear it is like a 3-6 month process). I just found out about ACORN so I know very little about them at this point.

 

I'm currently working with NACA and make too much money to qualify for ACORN so take this advice for what it is. I don't know for sure but the ACORN product sounds like a FHA loan. Is it the same or a completely different product? If it is a FHA loan you will have to pay a an upfront insurance premium plus a monthly fee added to your loan. With NACA you will not have to pay for PMI . The $50 monthly fee that goes towards their mortgage help fund is similar except if you get in trouble you are covered instead of the lender. So, you will still be paying the ~$50 just not to ACORN.

 

Can I assume that ACORN is paying the other 97% of closing costs? If not you want to find out who is and have the ACORN person break down exactly what you would be expected to pay.

 

The full taxes upfront is what friends of mine have paid with non-NACA/ACORN loans. I'm not sure if that is universal it may depend on the state or the lender.

 

I like NACA and what it stands for. The process was about 3 months to get qualified. We decided to wait out the market and it has paid off for us because now house prices have dropped about $50,000 in neighborhoods where we couldn't even afford to look at last summer. We will be meeting with our NACA counselor in a few weeks to get qualified again.

 

Good luck in your search.

[NotforProfit]

I'm currently working with NACA and make too much money to qualify for ACORN so take this advice for what it is. I don't know for sure but the ACORN product sounds like a FHA loan. Is it the same or a completely different product? If it is a FHA loan you will have to pay a an upfront insurance premium plus a monthly fee added to your loan. With NACA you will not have to pay for PMI . The $50 monthly fee that goes towards their mortgage help fund is similar except if you get in trouble you are covered instead of the lender. So, you will still be paying the ~$50 just not to ACORN.

 

It's not an FHA loan. It's a program specific loan that was worked out with various lenders, one of them being Bank of America. The loan that Bank of America offers through ACORN Housing (yes, there's a difference. It all falls under the same umbrella, but ACORN and ACORN Housing are not one and the same, at all.) actually used to be better, but changed drastically in lieu of the whole foreclosure mess. The Bank of America AHC loans are in house, and not part of mortgage backed securities, or resold on the open market. There's a foreclosure rate of less than 1% with these loans, but for some reason Bank of American decided to be much more stringent with their guidelines. Before December 2007, the loan

 

-was a 100% loan

-No PMI

-did not have a credit score minimum

-did not have an income cap if property was located in an LMI area

-if the total sum of all collections, charge off's, and repo's was under $5000, and none of the collections happened in the last 12 months, Bank of America ignored them.

 

After December 2007:

 

-97% loan

-no PMI

-income cap set at $45k

-Minumum credit score of 640 [if it's less (say between 600-639), you can have your counselor appeal that with a BOA UW.]

-No new collections in the past 12 months, and all collections, charge offs and repos must be resolved

 

 

Can I assume that ACORN is paying the other 97% of closing costs? If not you want to find out who is and have the ACORN person break down exactly what you would be expected to pay.

 

You might want to re-read her post regarding that 97%, but in short: AHC doesn't offer any monetary help (closing costs, down payment, etc.).

 

The full taxes upfront is what friends of mine have paid with non-NACA/ACORN loans. I'm not sure if that is universal it may depend on the state or the lender.

 

They are, and I believe most lenders do.

 

I like NACA and what it stands for. The process was about 3 months to get qualified. We decided to wait out the market and it has paid off for us because now house prices have dropped about $50,000 in neighborhoods where we couldn't even afford to look at last summer. We will be meeting with our NACA counselor in a few weeks to get qualified again.

 

Good luck in your search.

 

They're both great programs, and both have their shortfalls. All in all, I'm just glad that there are programs out there that advocate for home buyers, whether it's their first time buying a home, or their tenth.