LisaH

I have a BK and my score is 680

I am rebuilding my credit and would like to apply for a credit card. Can you recommend a good card that I can apply for? Thanks!

At this time there are none that I am aware of - the reason is simple - if it is worth that much why did you get it for less? The true market value is what someone will pay for a place. Good Luck with your search. The house was a foreclosure. The couple decided to get a divorce and let it go into foreclosure. We feel it is worth more based on the comparables in our subdvision. 2 houses within our subdivision, same square footage is selling for over $150,000 more than what we paid for our house.

Dh and I just bought a house 1 month ago. The house was appraised at the purchase price. We are certain it is worth more than what it was appraised for. We have talked to our credit union and our banks and they are saying we have to wait 6 months or 1 year to apply for a HEL or HELOC. Credit Union says, even if we wait 6 months, they can only loan using the purchase price. We would have to wait 1 year for them to loan off a new appraisal. And therein lies the problem. Are there any banks who will do 6 months seasoning AND loan based on a new appraisal? We want to finish our basement and do more improvements to the house. Thanks!

We closed! We closed on Wednesday and boy, that is another day that will go down in history for DH and I. We got the "final" call from our LO that he found another closing attorney on our side of town and to be there at 5:00pm. He then told DH the final numbers and told DH to get a cashier's check for $3,000. Everything was all fine and dandy, until a few minutes before closing and said he thought we'd paid 1 years worth of HO's insurance and we needed an extra $3000 for that and something else (still not sure what). Anyway, long story short, with the banks closed by this time we couldn't get another check and make it in time for closing. Because everyone was waiting for us at the attorney's office, the agent, the sellers, the closing attorney. And DH is on the phone with the LO and said we have the money but everything is closed can we push the closing until tomorrow? The LO said if we did that, not only the paperwork has to be changed (which there was ALOT of paperwork) but our file would be subject back to underwriting. I was sick, DH was sick. He said we needed to come to the attorney's office with the full $5,514 or it would be AFTER Christmas or even New Year's when we closed. DH and I decided to take a chance and just go with what we had. Because we did not have all of the funds to close. So we are heading to the attorney's office (keep in mind we are already 1 hour late and everyone's waiting on us and we are both literally sick with our lives flashing before our eyes and we are feeling like we are going to fail our children) Can you believe, DH gets pulled over by a police? AAGGHHHHHH!!!! At the same time, our Agent is calling us asking where we are and did get the balance of the our closing costs? DH gets pulled over for speeding and the the officer proceeds to LECTURE about going 5 miles over the speed limit. Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to throw up. And of course, he takes a loong time, and our cells our blowing up with everyone calling us asking where we are. After 20 minutes, DH gets the ticket and we head to the office. We go in stressed, heart pounding, sweating because not only did we just get a fresh ticket, we don't have all of the closing costs money! So after greetings and introductions, the attorney offers us something to drink and tells us to take a deep breath, and relax... He calmed us down and pulls the stack of papers in front and gives DH a pen. Who begins to sign his life away (the mortgage is his name). He explained each page to us in detail and paused in case we had any questions. He was soooo nice. He made me forget we didn't have all of our closing costs! After the last page, he shook our hands and said congratulations, you are homeowners. He said the only thing you need to do now is be here in the morning with the $5,5514. Talk about a Merry Christmas!! We shook his hand and said Yes Sir! Everyone hugged and walked each other to our cars. Later, our agent explained that to us that what just occurred was called a "Dry Closing". He said, it turns out, our Mortgage company did not wire the funds in time. So it worked out better for us. We were there bright and early Thursday morning with the full closing costs (before they opened). Later we got a call from the Sellers saying they got their check! and Merry Christmas and Enjoy your new house!" DH and I have been married for 13 years and that day was a pivotal moment in our marriage. I have to say it strengthened us, we did this together. We have been fighting for this house for almost 2 years. This was a Lease-Purchase agreeement so we were already living in the house. But to our kids (ages 6 and 17), this was HOME. The Sellers have been so patient with us (almost 2 years) we felt if we didn't close before this month was out, they had every right to lose patience. The kids were just totally oblivious through all of this and just continue living what DH and I call the "good life". Our 1st mortgage payment is not due until Feburary 1. DH and I came from very poor families and DH has lived in so many different places. He's never really had a place to call Home. Now, he does. Now so do I.

Also, we still don't know the final numbers yet. DH said the LO said he should be able to let us know sometime today. Hope that's normal

G.W.01, it looks like you and I will both be closing tomorrow! On Friday, we still did not know what time we were supposed to close. So DH and I went ahead and mentally planned for Tuesday because our LO had not gotten in contact with the Sellers. On Friday, DH tried to call the LO but kept getting the office voicemail. The last time he spoke with the LO, he said he received the last 2 items he needed (now we know the UW can still request documents AFTER getting a "clear to close") and we were all set. He just needed to get in touch with the Sellers/Agent. Like you, DH and I had a nail-biting weekend, agonizing over this process, worrying if the UW went back into our file to find something else to ask us for. I feel this huge burden on my chest. We are hosting Christmas Dinner at our home and I could not go out and get the final ingredients for our dinner because I didn't have the mental energy to go out. I was so close to calling family and saying it was off because we were not feeling well. This morning, I felt like I was having an anxiety attack and started feeling nauseaous. To make matters worse DS(6) was up all night coughing and puking and DH and I were taking turns with him. But DH just called and said the LO just called him and said everything is in order, our file is on his desk and we are closing tomorrow at 4pm. We have a time now!!! Before, we didn't have a time. Here's the interesting part...the LO knows we have been in limbo with our car situation. Our truck died on us (right after we made the last payment) and since it was our only 1 we've been renting a car for the past month by the week. DH said the LO said the UW is giving us permission to go buy a car??!! That's how sure he was that we would own that house tomorrow. I told DH under no circumstances were going to do that! Not sure why the UW would advise something like that when all of the advise or things I have read about says the total opposite. Sorry, I went off on a tangent. But good luck to you as well on tomorrow (and to others)! . On Wednesday, I will post an update on my closing experience.

Congrats to you too G.W.01! It feels better though that DH and I are not alone.

DH got the call that we are "clear to close" on Monday. I asked him what time on Monday, DH said the LO said he doesn't know yet because he has to contact the sellers and see if they can make it on Monday. After all of the STRESS both sides have been through for the past few months, I cannot imagine them not being able to "make it". DH wants to take the kids and we go out to dinner tonight as a family. I'm not a pessimist, but I told him no, we can celebrate after we have left the mortgage building and have signed our lives away. The LO asked for 1 more thing (AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!) a clear copy of a form he needed from my job. I just emailed it to him. We were told the Underwriter has signed off on everything (?). Is that true, do they do that? and has pushed our file into the "clear to close" folder and moved on to the next applicants who are anxiously waiting their turn. Is that true? Can anyone please tell me what to expect from now until Monday? I don't know why I just cannot get excited. I suppose it stems from watching "My First Place" on HGTV and people being crushed about their financing.

Thank you Brian. This does help. We have a problem. DH heard back from our loan officer. The mortgage application came back from the underwriter saying everything else looked good except our 2008 taxes where not showing up (2007 is fine and is showing up). DH filed the 2008 taxes electronically with our tax preparer...so we thought we were all set there. Well after hearing that update from the underwriter, DH called the IRS and they said they have no record of his 2008 taxes on file. DH is on his way to our Tax Preparer to get something (not sure what) showing where THEY submitted electronically in THEIR end and is showing it was sent and accepted by the IRS. Tomorrow, DH is going to take the 2008 taxes directly into the IRS, have them stamp it and then take it (and whatever else documentation to show proof from our Tax Preparer) directly to our loan oifficer and put it in his hands, who will then turn that in to the underwriter. Do you think we can still get a clear to close?

After getting everything verified from our loan officer (employment, taxes etc) we were told that our mortgage application has gone to the underwriter. We submitted the 1st week of November and has since then have jumped through SO many hoops. We were hoping for a "clear to close" before Thanksgiving but the mortgage company pulled DH's credit report and it was under a 620 because we used his credit card. We paid it down to a low utilization and after a rapid rescoring (they have a relationship with the bureaus) DH's midscore jumped to a 627 and we are now in underwriting. What does this person do? It almost seems like they are non-human LOL, protected in a high security room. Also, is there an underwriter's forum? similar to this forum?

Even at the last minute? Can you tell me what you did when it fell through?

I know you cannot post who the lender is, just how did you find them? Friends, Family, Yellow Pages...?

I've tried shopping around the family and friends route but with no luck. Thinking about lendingtree.com... What do you think?

Do you think the new balance of $600 with a low utilization (9%) would increase my points?