Recently I've become resigned toward renting. A friend, however, told me about a nonprofit organization called NACA. Apparently they have a mortgage that requires no downpayment or closing costs. Also you can supposedly buy down your interest rate by making a downpayment.
So I'm writing to ask if anyone here at Kos has dealt with them. NACA seems like a program geared to the poor and those with bad credit, although they claim to have no income limits or other restrictions beyond the maximum price of the home.
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Anyway I have very good credit. I checked my scores with the bureaus and they are all above 720. I pay all my bills on time. The problem is that I live in a city that is very expensive to live in. Also I was out of work a few years back and accrued debts. Coupled with the fact that I owe student loans from college and graduate school, had the Obama Tax Credit not passed, I would not have even considered looking for a condo. However, I am steadily paying down my debts.
I do have a very safe and steady job. My income will only rise going forward. I have been at my job almost two years and my income has been steady.
My friend suggested NACA because they help people that other banks would turn down. I don't have a problem with bad checks or not paying bills on time. I pay them on time religiously and have never been late on my rent. What has kept me out of the market mainly has been the condo fees that most complexes charge.
Anyway, though, another friend told me that I could change my withholding at work to factor in the property tax, interest rate, and state income tax deduction that I would get so that I could afford the monthly payments. Basically he said that I could fix it so that, instead of getting a refund at tax time, I would neither own or owe; but I would have the refund spread out across the year.
Another person also said that some banks offer 40 year mortgages. I'm not sure whether that would make sense for me. I don't want to get anything but a fixed rate 30 year mortgage.
The one caveat to working with NACA is that you have to volunteer with their office five times a year. I'm willing to help other people purchase homes, but I don't want to go to political demonstrations where the police could arrest me.
So I wanted to know if any of you had heard of NACA. Do real estate agents deal with them? Are they reputable? Do people who work with them get good mortgages? Or are they a program of last resort?
Clearly those with a lot of debt do get condos and homes. Doctors and lawyers who leave school owing significant amounts of debt can get their first condos even though their initial salaries may be low.