Frequently Asked Questions about Buying Your First Home
Page 2

Lenders look at the overall debt-to-income ratio. They like to see that your monthly housing payment, plus everything on your credit report (including car payment, credit cards, etc.), is not more than 50% of your total gross monthly income (before taxes).

If you want to buy a $100,000 home, the monthly payment will be $1,000. Suppose you also pay another $500 each month in other bills that are on your credit report. That’s a monthly debt of $1,500. You would need to earn about twice that, or $3,000 a month, to qualify for the home loan, typically.

What type of credit do I need to have?

For an FHA loan, which is very popular, buyers generally need to have clean credit for the past 12 months, meaning that payments have been made on time. Many lenders don’t worry about credit problems that took place in the past, as long as the past year is good and clean.

What if I don’t have other loans or credit cards?

The FHA and other lenders are very willing to consider what they call “alternate lines of credit.” That is, any type of payment history that shows that the buyer is able to make regular payments on time. These can include items such as rent, utilities, telephone, car insurance and child-care payments. If a buyer can show clean, 12-month payment histories for at least 3 of these types of alternate lines of credit, that is generally good enough.

About The Author Damon Thomas is a contributor to www.casanuevahouston.com, a Houston-based company providing information for new home buyers.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buying Your First Home
  Back to Page 1

Additional Government Grants Resources

Fundraising Planning - A Vital Key to Nonprofit Success
As a professional grant writer and consultant, I am often amazed at how few nonprofit organizations actually have a fund development plan beyond a vague idea of applying for a few grants and sending ...

---

Historically Underutilized Business Zones - HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program
The Small Business Administration has established the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Empowerment Contracting Program wherein they aim to provide federal contracting assistance to eligible small business corporations which are located in underutilized business zones so as to improve their employment opportunities, investments, and their area's economic development.

---

Department of Human Health and Services: Family Planning Services Grant
OPHS has recently announced the availability of funding opportunities for the establishment and implementation of voluntary family planning service projects.

---

National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships in Poetry
The Literature Fellowship program will offer $25,000 grants in poetry to published creative writers that are capable of writing literary pieces, conduct research, travel, and work towards general career advancement activities.

---

Department of the Interior: Community History of Former Village Sites in the Nabesna District Project
The article is about the Department of the Interior's Community History of Former Village Sites in the Nabesna District Project

---

Clinical Trials for Organ Transplantation in Children Program
The National Insitutes of Health has formed a partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to establish the Clinical Trials for Organ Transplantation in Children Program wherein both agencies intend to support a group of investigators in their quest of conducting clinical trials regarding pediatric solid organ transplant recipients.

---

Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities Program
In line with this mission, the Office of Justice Programs has recently established the Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities Program in an attempt to substantially improve probation success rates, while simultaneously improve public safety, reducing returns to prisons and jails, and saving essential taxpayer dollars.

---