Is there anyone else that is having a hard time buying a house here?

TheBenonas

My DH and I have been looking to buy a house a year now. After hundreds of houses and many offers none of them are sticking. We have a FHA loan. I know that there are lots of houses that are empty because 5 houses in the neighborhood we rent the plants are dying. But the banks are not letting out the houses fast enough. I think they are creating a false demand to keep the prices up.

Temp754944187509702

My husband and I bought our house October 2008. We didn't have any problems at all, however, we bought new. The community we live in was having a hard time selling the remaining lots so we got an amazing deal! Are you set on buying a foreclosure? Some friends that I have spoken with that are going this route are having a hard time. Mostly because banks are cautious of the home going into foreclosure again so they want a large down to accept an offer and almost perfect credit.

m+j

I'v'e heard that a lot lately, especially with FHA loans.  I've also heard that the release of homes is slow to create the demand.  Unfortunately (or fortunately in your case, I guess), we lead the nation again this month (32nd month in a row, I think) in foreclosures, so there are homes to be had. 

Also, while there may be empty houses, that doesn't necessarily mean that the foreclosure process has been started.  I work with someone who left her house vacant 6 months ago thinking that she was getting foreclosed on and they still haven't initited the process.

Are you limiting yourself to a particular area?  Have you considered expanding your search to other parts of town?  Are you working with a realtor?

TheBenonas

m+j:

Are you limiting yourself to a particular area?  Have you considered expanding your search to other parts of town?  Are you working with a realtor?

We want to live on the west side of town. We are looking whats best deal and that area is the NW and North area. Yes we are working with a realtor and he rather have us buy a foreclosed vs. a short sale house. Less of a headache.

TheBenonas

RSweetPea:

Mostly because banks are cautious of the home going into foreclosure again so they want a large down to accept an offer and almost perfect credit.

thats the funny thing. We have great credit and a good/stable income but we cant afford the 20% down. We can do 5% no problems but saving money is a little hard right now because of rent and supporting his parents. We tried HFN (a nonprofit helping people buy homes) but we make to much money to qualify for their services.

aggiesL&B

We just bought our house in Summerlin about a month ago.  We had a very hard time with the whole house buying process.  We put in several, I think 5 or 6, offers all while we lived in TX.  We ended up purchasing a short sale.  It was a headache not knowing what would happen and trying to get in touch with the bank.  We waited 3 months from time of offer to closing date.  My advice, if you like it, put in an offer regardless of if it is a short sale or foreclosure!

Good luck!!

Temp754944187509702

Yeah short sales scared me when we were looking. We went away from foreclosures because most of the ones we found were destroyed. I didn't have the time, patience, or money to fix anything up. Best of luck to you guys! It seems good credit isn't enough sometimes.

j*&p*

Don't let your realtor bully you out of looking at short sales.  We bought our house as a short sale last year and yes, it took a long time, but was worth it in the end.  Especially if you are having to wait anyway because the banks aren't accepting your offers on foreclosures, you might as well keep short sales in consideration.  If you can outwait other buyers you might actually get into a house sooner.