Hello all! I just got orders to the Panama City FL area and my wife and I are looking to purchase our first home. Looking for some advice / tips based on our situation and any advice on lenders as this will be our first jump into being a homeowner.
22 year old E4
House price: $289,000
Down payment: $35,000
Credit scores for spouse and I: 750+
BAH for the area: $1987
Current Debt: $0.00
Spouse Income$42,000
Was looking at utilizing Navy Fed for the 6.327% APR. (wish covid rates were still around lol)
Really just looking for some home buying tips from those that have done it before, and if this seems like a dumb decision from the little information provided, don’t hesitate to say so. Thanks!!
Purchasing a house in Panama City FL
byu/PopeDoesCope inMilitaryFinance
Posted by PopeDoesCope
5 Comments
Well you’re in Florida, so be mindful of insurance costs. My house is in Pensacola, our insurance rate increase about 30% from 2023-2024, honestly won’t be shocked if it goes up a similar amount when it renews later this year. Be mindful of proximity to flood hazard areas. You should be able to google maps for those, and also go check out neighborhoods you’re interested in while it’s inevitably pouring rain one afternoon — see what streets and areas don’t drain. Generally, don’t choose Navy Fed just for the convenience of it. Shop around for sure. I was able to snag a crazy low rate at the end of Covid, but some random mortgage broker I went through beat navy fed by a whole percent. Then they immediately sold my mortgage to PennyMac, and I couldn’t care less because I make a payment online exactly the same way.
Rent.
Why would you put a down payment when you could do the VA loan.
Shop for the mortgage. Call lenders, let them know your DTI (0%), your DTI with expected house payment, your credit score and your gross income with BAH. Don’t let them pull a hard credit report until you’ve decided on a lender and ready to lock in the rate. Some lenders will allow a step down in rate if interest rates drop a certain amount.
I would recommend a minimum of 4-5 lenders for quotes. Compare the interest rate with the APR to check the spread Your looking for the overall lowest APR, not necessarily interest rate. APR will include additional lenders fees, origination and processing (can be as low as 0% of the loan).
A good lender will provide a prequal letter for the amount you are bidding for on the house and update it on different offers – make sure that are willing to do that.
They should also be able to pull your VA lending authorization letter. If not, they don’t have experience with VA
Good luck!
Assuming a VA loan at a lower interest rate can can also be an option especially with a down payment to cover equity.
Not many know of this option but if numbers make sense and interest rate is much lower than current rates, then it’s worth looking into.