Ever tried to buy a home with no money down and very little credit history?

So, the last 4 months have been a chaotic nightmare of caffeine fueled document searching all niter's and dramatic angina causing phone calls from rural cabins in Vermont all because I was exhausted by the life known as renting.

So, that is where I have been. And I guess the bigger question is... how does all of this tie into the Poor Girl's Guide to Living Rich?

Well, I am buying a condo in East Boston, no money down, the seller paying closing costs and the first 6 months of condo fees. The mortgage is 100%, with no pmi (mortgage insurance), no points and an interest rate that allows me to only be paying a hundred dollars more than I paid for my apartment each month. .. and that includes the condo association fee. Now, when I started this Blog I was making 10k less a year, which is significant towards what you can approve for in regards to a mortgage but let it be known that if you are sick of dealing with insanity and willing to live small or live in an up and coming area, there are tons of deals to be had for under 150k in East Boston, Chelsea, Dorchester, West Roxbury, Somerville, Everett, Lynn, Salem, Quincy and Revere. With a car your options grow... I need public transportation close by and want to have a dog again someday so it was important to be close to the T and for the condo association to be any breed dog friendly. Some associations allow only dogs of a certain size or outlaw dogs of specific breeds such as AmStaf's and other bully breeds, some ban rotties, german shepherds or mastiffs.... and this includes those whom are mixed with these breeds. That wasn't acceptable to me so I found what I couldn't budge on and dealt with what I could. For the first time in 16 years, I have an electric stove.... but the utility company will bring the gas line to your home for free if the line exists 100 ft or less from your property. I have carpet; well I can rip it up. The cabinets are ugly and the ceilings have that horrible popcorn texture effect. These are all things that can and will be replaced. And I am okay with it all.

So, if you want to do it... buy a place, stop being a renter, and invest in yourself and your future rather than that of a landlord here are the steps:

First consider whether you want to attend a class from an organization such as NACA.
NACA is a nonprofit corporation whose goal is to stabilize neighborhoods and maximize home ownership opportunities for working people and families. Their Housing Consultants, real estate buyer's brokers/agents and other local and national staff offer comprehensive services throughout the home buying process. This can b very good but very time consuming. I attended the free introductory class and found it is only as informative as the attendees were inquisitive. SO... you can plan to do the process through NACA which can save you money over time or you can do what I have done.

1. Call mortgage companies and get a pre approval

2. Sign up for your local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and define specifications. Each time a new property that meets your specs comes on the market you will receive an email.

3. Talk to people you know and find a good Real Estate Buyer's Agent. Make sure you like them and they understand what you are looking for and aren't pushy...you will spend a lot of time with this individual once you start looking.

4. When you find something, make an offer.... don't be afraid to offer low. You will need to put down a good faith deposit or earnest money deposit in the area of around $500-$1000 to show you are serious. This can often be returned later at the closing. The worst that happens is that they say no. There is always room to negotiate...closing costs, new carpet, fixtures, appliances, condo fees, etc...These are all things that you can ask for. But be realistic and don't ask for too much too soon. Figure out a strategy and work it. If they say yes...congrats and move ahead to 5, otherwise keep looking.

5. Order a home inspection. This will help determine whether the issues existing in the property are issues you can live with. This is one of the only times that you can back out of the purchase without losing the earnest money. If something in the inspection makes you very uncomfortable and you realize that maybe you might be in over your head.... follow that instinct and take your offer off the table, requesting the return of your earnest money as per the inspection stipulation in your offer. You and your buyer's agent will then repeat steps 4 and 5 until you find something you can live with. Keep in mind, a starter property isn't usually the thing you love- it is the thing you can live with. something you won't lose money on, you can build equity in and turn into something you really like and maybe might just love later. These days your first home is just that...for some of our parents their first home was their only home and the pressures to find the perfect home were so much more immense. Now that you have found something suitable...move to step 6... working with the mortgage company on closing the loan.

6. Welcome to the next 15-45 days of headaches, tears, anger, frustration, fear, confusion, bliss and torment. It isn't easy and just when it feels like it might be... you will get a call in Vermont while you are on your well deserving only vacation of the year and you will find out that some incompetent shit of a mortgage broker lied to you, tried to bait and switch you into a more expensive and more lucrative for them death trap of a mortgage and suddenly you need to scramble to get an extension on your close date which is only 7 days away, find a place to stay during the extension, contact 15 more competent mortgage brokers to desperately search for the best package for the situation and meanwhile cry, scream and ruin the vacations of the other people you are traveling with because every ten minutes you are screaming into your cell phone which you are rapidly incurring roaming charges on, what a dumb ass so and so is and how dare he tell your real estate agent that she should allow you to live with her when you are out on the street the next week due to his lies.

And yes, this really happened but now things are moving ahead.... step 7, I think, is the closing, in which you sign a lot of papers, develop a hand cramp and a heart spasm with step 8 being....open a bottle of champagne at the condo with your friends. However there are 4 days until I am to close...so a lot could still happen (knock on wood desk) I will keep you all informed.

Step 7... get another extension because your current new broker took too long ordering the appraisal and the underwriters needed one more thing that the mortgage broker forgot to have done and now Fannie Mae needs more time to do the final approval of the loan. Figure out how to close on a Saturday so that the broker has to interrupt his weekend of golf to work on the closing as a minor payback to how he has inconvenienced you.