I called our mortgage broker last week to get a better idea of what the market is like right now in Maui and what type of conditions and terms we would be looking at. I just want to be prepared for as many potential hurdles as possible so that when we do ask for that pre-qual letter so I don’t have a sudden panic attack or bust out in tears. That said, we are trying to go into this purchase with two feet forward, instead of two feet behind us like last time (it sure was fun though–ignorace can be blissful-at least momentarily). As I mentioned in my last post, we are aiming to put down 10-20% depending on how much we can save over the next few months.
Let me just say that when I finally got in touch with her, I had to take a seat, take two deep breathes all while telling her to tell me like it is with no sugar coating. Since we own several properties already (some long term rentals), I needed to know what we are looking at in terms of minimum credit score, down payment, and cash reserve requirements. This property can’t be considered our primary residence as we already have one of those or our second home as our existing VR has taken that spot, so this beauty will be considered a straight investment property–wa, wa, wa. Enter strict loan conditions. Did I mention my heart was pounding at the mere thought my dreams of another VR could be crushed? Ya, I thought I was going to have to call 911 to bring me back to life. Back to the details…The first words out of her mouth were…”well…it’s real tough and they are requiring at least a 740 credit score, full docs loan and at least 25% down…” HOLY SHIT is all I was thinking. Dream was crushed. I KNOW we don’t have anywhere near the 740′s for a credit score because of all the loans for our various properties and frickin’ A I thought 10-20% would be considered a generous down payment. Oh, and she went on to say that if the condo complex we are purchasing in isn’t at least 51% owner-occupied it would be considered a ‘condotel’ and lenders are requring 40% down payment! You’re kidding, right?!?
I knew the lending requirements in Hawaii would be a bit different than on the mainland but I had no idea they would be this strict. No clue. Call me stupid. When we purchased our first VR three years ago it was a total loan disaster, but the terms were minimal. They wanted a whole lotta paper from us but didn’t care about credit scores or cash reserves.
I can’t help to think about the number of properties on the market in Maui, let alone ALL the foreclosures and really don’t understand why they make it nearly impossible for someone with the funds to buy a place, but that is just me and I don’t make up the rules. The crappy part of this whole situation is that I was surfing the listings the other night and found the PERFECT condo in our complex for the PERFECT price. I was preapred to scrape together 10% and buy it on the spot….I am sure you can figure out the ending to my temporary dream.
So the dream of buying today is ruined but the dream of buying in a few months is still within the realm of possibilities! Oh, I haven’t pulled our credit reports yet…I am just so scared. We will save this fun task for another day!
Wa, wa, wa…
[courtney]
