First Time Homebuyers Make My Heart Sing!

After 30 years in mortgage lending I can still say First Time Home Buyers Make My Heart Sing!  Yep!  When I get to close a loan for a first time buyer I go home at night with a warm feeling of accomplishment and personal satisfaction.  This is the feeling that truly keeps me going in this crazy market we are in.  First Time Home Buyers are anxious, scared and excited!  And there is nothing that even compares to the joy of purchasing your first home.  They are not the biggest loans but they sure are the most fun.

This past week I was privileged enough to enjoy the singing three times!

Tuesday - I went to the first closing at 11:30 a.m.  This was for a young lady that really impressed me.  She is 25 years old, has a great credit score, 4 years on her job and managed to save $20,000 all on her own!  She was adamant that her house payment could not be over a certain dollar amount.  She and her agent found a great little house that needed just a little cosmetic updating.  We did an FHA loan and she has the funds to do the updating with savings left over.

The second closing of the day was at 2:30 p.m.  This was for a 29 year old young man - decent credit and anxious to have something of his own.  He's an electrician (and a good one!) who started his own business four years ago.  He and his agent found a property that was an estate sale - sold "as is".  The property needed a few repairs before we could close and thankfully, the sellers allowed him to do what needed to be done himself.  It was nothing expensive - just a lot of sweat and old fashioned elbow grease.

Thursday - found me at another closing at 5:30 p.m.  This one was for a fairly new Border Patrol agent.  Gosh!  I LOVE these Border Patrol guys.  He and his family were able to take advantage of the USDA program on a bank owned property.  This one needs some repairs too and my underwriter was willing to allow the repairs to be done within 24 hours of closing.  That doesn't happen at most mortgage companies.

Most days, I straddle the fence on the home buyer tax credit.  Home prices are down and interest rates are great.  Do we really need to be paying people to purchase homes?  But when I look at these three transactions, I feel pretty good knowing that these buyers will benefit.  All three of them worked hard and purchased homes well within their means.  And I got to end my week knowing that I helped all three realize the joy of being a First Time Home Buyer.