A national housing survey found 88 percent of Hispanics felt homeownership was a good long-term investment, with 92 percent reporting they planned to be homeowners.

Jocelyn Vasquez is living proof of those statistics.

At a young age, her parents instilled the belief that if you owned a home, you had achieved the American dream. That dream of homeownership carried a lot of weight for her Hispanic parents, who had immigrated from El Salvador in 1977.

Jocelyn turned the dream into an aggressive goal for herself:

“My goal, as a U.S. citizen, was to graduate college and get a house before turning 30,” says Jocelyn. “And, I wanted to do it on my own.”

To accomplish this, the Los Angeles, California resident made a roadmap for herself. She saved, attended college and kept her student loan debt as low as possible – all without burdening her parents.

After she graduated, Jocelyn got a job as a loan officer assistant. It wasn’t until she had worked there for three years that she fully understood what was needed to qualify for a mortgage. The lightbulb went off when she realized, “I really could buy my own home someday.”

That was when she got serious. Because California real estate is so expensive, Jocelyn got a second job. She earned her real estate license and worked part-time as an agent, determined to save all her commission checks for a down payment.

It took her three years to build her savings, pay off bills and get her debt-to-income (DTI) ratio low enough to qualify for a loan. (Many lenders don’t want a borrower’s debt to be greater than 45 percent of their gross income.) Once she achieved this, it was time to execute her plan.

Jocelyn searched for a house that was less than $300,000 – not an easy task in the Greater Los Angeles Area. She looked at 16 homes before she found a 2-bed, 2 ? bath townhouse, with a 2-car garage for $285,000. Even though it was perfect for her, she took the weekend to think it over before making an offer. Unfortunately, her hesitancy cost her. By Sunday night, the seller had already accepted an offer. Jocelyn was devastated.

“I felt so discouraged, I didn’t know what to do,” she admitted.

“After all my hard work and determination, I couldn’t believe I had missed out on this house. But I told myself what I tell all my buyers, ‘If it’s meant to be, it will be.'”

It must have been meant to be: Five days later, Jocelyn got an alert on her phone informing her the house was back on the market – for $7,000 less. Jocelyn immediately called the seller’s agent, who told her the first buyer had backed out of the deal because his truck didn’t fit in the garage. This time, Jocelyn didn’t hesitate to offer the new asking price of $278,000.

Jocelyn used conventional financing with private mortgage insurance, which allowed her to put down less than 20 percent. By saving diligently, she was able to make a five-percent down payment of $13,900. Her current monthly payment of $2,020 is exactly what she paid to rent her previous 1-bed, 1-bath, 640-sq.-ft apartment in downtown LA.

“This is the best investment I’ve ever made,” says Jocelyn. “In the two years I’ve owned my home, its value has increased by almost 15 percent. It took a very long time, but I knew my plan would work eventually. And, I did it all on my own at age 28. My goal now is to help other Hispanic homebuyers realize the American dream of owning their own home.”

For more first-time homebuyer stories, visit readynest.com.

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Search: Step-By-Step Plan to Buy A House

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Erin, who works at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, had been toying with the idea of buying her first home. She was 32 years old, and was very aware that the Durham housing market was heating up.

“I figured if I was going to buy a house, I’d better do it sooner rather than later because prices just kept going up,” explains Erin.

However, with only $7,000 in savings at the time, she felt she didn’t have enough money for a down payment. But the timing became a dilemma for her. Should she wait to save more money for a house that would probably cost more in a year? Or, use all her savings to buy a house now – at the risk of leaving herself with no funds for a rainy day or future expenses?

The answer came when Erin visited the new home of a friend who had used a down payment assistance program to purchase her house. Her friend explained how down payment assistance programs give first-time homebuyers money to pay for a portion or all of their down payment, with some programs even helping with closing costs.

Free money for eligible borrowers

While there are more than 2,500 down payment assistance programs available throughout the country, Erin decided to apply for the same state-offered program her friend had used.

The program, called North Carolina 1st Home Advantage Down Payment, makes homeownership more affordable for state residents. It offers down payment assistance of up to 5 percent for FHA, VA and USDA loans, and up to 3 percent for a conventional loan. And because Erin had a decent credit score and met the program’s income limit, she qualified.

Erin received down payment help in the form of a zero-percent, deferred second mortgage. As long as she doesn’t sell or refinance the house for 15 years, her down payment assistance will be forgiven, meaning she won’t have to pay it back.

Let the house hunting begin!

Once Erin knew she was eligible for help with her down payment, she earnestly began her home search. She found a historical 3-bedroom, 1-bath home that was built in 1925. The price of the home was $152,000. She used conventional financing with private mortgage insurance because she was putting less than 20 percent down. With her 3-percent down payment assistance ($4,560), Erin successfully purchased her home in 2016.

“And, I didn’t have to use all my savings!” says Erin. Plus, she’s built up equity over the last two years due to home values going up.

Aside from the financial perks of owning her own home, Erin enjoys other benefits. “I’ve got so much more space for the money than when I was renting,” says Erin. “And I like being a permanent part of the neighborhood and getting to know my neighbors.”

For more homebuyer resources, visit readynest.com.

To find down payment assistance programs in your area, visit downpaymentresource.com/

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Search: How to Buy A House

The post How to Buy A House Without Draining Your Savings appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

How many houses have you been outbid on? And if you’re an owner who can’t even get a nibble out of buyers – if some barely even bother stepping inside – are you starting to feel like screaming?

Yes, times are tricky for both buyers and sellers.

“Rising demand among millennials, full employment, and the strong economy have bumped against limited inventory,” the Washington Post reported, “which fuels price increases.”

What to do? Read on for some of the best insider tips.

* January and February are the best months to buy. Forget the “experts” who warn you shouldn’t try to time the market. A recent study from NerdWallet shows houses typically cost 8.45 percent less during those two months than in June and August.

True, the pickings might be slimmer, given that most sellers list a house in the peak spring or summer seasons. However, not only are you less likely to be up against buyers with wads of cash – they’re probably wintering in the likes of St. Barts – but you’ll also stand to profit from a time-tested truth. “If their home is (still) on the market in fall or winter,” notes the home improvement website BobVila.com, “chances are they’ll be eager to close.”

With the median price of homes currently listed in the U.S. at $275,000, that 8.45 percent “discount” translates into a very un-chump change savings of more than $23,000 – and a lot more in pricier cities like San Francisco.

Sellers, on the other hand, do best in the first half of May, according to Zillow.com.

* Generation Z is quick to buy. We hear so much about Millennials these days, but those born after 1995 caught Zillow’s attention for a very good reason: When they buy, they buy “quickly.”

More than two-thirds of those Gen Z buyers spent less than three months on their search, compared to 54 percent of Millennials and less than half of both Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1976) and Baby Boomers.

One of the best ways to pique their interest? Smart home features that allow just about anything to be remotely controlled on their phones.

(Inside tips for anyone)

* A new roof is a sure-fire way to boost a home’s resale value. A perennial fixture on Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report, roofs are often the first thing prospective buyers notice even before exiting their cars. And if yours pales in comparison to others up for sale in the area – or worse, looks like something out of “Twister” – that could explain the lack of nibbles.

Patsy O’Neill, a sales associate with Sotheby’s in Montclair, New Jersey, has witnessed this effect first-hand.

“If your current roof is an eyesore,” she says emphatically, “buyers will be predisposed to find other things they hate about your place. It’s just the way people’s minds work.”

Your roof no longer cutting it? You might want to check out the popular Timberline roofing shingle line from GAF (gaf.com), North America’s largest roofing manufacturer, given their look of luxury at affordable prices. An even more upscale choice: the Designer Shingle line from the same company.

* Play the online odds. “Studies show that homes with more than six listing photos online are twice as likely to be viewed by buyers,” Trulia.com reports.

Of course, that only applies if the house you’re trying to sell is photo-worthy. (See “New Roof” above.) And if it isn’t … well, let’s just say you might want to skip this tip.

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Search: Inside tips for anyone

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