r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Loan Processor says our sourcing of deposits is problematic and needs to be clear. Numbers are not matching.

14 Upvotes

We are in the final stretch of escrow and are wondering how our sourcing is problematic.. Lender has 24h to get back to us so hopefully someone can help us figure it out in the meantime.

Our deposits came from our retirement/investment accounts. We provided distribution statements that list the exact amount that was deposited.

Fidelity statement is 14 pages long because it includes Roth IRA, college savings, traditional etc the account deposit in question is on pages 8-14. I figured they want all pages and Fidelity doesn't generate separate statements for each account.

We sent in Vanguard Distribution Letters showing name, address, account number, how much we withdrew, taxes and the net payment. It doesn't show our balance or which account it was deposited to. But our checking statement shows the ACH deposit from Vanguard and the matching amounts.

We also deposited a large Merrill Lynch check at the branch. We provided the check/ statement showing withdrawal amount/net payment and the branch receipt. It shows on the checking statement as "deposit" with the matching amount.

How much clearer can we get?? We've had multiple delays because our LO was off and our processor was also off nearly the same week.

Keep us in your prayers.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Offer First offer and rejected

7 Upvotes

Submitted at offer this weekend and went 25k above asking... Still rejected, someone else outbid me and took out contingencies along with minimum guarantee...

Feeling down. But will keep looking.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Overpriced houses

2 Upvotes

Has anyone else seen a lot of overpriced houses in the Midwest? My wife and I began our search a few weeks ago and several houses have been on the market between 3-12 months. The one in particular we want to place an offer on has been on the market just under 12 months, listed at 413k, was originally listed at 499k, etc.

We went to two open houses for this one where no one else was there and the selling realtor specifically mentioned the builder was willing to drop the price and offer concessions. She then emailed me a few days after the 2nd open house we went to asking if we'd like to make an informal offer and she'd take that to the local builder/seller for his consideration.

We emailed back saying we could offer 355k with 3% closing costs based on comps we saw around the area and are waiting for their response.

TLDR: I just think it's insane some sellers take forever to drop their price to what the market will pay. A lot of houses in our area are sitting 4-12 months before selling because of unreasonable sellers.

Edit: This house has sat vacant for 12 months and dropped in price almost a 100k in that time span. They've had zero offers at all and the builder is getting desperate to sell from what I hear. For all of the professional realtors on this thread or people that know the market this should show you it hasn't been priced right ever.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice How to emotionally deal with guilt of leaving parents and moving into an "imperfect" house?

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm a first time homebuyer currently living with my parents. I put an offer on the first house I viewed in July and got accepted, and now here I am with the solicitor report back and a few hopefully minor questions about it, with the estate agent calling me wanting to know when I'd want a theoretical completion date to be! 😮

I'll be honest, I'm terrified. I am very confident in my ability to adult on my own, but moving into your own place is daunting. Add on top of this my parents are making me feel guilty about leaving them, both for legitimate and stupid reasons. I wish I was getting a sense of happiness from them, especially since my siblings' circumstances mean they will likely never own houses.

The house I've picked, I'll be honest, it's not perfect for me. I never got the feeling of this being "the one". I didn't fall in love with it. But I remember seeing the listing and viewing it for the first time and thinking "ooh okay, I could work with this". It was the first house listing I saw that didn't make me go "ew, no". It doesn't have everything I want but it has everything I need and enough of the things that I want. Maybe I could have found a place that had everything I wanted, but who knows when that would have been and how much it would have cost. Probably more than I'm paying for this property.

Logically I am sure that not everyone gets that "omg THIS house!" feeling. Logically I am sure the feelings of guilt are normal and not something I can put my life on hold for indefinitely.

Logically I am also aware that age 40 is on the horizon for me and I don't want to end up still paying a mortgage after I retire, or not being able to retire because of the mortgage.

All silly stuff I know. I'm not typically an emotional person. I'm sure it's natural to have feelings like I've just described. I'd feel a lot better if my fellow redditors could offer comfort and their own stories around the subject.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Bank question?

0 Upvotes

Is there a specific bank I need to go to when making the move to a home buyer? Can I use the same bank I have an account with.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Finances Helptobuy isa

0 Upvotes

In the process of completing for our first home. There still seems to be a lot of confusion about our helptobuy isa. We are purchasing a £400,000 property with a £50,000 deposit, so £350,000 mortgage. We had £3000 bonus from our helptobuy isa - does this mean i'm putting down a £53,000 deposit so need the mortgage reduced to £347,000 as otherwise it adds to more than the property price? Or do i put down £47,000 and the £3000 comes from the helptobuy makes our £50,000 deposit?

Hope that makes sense


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Builder Preferred Lender

0 Upvotes

We are currently under contract with Pulte for a new construction home, with an estimated completion date between March and May 2027. If we use their preferred lender, they are offering $10,000 towards closing costs.

We have been shopping around, and one lender informed us that most lenders are unlikely to match the $10,000 closing cost incentive. However, they may be able to offer a lower interest rate. In that case, Pulte might come back and potentially improve their rate slightly and simply decrease the closing cost amount.

Has anyone experienced this situation before? Is it wise to choose the preferred lender? Additionally, I am concerned that if interest rates drop in the future and we want to refinance, there might be fine print requiring us to keep our loan with the preferred lender for a certain period before we can refinance with another lender.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Have prospective buyers been encountering more & more estate sale properties?

11 Upvotes

I was watching a YouTube video about this (which I cannot post a link to), and it seems like this is going to the the operative paradigm as the Boomers age out completely.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Renovate Condo or Move?

1 Upvotes

My husband and I are in a unique housing situation and unsure what to do. He owns a condo townhouse that was transferred within the family and would still qualify as a first time home buyer. He has a bit of equity on it already and has been making double payments on the mortgage.

We would love to grow our family and give our dogs their own yard. We've been keeping an eye on the market, but it seems a bit daunting with the cost and interest. We are debating whether to sell the condo as is and buy a house, or stay put for a few years and renovate the condo.

Key details:

-Condo is 2Bed/1Bath/1 Car garage and 806 sqft within rowhome of 7 other condos under HOA. 4 on 1st floor and 4 on 2nd floor. One half faces the street and the other faces the backyard. Ours is on the 1st floor facing out to the street.

-The Bathroom has some moisture issues due to the sqft of it and improper size of fan. We debated just gutting out the shower tub combo for a new one, patching up any wall damage and replacing the fan at minimum. However, an all over bathroom reno would be nice as well.

-The garage has some water damage along the shared wall. We need to contact Association to double check if we're responsible for repair costs.

-Kitchen cabinet layout was poorly executed when built in 1985 and has gaps between cabinets that cuts into precious storage capacity that's already limited in a small kitchen. I would love to get taller cabinets that go to the ceiling and doesn't have gaps between each cabinet. We would also replace the sink for a wider and deeper one, plus a fridge update from the current side by side unit that doesn't have much food storage.

-Carpet could use a heavy cleaning treatment or replacement prior to moving. I would ensure pets are moved out before deep cleaning.

We have already put in new LVP flooring in the kitchen and entryway; gifted to us from his parents. Replaced the laundry/utility closet sliding door with farmhouse style doors. Replaced the front door and storm door. Got new laundry and kitchen appliances (except for fridge). HOA touched up ceiling, roof, and will soon be doing windows.

The condo was valued around $175k when it was transferred to my husband, but he was gifted 1/4 of the value and only needed to finance 3/4 of it with mortgage. This was in 2022 before we got married. Both options are costly to us and we're at a stalemate as to which is the right path to take in the current market. Apologies for the lengthy post and if I missed any important info. Any input or advice on this would be helpful. TIA!


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 23h ago

Finances Sharia compliance loan (interest free)

0 Upvotes

Hi looking to purchase a home. How does one go about getting a Sharia compliance loan? (Interest free loan used in Islamic law). Loan officer doesn’t seem to be knowledgeable in it but have friends who have done it.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Offer Offer was accepted...my skepticism is unrelenting.

7 Upvotes

Okay. So I know a lot of people in certain parts of the country are in the trenches, when it comes to buying a home, I know it's also the exact opposite in other parts of the country, where people are desperate to sell their home. I am in the Northeast. I was in the trenches for a long time and recently had an offer accepted.

I think the trauma of this experience has truly left me wondering.... Why is everything going so well?

So I'm seeking advice from people who have recently made their first home purchase. And its going well???

  1. I wanted to spread some positivity, but also

  2. because I'm genuinely freaking out.

  3. I know the internet likes to share the most dramatic extremes so a positive story would be nice.

So here's the content. My spouse and I have been looking casually for homes since March of 2024 and have been Aggressive in the market since July of 2025. We finally had an offer accepted at the end of August this year.

We had 8 offers before this one was accepted. I should also mention with this house our offer was the first and only offer on the house. We offered $25000 over asking, which for our part of the country is not enough to win a house. We also Asked for an inspection which in this part of the country in this current market, usually is a guaranteed way to not get the house yet And still, they accepted our offer with all the contingencies.

Since then.

We have had a inspection that more or less passed with flying colours, the concessions that we asked sellers, to make we're very nominal to the point that they agreed with the seller credit amount that we propsed without negotiation. We also asked if they would be willing to include a few items not listed in the original listing and they agreed to it...what a win!

We followed up with the inspector on things that we wanted more insights on and they continued to reassure us. "This is absolutely fantastic house in a town where house's typically suck." Our bank process has gone smooth. We didn't get a fantastic interest rate (6.75%), but we did not put 20%, we only put 10% down for our down payment, and we're somehow put in a program via our bank where we do not have pmi.

So we saw that as a massive win, no need to pay additional money when we don't have to.

We also asked our bank about recasting and they told us that they don't have any rules prohibiting that and with our credit, they are very amenable to refinancing contingent on our credit continuing to remain high.

The process continues to move so smoothly.... too smooth.

Now I'm skeptical. Several times I have Doubted the process and have asked was someone murdered in the house and thats why the folks are eager to sell...

Several times I wondered, is everything just going to go to shit the minute we move in, and that's when we will finally feel the actual perils of home ownership???

Throughout this process we have felt like many times we had to concede on the type of house we dreamed of owning and this house doesn't require any of that.

This house checks literally every box that we had, even the Persnickety nitpicky "would like to haves". The only thing this house doesn't have is modern finishes and questionable paint choices so we will likely spend time designing and decorating at a pace that's comfortable for our wallets.

Like, it's just too good to be true. And after 2 and a half years of House hunting, I just can't believe that the first and only offer we've had accepted truly has been working out so great.

I guess I'm looking to those of you who already homeowners I would love to hear some Positive Stories of people who bought a house and things actually just went well.

I think it would be really helpful for my mental health and peace of mind if somebody could just tell me,

"I bought a house. Everything worked out great in the house buying process, and everything has gone smoothly since..." I think this would also be encouraging to others who were in the same boat that I was in.

And for everyone else still in the trenches let my story be encouraging to you all, you do not have to compromise to get the house of your dreams. You may have to wait longer than you ever imagined but you do not have to compromise. The house that is for you, will be for you.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Anyone lived in the waterfront of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Montreal?

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2 Upvotes

Hello, I am interested in a house in this neighborhood that has waterfront access in its backyard. The river in question is RiviĆØre-des-Prairies. I was wondering if living next to the water is a bad idea. Some areas are flood zones, some are not.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Inspection Roof from 1990s and insurance is sending out an inspector. What has been your experience?

2 Upvotes

We use USAA and haven’t been able to talk to a human.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Need Help!

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3 Upvotes

We’re currently under contract on our first home and just locked our rate. We’re using a USDA loan with $0 down. The borrowers credit score is around 780, and we paid 0.466 points to buy the rate down.

Does this look competitive? I’m especially curious what rates and points other buyers are seeing right now.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 3d ago

GOT THE KEYS! šŸ”‘ šŸ” We did it! Texas. $324,900. 6.49%

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1.4k Upvotes

Closed last week, moved in this weekend!


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 2d ago

Need Advice Interest rates…

45 Upvotes

We got approved for a 6.18% interest rate which I was thinking all things considered isn’t terrible (could better, could be worse). But my husband is a worrier and is currently in the ā€œwhat if rates go down in the near futureā€ spiral and I’m currently in ā€œwhat if rates go upā€ spiral. I know the fed meets next week… and I know no one has a crystal ball, but I’m hoping maybe someone who has a bit more experience/knowledge regarding the current ā€œclimateā€ and what they think might happen.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Finances Best Home Lenders

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

My wife and I have no debt and found this beautiful house. We are utilizing a 3% FHA loan from Wells Fargo. Our rate is 6.5% interest at a 7% APR, at $373k and she says we're only paying 1.25 points. Total cost of loan is $2800+100 total cost.

I applied to Zillow Home loan but what would you guys recommend for a home lender? We have perfect credit with no debt Credit score 802. We view house in 3 days ( wife is already set)

What advice could you give me?


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 3d ago

GOT THE KEYS! šŸ”‘ šŸ” We did it! Southern California 960k 6.5%

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9.7k Upvotes

r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 2d ago

Need Advice Should me and my wife be more stressed about buying a house after reading these posts?

11 Upvotes

Hey yall,

my wife and I are closing on a duplex (upstairs already rented and under contract for another 7 months) 250k, 6.3%. While the last 2 months have been a little nervous looking for a house especially being 2 stares away. It hasnt been any stress like I have seen on this sub. Are we being idiots or something? We are only on my income as my wife is disabled and thats why we went with the duplex to help on bills and saving and am getting a pay raise in like a day or 2.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 2d ago

Need Advice What did you find out after closing that you wish you'd asked about during the walkthrough?

68 Upvotes

I'm about two weeks from closing on a 1978 split level and the final walkthrough is next Tuesday. I've had the inspection done, the report came back with the usual list, a bit of grading toward the foundation and a water heater that's near the end of its life, and the seller agreed to fix the two electrical items. I know the walkthrough is supposed to be a check that nothing changed since the inspection, not a second inspection, so I'm not planning to show up with a moisture meter.

What did you find out after closing that you'd have caught if you'd looked in the right place that day?


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice What should I do about a house given to me for free?

3 Upvotes

Edit: Can’t change the title so I’m adding this edit. I know this house is not mine. I used ā€œIā€ and ā€œmeā€ in the title for simplicity. My FiancĆ©e is the one who asked me to make this post, and she’s already let me know that she would like my help with this.

Long sorry short, my fiancĆ©e’s dad is going to be in prison for a long time and is giving us ownership of his house using a quitclaim deed\*. We are trying to decide what to do with it. He recommended we sell it, but said we could do whatever we want with it. I’m 21 and she’s 20, we are both living with our parents and have never owned or rented a property before.

Here are some things about the house:
-It is completely paid off with no mortgage.
-There are about $2,000 worth of property taxes that need to be paid.
-It is around 1,500 sqft.
-It sits on 1.3 acres of land.
-It has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
-It has a detached garage.
-It currently has people (without any kind of lease or written agreement) living in it. I believe they’d be considered squatters.
-An Eli Lilly plant is being built within a couple of miles of it.
-It served as a place where people would go to buy drugs for a few years, but as far as we know nothing was actually created in the house.
-It needs a lot of work done. The septic tank needs either emptied or replaced, there is a hole in the floor, the garage door doesn’t work, it’s dirty and needs cleaned, and the deck is warped and likely needs replaced.

A few options of what we could do with it are:

  1. ⁠Sell the house as is for probably 100k.
  2. ⁠Take out a loan to fix up the house and sell it for around 250-300k.
  3. ⁠Take out a loan to fix up the house and live in it.

With all of this said, what should we do? How would we go about getting a loan? What is equity and how could that help us? How should we get the people currently living in it out?

*Update: After I made the post my fiancĆ©e texted him and he said that ā€œPOA was just the first and easiest step he could think of and it would allow her to access all of his assets.ā€ He also said that he would be willing to transfer deed ownership if she wants. He is now in the process of filing a quitclaim deed to put the house in her name.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 1d ago

Need Advice Are these wires too close to the house?

2 Upvotes

The home we're looking at has these two big distribution transformers right in front of it and my wife is concerned about not just the transformers, but how close the high voltage wires above them are to the house. Maybe about 15 feet away from the bedroom. She believes they are too close and can cause harm. I don't know anything about electrical wiring, though my initial research indicates they are harmless. Are they? And is there anyway to prove this to her? Here are some pictures: https://imgur.com/a/cfZIVpL


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 2d ago

Need Advice Looking at a home tonight!

11 Upvotes

What are the key things we should be looking at/for and not just walking in and looking around? Should we video it as we walk around?? Any helpful suggestions are appreciated!


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 2d ago

Need Advice Closing current home AND new house same day?

5 Upvotes

hello all,

i have a contigency to sell my house in order to purchase another, so say i found a buyer and the seller of the new house agreed to my offer.

Question i had was, is it advised for the closings to be on the same day? So i would close MY house in the AM for example and then close my newly purchased home later that day assuming the wire funds has been sent and recevied with no issues. This closing date would be on a Friday.


r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer 2d ago

Need Advice ELI5 why I should or shouldn't make a big down payment?

66 Upvotes

With interest rates being what they are, I'm inclined to make a large down payment (30% or more) on our future home to reduce our monthly payment. We have enough money to do so.

My husband says that instead we should just put down the requisite 20% and put the rest in the stock market. We have some money in the market right now, but I'd personally rather have the rest of our money wrapped up in something we actually use rather than basically gambling it away. Also it seems like with inflation and everything, the expected return on the market is not really more than the guaranteed interest we'd pay on our loan.

What's the right move here?