Hi,
My husband and I are looking to buy our first home and have several questions about the process. I've been reading and have spoken to several mortgage people, but I would also like some mustacian advice.
Purchase price: HCOL area 400-450k
Job situation and income: moved cross country last month and currently staying with family, starting part time job of 20-24 hours/week at $48/hr next week, husband will make $95K with unknown start date (govt contractor), VA disability income of $20K/yr, good credit
I have read all the debates about paying down mortgage vs investing with the math favoring investing so we don't have much cash saved because I thought we should invest it since we can do a VA loan (no PMI, no downpayment). I'm not sure this was the best decision in hindsight.
1. How much should we try to put for a downpayment when we can do a VA loan?
2. Where should money come from and what are tax/financial implications? We have about $35k cash with $10k coming in another month, Roth/traditional IRA and brokerage account, all invested in VTSAX. I know you can always take out Roth principle and gains after 5 years tax free, but how do you know what is what? We transferred to Vanguard midway through. Also, are we missing any long term advantages by doing so?
3. Spoke to USAA who said no difference in quote do interest rate by putting 0 down or 20% down and VA loan had more favorable terms. Is this always true or will you typically get more favorable terms with more money down? How do you do the math to determine if taking a slightly higher interest rate is better if you are investing the difference?
4. Concerned about job situation affecting mortgage approval. Broker I spoke with said that my job being part time is considered variable income. I work in healthcare with a set schedule. The variability comes from getting paid per patient (patient doesn't show, no pay). Does this matter? I was hoping we could qualify based on VA income and my income since they said we need a letter stating husbands start date which he doesn't know yet. Is it better to wait until we have husbands start date? No idea when it will be but he wants to start working ASAP.
5. Any other tips/suggestions?
The alternative would be to wait several months while staying with family or rent for a year first, but we really would prefer to get a house.
Thanks for your help!