Ummm... I just realized how much I don't know...

I agree with this but would add... don't expect to buy your "dream home" as your first home.

Hardly ANYONE (there are a few, very few) still lives in the first house they ever bought.

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Exactly! Start small, then use the equity to buy something bigger and so forth. That is how all of us got started I think.

donsgal

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Life is what happens while you are making other plans. (John Lennon)

Here's a few questions i allways wondered about.

just what is owner financing

if you buy a house at an auction, how would inspections, title ins, all the above mentioned items work.

There are ways for you to help yourself and you don't necessarily need to pay someone to find your house for you and you don't necessarily need 20 percent down either -- though you will need something. Also, you might have to take something that needs fixing up -- a lot of fixing up, but if you're young and you can learn how to do stuff (take courses at the local home centers - Home Depot, Lowes, etc., ask your new neighbors. . . ) then you should do okay and learn a lot to boot.

As for "less than 20 percent down" financing -- there's FHA (I think they have a website, check it out) and also Famer's Home Administration (FmHA) which is (or was the last I knew) for folks who don't already own a home, in rural areas, with little or no downpayment, and really low interest and lots of other "perks" -- I'm sure they have a website somewhere, too -- or ask a realtor about that type of financing. Also, there are mortgages that you can get if you buy a fixer-upper so that you get a mortgage to cover the purchase price (say $40,000) but it is increased by the amount need to fix the place up the way you want it - say, another $20,000 -- so you get the mortgage for $60,000 and use the extra $20,000 to pay a remodeler to come in and fix it up for you -- do some of the work yourselves and you will save a lot -- watch "This Old House" and "Ask This Old House" on PBS faithfully and you will learn a lot.

As for how you can find out what houses are available where in Wyoming, first of all you need a map of Wyoming showing the counties (unless you already have an area picked out. Then you need to make a list of the counties and the "county seats" of each county and any other biggish towns. You can probably find this type of information off the Wyoming state government website -- google "state of wyoming" or something like that and you should be able to find the official state website.

Once you have the names of the counties and some towns, you can return to Google and put in the name of a town "Somewhere, Wyoming" for instance, and the word "epodunk". Epodunk is a great website for telling you everything about a county, city, town or whatever anywhere in the country. It will tell you all sorts of information from schools and libraries to population to churches in the area and types of business in the aera -- with many links to town/city websites, library websites, school websites, etc.

Once you hace the names of some towns and have narrowed your search to a couple of areas, you can go to www.realtor.com and search there by putting in the name of the town and state and adding whatever other specifics you are looking for. Don't get too specific -- I generally only click the "one bath" thingy (to heck with the number of bedrooms, you just want some improved property that has a building that has a bathroom), and for price range I click on $10,000 to $20,000 more than my absolute top dollar number -- house prices often come down at least that much.

Once you narrow your search, you can Google the names of the towns to find their town websites. You can call the Chamber of Commerce and ask for information to be mailed to you. And, you can call the local newspaper to ask for a sample paper, or to subscrible to the paper for a few months to get an idea of how much things cost there (sometimes very surprising!), and what types of jobs are available, etc. etc. etc.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it might be a good idea to go to an area and rent for six months or a year to see if you like it. You might find out there are certain things with the schools or politics or even the weather of a certain area that you simply don't like -- but that there is a really great place that you love just one town or one county away. Better to rent and move than to buy and have to sell and move. That would also give you more time to save up a bit more money, learn more about the area and how things are done there. One year isn't really all that long and at least you'll be started on your way.

Another thing would be to post another message on this forum asking who lives or has lived in Wyoming and where -- and did they like it or not, and why, etc. You'd be surprised the information you may be able to get that way.

Hope this helps. And, like I said - whatever you do - get a lawyer.

Good luck!

MaryNY

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WOW, I hope if the original poster takes anything away from this thread, they make it this one paragraph!!! There is one home inspector in this area that is absolutely dreaded by realtors. The reason is simple, he does his job, he represents the interests of his client, NOT THE REALTOR, and he provides his client with a brutally honest report of the actual condition of their potential new home. He simply will not work for a realtor, as he legitimately believes it to be a conflict of interest. Ask several realtors for recommendations for inspectors, and be darn sure to avoid every name you are given. I an continually astounded by the lack of ethics in the realtor industry. I have seen several cases recently where friends and neighbors have been flat out robbed by realtors and their lying thieving "home inspectors". The house next to us just sold for $300K. It is 16 years old and the roof is shot. Sixteen years ago the builder used the cheapest, thinnest shingles he could find, and the roof has leaked for the last several years. They are curled and the valleys are tarred where they leaked. The inspection report lists the roof as "good, with ten to fifteen years of service remaining". The new owners are clueless and facing a $10K reroof. The realtor arranged for the inspection.
One last thing for any first time home buyer. Do not trust any real estate agent. They represent the seller, not you. Get everything in writing, verify everything you possibly can, and shop around. Just as it's critical to avoid their inspectors, it's also important to not let them walk you through the financing process. Anybody who is steering you toward a mortage broker or bank, MAY be getting a serious financial incentive to do so. We recieved several offers for financing from everybody from our builder to neighbors who work as mortgage brokers. By dealing directly with a major national lender, online and on the phone, we saved thousands in points, fees, and other mark-ups that were part of other offers. Good luck and be careful.

You know, I have bought 2 houses and one parcel of bare land, and I have never had a problem with any of the realtors?

They were just the people who walked me through the process!

KayJay, having the money up front is one of the problems you can encounter when that dreaded line...."you can just roll it into the mortage" is spoken. Rolling costs into the mortgage is not necessarily a bad thing. You just have to understand what the over all cost of doing that is. It's a long explaination. It is very common. I have done it a several properties. In the short term, they can get you in, and with some appreciation you can get those cost back easily enough.

Having little money, you'll most likely go with non-conforming loan packages. That 20% down is the "top of the food chain" kinda thing. You avoid things like PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). Most banks will require PMI until you get to that 20% LTV (loan to Value) ratio. Typically if you are putting down less than 10% what will happen is that the loan payment will include the actual payment for the loan, the cost of PMI, and the taxes (most likely) will be included and placed in an escrow account (to be paid by the Lender from that account when they come due.)

All this adds up. So if you get a loan with a payment of $xxx per month. Don't be surprised when it actually is $YYY (after they inform you that those other costs have to be included.)

Starting modest is goooood advice. Something easy on the budget and so you can get your feet wet. Something that won't be catastrophic when something happens...like it doesn't appreciate, or some big expense (the roof on a modest house doesn't cost near as much as the roof on your dream house.) Modest houses in good condition (or ones that can be put in good condition by you by the time you want to sell) sell alot quicker and are more easily afforded than big ole McMansions.

If you buy a $60K house, $3K down + closing costs, it appreciates a couple $K after two yrs, you sell and pay a realtor 7%....well....you'll basically break even if you're lucky. In the meantime, you've been able to write off the interest, which would probably put you abit ahead of break even. It may sound crappy to break even, but, it gets you in the ballgame, it doesn't bankrupt you, you're better educated about the process, banks will lend more readily 'cause you're a homeowner, etc.

Terri, you're lucky then. I'm guessing but, there probably weren't any "quirks" regarding your properties. These things can get real tricky, real fast. My current property has given me a real education. Probably enough to fill a book. Everything from tax assessments and property lines to easements and maintenance agreements. Oye! the stories...I don't even want to think about it. Good thing I don't have alot of money. I could make lawyers rich. Fortunately, the good things have out-weighed the bad things. (which reminds me to extend my shooting range from 100 yds to 200 yds and sight my scope in.)

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There WERE a few quirks, but the title search found them and the other quirks came out before the paperwork was signed, when we looked at the land. Some of the properties DID have problems, but we saw them and that was that.

Excepting, of course, that the 5 acre parcel of bare land was illegally split off and it couldn't be built on for that reason. The realtors tried to talk the county into compromising, but they wouldn't.

The problem was that one acre had been illegally split off and given to a relative BEFORE the rest of the farm was sold, and that made the ENTIRE farm an illegal subdivision. The laws called for a 5 acre minimum lot size, or the land could not be built on. 8-10 buyers were affected.

Some of us contacted the realtor and said we will not ignore this, we need to be able to build, and after striking out with the city the realtors talked to the old owners, who had to fix things.

It cost the old owners, of course, to buy out one of the buyers and re-draw the property lines, but it was foolish of them to try to split off one acre when the minimum lot size allowed was 5.

We had no trouble with realtors, perhaps the laws are more strictly enforced in Kansas and Iowa?

Thanks again for all the info guys. I am looking into a program Wyoming has for first-time buyers that I think may be just what we need to get into a home. We're hoping to make a trip up there later on this month to look for something and see what we can do.

I am not sure if it is different in Wyoming, but in Colorado the local state housing assistance program (CHFA) that helps with down payments will NOT finance anything on over 5 acres. Ask me how I know.....

I also learned that the USDA rural loan program would help...but they are out of funding/do not when they will be funded/and have people in the pipeline waiting. Ask me how I know...lol

AND the bank will not loan for rural properties without at least 5% down. hehehe Ask me how I know.....

WE are looking at a place on 80 acres. We will surely be getting a lawyer to look over the paperwork to make sure the driveway isn't on an easement or something....

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Nicole-crunchy mama to six sprouts, A persuer of all things womanly, cooking, cleaning, gardening sewing, and of course light construction

Just thought I'd let ya all know what's going on... We went on our trip up there, and lo and behold, found our dream home in our price range believe it or not. We've made an offer and are pre-approved for a loan for the right amount, with the seller paying our closing costs. The only problem is that some lenders are leery of giving 100% financing on a property like this because they feel it is difficult to get an adequate appraisal being that it is very rural and there aren't really any good comaparables (there are comparables, just not really good ones). So, we've got our fingers crossed and are hoping this all pans out the way we want it to.

Step #1. Make sure you have the down payment saved and in the bank. No, you can not borrow this money as this would mean you can't afford the mortgage. Save yourself trouble down the road. If you can't afford it don't do it.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say there Srslade, was that in response to the original post? And even still, I'm not sure what you mean.... We are already approved for 100% financing, because that is what we need. I'm not sure I understand how not having a down payment means I wouldn't be able to afford the mortgage. We are very well aware of what our payments will be (with everything included) and are very much able to afford it or we would never have considered it. Thanks though.