What you need nowadays to get a mortgage Loan in S.California

[flak88mm]

A friend of mine is a realtor and he said that in S. Cali..the median for houses is $500K. In order to qualify for a loan in this amount, you have to have at least a 680 or above in all 3 CRs and make at least $8000 a month for a little down payment and a good rate. If the $8000 is not satisfied, then you and your wife can also be combined..But there are also other factors

This is just an FYI for those of you that live in Southern California.

[jq26]

It is expensive out there. Once a year I usually get out to LA and Ventura County. The bubble out there was tremendous and people lived WAY above their means (some because they wanted to, others because they had no choice to live out there). Back in 2006, the median price did briefly cross $500k. Imagine that. Half of the houses are over a half a million. To afford this, this was a creative lending haven. But no one worried...they'd be saved by forever rising home prices.

The bubble has since popped. The median home price is Southern California is now $420k and still heading south. When it crosses paths with monthly affordability reality again, the drop will subside. The drop in rates may help some, but lots of people have taken a financial hit due to the prevalence of $0-10% down loans and home equity extraction.

I keep my eye on what is going on out there because I may be heading out there after graduation...moving from Philly to LA is like taking all of your money and dividing by two.

http://www.mercurynews.com/realestatenews/ci_7985954?nclick_check=1

[liverichly]

A friend of mine is a realtor and he said that in S. Cali..the median for houses is $500K. In order to qualify for a loan in this amount, you have to have at least a 680 or above in all 3 CRs and make at least $8000 a month for a little down payment and a good rate. If the $8000 is not satisfied, then you and your wife can also be combined..But there are also other factors

This is just an FYI for those of you that live in Southern California.

It depends on many more factors than that. Just like any mortgage, you need a qualifying debt to income ratio, but more importantly on jumbo mortgages (over $417k on 1-units) you need good credit (660 and above, preferably 680 and above... middle credit score is used to qualify), a down payment (5-10% minimum, preferably 20%), and good reserves (2 months PITI in addition to any down payment/closing costs, some even want anywhere from 6-24 months PITI depending on how large the loan amount is). Someone making $8k/mo may qualify or they may not, depending on how much their consumer debt payments are and the mortgage amount they are looking to qualify for.

There is a reason you don't go to your dentist for a pain in your leg, and you don't go to your mortgage broker for tax advice, and you don't go to your real estate agent for mortgage advice. Each professional is a specialist in their own field, if they give advice in another, it is good to listen, but please verify with a specialist on the subject they are talking about.