Check your eligibility for the following Kentucky First Time Home Buyer Programs below!
Kentucky First Time Home Buyer Common Questions and Answers below:👇
∘ What kind of credit score do I need to qualify for different first-time home buyer loans in Kentucky?
Answer. Most lenders will want a middle credit score of 620 to 640 for KY First Time Home Buyers looking to go no money down. The two most used no money down home loans in Kentucky being USDA Rural Housing and KHC with their down payment assistance will want a 620 to 640 middle score on their programs.
If you have access to 3.5% down payment, you can go FHA and secure a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with some lenders with a 580-credit score. Even though FHA on paper says they will go down to 500 credit score with at least 10% down payment, you will find it hard to get the loan approved because lenders will create overlays to protect their interest and maintain a good standing with FHA and HUD.
Another popular no money down loan is VA. Most VA lenders will want a 580 middle credit score but like FHA, VA on paper says they will go down to a 500 score, but good luck finding a lender for that scenario.
A lot of times if your scores are in the high 500’s or low 600’s range, we can do a rapid rescore and get your scores improved within 30 days.
∘ Does it cost anything to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan?
Answer: Most lenders will not charge you a fee to get pre-approved, but some lenders may want you to pay for the credit report fee upfront. Typically costs for a tri-merge credit report for a single borrower runs about $50 or less. Maybe higher if more borrowers are included on the loan application.
∘ How long does it take to get approved for a mortgage loan in Kentucky?
Answer: Typically, if you have all your income and asset documents together and submit to the lender, they typically can get you a pre-approval through the Automated Underwriting Systems within 24 hours. They will review credit, income and assets and run it through the different AUS (Automated Underwriting Systems) for the template for your loan pre-approval. Fannie Mae uses DU, or Desktop Underwriting, FHA and VA also use DU, and USDA uses a automated system called GUS. GUS stands for the Guaranteed Underwriting System.
If you get an Automated Approval, loan officers will use this for your pre-approval. If you have a bad credit history, high debt to income ratios, or lack of down payment, the AUS will sometimes refer the loan to a manual underwrite, which could result in a longer turn time for your loan pre-approval answer
∘ Are there any special programs in Kentucky that help with down payment or no money down loans for KY First Time Home Buyers?
Answer: There are some programs available to KY First Time Home Buyers that offer zero down financing: KHC, USDA, VA, Fannie Mae Home Possible and HomePath, HUD $100 down and City Grants are all available to Kentucky First Time Home buyers if you qualify for them. Ask your loan officer about these programs
∘ When can I lock in my interest rate to protect it from going up when I buy my first home?
Answer: You typically can lock in your mortgage rate and protect it from going up once you have a home picked-out and under contract. You can usually lock in your mortgage rate for free for 90 days, and if you need more time, you can extend the lock in rate for a fee to the lender in case the home buying process is taking a longer time. The longer the term you lock the rate in the future, the higher the costs because the lender is taking a risk on rates in the future. Interest rates are kind of like gas prices, they change daily
∘ How much money do I need to pay to close the loan?
Answer: Depending on which loan program you choose the outlay to close the loan can vary. Typically, you will need to budget for the following to buy a home: good faith deposit, usually less than $500 which holds the home for you while you close the loan. You get this back at closing; Appraisal fee is required to be paid to lender before closing.
Typical costs run around $400-$450 for an appraisal fee, home inspection fees. Even though the lender’s programs don’t require a home inspection, a lot of buyers do get one done. The costs for a home inspection runs around $300-$400.
Lastly, termite report. They are very cheap, usually $50 or less, and VA requires one on their loan programs. FHA, KHC, USDA, Fannie Mae does not require a termite report, but most borrowers get one done.
There are also lender costs for title insurance, title exam, closing fee, and underwriting fees that will be incurred at closing too. You can negotiate the seller to pay for these fees in the contract, or sometimes the lender can pay for this with a lender credit. The lender has to issue a breakdown of the fees you will incur on your loan pre-approval.
Answer: Most lenders will honor your loan pre-approval for 60 days. After that, they will have to re-run your credit report and ask for updated pay stubs, bank statements, to make sure your credit quality and income and assets has not changed from the initial loan pre-approval.
Answer: The general rule for most FHA, VA, KHC, USDA and Fannie Mae loans is that we run your loan application through the Automated Underwriting systems, and it will tell us your max loan qualifying ratios.
There are two ratios that matter when you qualify for a mortgage loan. The front-end ratio is the new house payment divided by your gross monthly income. The back-end ratio is the new house payment added to your current monthly bills on the credit report, to include child support obligations and 401k loans.
Car insurance, cell phone bills, utilities bills does not factor into your qualifying rations.
If the loan gets a refer on the initial desktop underwriting findings, then most programs will default to a front end ratio of 31% and a back-end ratio of 43% for most government agency loans that get a refer. You then take the lowest payment to qualify based on the front-end and back-end ratio.
So for example, let’s say you make $3000 a month and you have $400 in monthly bills you pay on the credit report. What would be your maximum qualifying house payment for a new loan?
Take the $3000 x .43%= $1290 maximum back-end ratio house payment. So take the $1290-$400= $890 max house payment you qualify for on the back-end ratio.
Then take the $3000 x .31%=$930 maximum qualifying house payment on front-end ratio.
So now you know! The max house payment you would qualify would be the $890, because it is the lowest payment of the two ratios.
There are also lender costs for title insurance, title exam, closing fee, and underwriting fees that will be incurred at closing too. You can negotiate the seller to pay for these fees in the contract, or sometimes the lender can pay for this with a lender credit. The lender has to issue a breakdown of the fees you will incur on your loan pre-approval.
How long is my pre-approval good for on a Kentucky Mortgage Loan?
Answer: Most lenders will honor your loan pre-approval for 60 days. After that, they will have to re-run your credit report and ask for updated pay stubs, bank statements, to make sure your credit quality and income and assets has not changed from the initial loan pre-approval.
How much money do I have to make to qualify for a mortgage loan in Kentucky?
Answer: The general rule for most FHA, VA, KHC, USDA and Fannie Mae loans is that we run your loan application through the Automated Underwriting systems, and it will tell us your max loan qualifying ratios.
There are two ratios that matter when you qualify for a mortgage loan. The front-end ratio is the new house payment divided by your gross monthly income. The back-end ratio is the new house payment added to your current monthly bills on the credit report, to include child support obligations and 401k loans.
Car insurance, cell phone bills, utilities bills does not factor into your qualifying rations.
If the loan gets a refer on the initial desktop underwriting findings, then most programs will default to a front end ratio of 31% and a back-end ratio of 43% for most government agency loans that get a refer. You then take the lowest payment to qualify based on the front-end and back-end ratio.
So for example, let’s say you make $3000 a month and you have $400 in monthly bills you pay on the credit report. What would be your maximum qualifying house payment for a new loan?
Take the $3000 x .43%= $1290 maximum back-end ratio house payment. So take the $1290-$400= $890 max house payment you qualify for on the back-end ratio.
Then take the $3000 x .31%=$930 maximum qualifying house payment on front-end ratio.
So now you know! The max house payment you would qualify would be the $890, because it is the lowest payment of the two ratios.
There are basically 4 mortgage programs for first time home buyers in Kentucky to consider:
1. FHA LOANS IN KENTUCKY
Kentucky FHA loans are a popular choice in Kentucky first time home buyers
because they allow the least down payment of 3.5% and can use down payment assistance to meet the 3.5% down payment requirements.
The current credit score requirements center around the 580-620 score for most FHA loans in Kentucky,
Even though FHA insure a mortgage loan down to a 500 credit score or lower sometimes, it is very
difficult to find a lender that will approve the loan with scores below 580.👀
The house payment will need to be around 30% of your gross monthly income. For example, if
you gross around $3000 a month, then the maximum mortgage payment you would qualify
would be $1000 a month. If the loan comes back as an accept, the debt-to-income ratio can be
substantially higher than the 31% rule.
All FHA loans are pre-approved through an AUS, an automated underwriting system upfront
that will dictate your loan approval. The software underwriting engine looks at your credit, income, assets and figures your loan approval and will recommend an accept, refer/eligible, or refer/ineligible, or out of scope.
Most FHA investors will want a Accept on your underwriting findings to do a loan. It it comes back
referred, then there are additional conditions or overlays that could stop your loan from being approved.
2. Kentucky VA Home Loans
Kentucky VA loans require no down payment, but you must have a VA certificate of Eligibility issued by the Veterans Administration to purchase a home using your VA loan entitlement.
The current credit score that most Kentucky VA lenders want is 580-620. There can be no bankruptcies or
foreclosures in the last two years with good, reestablished credit.
The maximum debt to income ratio is 41% with a residual income of around $1000 a month after you pay all your bills. For example, if you make $4000 gross monthly, then the maximum house payment
along with your other household bills would be set at $3000 a month so as you have the $1000 residual income requirement met.
There are some variances on the residual income to whereas it is based on the number of people living in the household and which state you live in.
Most Kentucky USDA mortgage investors want an Accept on the initial underwriting approval to do the loan or at least a 620 to 640 score to do a manual underwrite on the loan.
640 is the score that most USDA lenders want, but USDA will go down to a 581-credit score in the
guidelines but it is very difficult to get approved. If you have a score below 640 and trying to go USDA, work on getting your credit scores up first.
Secondary Market Eligibility
Property Eligibility
620 minimum score required for all Kentucky Housing Down Payment Assistance Programs for FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional Mortgage loans.
Kentucky FHA Mortgage Loans currently requires 3 years removal from a foreclosure or short sale and 2 years on a bankruptcy with good, reestablished credit.
Kentucky Fannie Mae Mortgage Loans currently requires 4 years removal from a bankruptcy, and 7 years on a foreclosure.
Kentucky VA Mortgage Loans currently requires 2 years removal from a bankruptcy or foreclosure with good, reestablished credit.
Kentucky USDA loans require 3 years removal from bankruptcy and foreclosure with good, reestablished credit.
Generally, there’s nothing you can do to affect this. Bottom line here is….”is the value of the house at least the value of what you’re paying for it?” If not, then not good things start to happen. Generally, you’ll find less issues with values on purchase transactions, because, in theory, the realtor has done an accurate job of valuing the house prior to taking the listing. The big issue comes in refinancing. In purchase transactions, the value is determined as the
lower of the value or the contract price!!!
That means that if you buy a $1,000,000 home for $100,000, the value is established at $100,000. Conversely, if you buy a $200,000 home and the value comes in at $180,000 during the appraisal, then the value is established at $180,000. Big issues…. Talk to your loan officer.
For each one of these boxes, there are over 1,000 things that can affect if a borrower has reached the threshold to complete that box. Soooooooooooo…..talk to a great loan officer. There are so many loan officers that don’t know what they’re doing. But, conversely, there’s a lot of great ones as well. Your loan is so important! Get a great lender so that you know, for sure, that the loan you want, can be closed on!
If you have questions about qualifying as first-time home buyer in Kentucky, please call, text, email or fill out free prequalification below for your next mortgage loan pre-approval.
3. Kentucky USDA/Rural Housing:
Kentucky USDA or Rural Housing loans are not available in the more highly populated counties in Kentucky. The counties of Jefferson and Fayette Counties, parts of Boone, Kenton and Campbell, parts of McCracken County, and parts of Bowling Green, Richmond, Frankfort, Hopkinsville, and Owensboro and Henderson County. are not eligible for USDA loans.
Kentucky USDA loans require no down payment and are subject to income and property eligibility requirements by County.
Check Kentucky USDA Income Limits Here"----->>>>
Check Kentucky USDA Property Eligibility Limits Here--->>>>
All Kentucky Rural Housing Loans are ran through GUS, Guarantee Underwriting System, an
online to determine your loan approval The Automated Underwriting engine will come back with an Accept, Refer, or Ineligible.
Kentucky USDA loans require no down payment and are subject to income and property eligibility requirements by County.
Check Kentucky USDA Income Limits Here"----->>>>
Check Kentucky USDA Property Eligibility Limits Here--->>>>
All Kentucky Rural Housing Loans are ran through GUS, Guarantee Underwriting System, an
online to determine your loan approval The Automated Underwriting engine will come back with an Accept, Refer, or Ineligible.
Most Kentucky USDA mortgage investors want an Accept on the initial underwriting approval to do the loan or at least a 620 to 640 score to do a manual underwrite on the loan.
640 is the score that most USDA lenders want, but USDA will go down to a 581-credit score in the
guidelines but it is very difficult to get approved. If you have a score below 640 and trying to go USDA, work on getting your credit scores up first.
4. Kentucky Housing Corp or KHC
Kentucky Down payment assistance loans are available up to $10,000 for Mortgage
ATTENTION: KHC has announced changes to the Down Payment Assistance Programs! This is great news for buyers in Kentucky!
1. KHC is increasing the down payment assistance program amount of $10,000.
$10,000 Down Payment assistance from Kentucky Housing Below see details below for restrictions:
Secondary Market Eligibility
To qualify for a Secondary Market KHC loan, you must meet the following requirements:
- Meet Secondary Market Income Limits for your county.
- Be a U.S. citizen, other national or qualified alien person
- Have a minimum credit score of 620.
- Be a first-time or repeat homebuyer.
Property Eligibility
The home you wish to purchase must meet the following guidelines.
- Borrower must occupy the home within 60 days of closing and for duration of loan.
- New or previously occupied detached, single-family home.
- New or previously occupied condominium, townhouse, or attached unit in a planned unit development.
- Check with lender for eligible condominiums.
- New or previously occupied manufactured housing, single or double wide, permanently affixed to the foundation and taxed as real estate
- Must meet loan type's foundation requirements.
- The property purchased must be in Kentucky.
- Borrower must meet KHC's Secondary Market Income Limits
KHC is used for mostly applicants in urban areas of Kentucky that don't have access to USDA or other government agencies to buy a home with no down payment.
620 minimum score required for all Kentucky Housing Down Payment Assistance Programs for FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional Mortgage loans.
660 Required for KHC Conventional Loan Programs.
There are 4 basic things that a borrower needs to show a lender in order to get approved for a mortgage.
Each category has so many what ifs and sub plots that each box can read as its own novel.
You need income. You need to be able to afford the home. But what is acceptable income? Let’s just say that there are two ratios mortgage underwriters look at to qualify you for mortgage payment:
First Ratio – The first ratio, top ratio or housing ratio. Basically, that means out of all the gross monthly income you make, that no more that X percent of it can go to your housing payment. The housing payment consists of Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. Whether you escrow or not every one of these items are factored into your ratio. There are a lot of exceptions to how high you can go, but let’s just say that if your ratio is 33% or less, generally, across the board, you’re safe.
Second Ratio- The second ratio, bottom ratio or debt ratio includes the housing payment, but also adds all of the monthly debts that the borrower has. So, it includes housing payment as well as every other debt that a borrower may have. This would include, Auto loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, child support, alimony…. basically, any consistent outgoing debt that you’re paying on. Again, if you’re paying less than 45% of your gross monthly income to all of the debts, plus your proposed housing payment, then……generally, you’re safe. You can go a lot higher in this area, but there are a lot of caveats when increasing your back ratio.
What qualifies as income? Basically, it’s income that has at least a proven, two-year history of being received and pretty high assurances that the income is likely to continue for at least three years. What’s not acceptable? Unverifiable cash income, short term income and income that’s not likely to continue like unemployment income, student loan aid, VA education benefits, or short-term disability are not allowed for a mortgage loan.
What the mortgage underwriter is looking for here is how much can you put down and secondly, how much will you have in reserves after the loan is made to help offset any financial emergencies in the future.
Do you have enough assets to put the money forth to qualify for the down payment that the particular program asks for? The only 100% financing or no money down loans still available in Kentucky for home buyers are available through USDA, VA, and KHC or Kentucky Housing Loans. Most other home buyers that don’t qualify for the no money down home loans mentioned above, will turn to the FHA program. FHA loans currently requires a 3.5% down payment.
Kentucky Home buyers that have access to putting down at least 5% or more, will usually turn to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage programs so they can get better pricing when it comes to mortgage insurance.
These assets need to be validated through bank accounts, 401k or retirements account and sometimes gifts from relatives or employer. Can you borrower the down payment? Sometimes. Generally, if you’re borrowing a secured loan against a secured asset, you can use that. But rarely can cash be used as an asset. FHA will allow for gifts from relatives for down payments with little as 3.5% down but Fannie Mae will require a 20% down payment when a gift is being used for the down payment on the home.
The down payment scenarios listed above are for Kentucky Primary Residences only. There are stricter down payment requirements for investment homes made in Kentucky.
620 is the bottom score (again with few exceptions) that lenders will permit. Below a 620, then you’re in a world of hurt with most FHA, VA, Fannie Mae and USDA Lenders that we deal with. I do deal with some lenders that offer a FHA loan down to a 560-credit score, but most FHA and VA lenders will want a 580 to 620 score. Fannie Mae or Conventional loans will not go below 620.
Even at 620, people consider you a higher risk that other folks and are going to penalize you or your borrower with a more expensive loan. 720 is when you really start to get in the “as a lender we love you” credit score. 740 is even better.
1. Income
You need income. You need to be able to afford the home. But what is acceptable income? Let’s just say that there are two ratios mortgage underwriters look at to qualify you for mortgage payment:
First Ratio – The first ratio, top ratio or housing ratio. Basically, that means out of all the gross monthly income you make, that no more that X percent of it can go to your housing payment. The housing payment consists of Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. Whether you escrow or not every one of these items are factored into your ratio. There are a lot of exceptions to how high you can go, but let’s just say that if your ratio is 33% or less, generally, across the board, you’re safe.
Second Ratio- The second ratio, bottom ratio or debt ratio includes the housing payment, but also adds all of the monthly debts that the borrower has. So, it includes housing payment as well as every other debt that a borrower may have. This would include, Auto loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, child support, alimony…. basically, any consistent outgoing debt that you’re paying on. Again, if you’re paying less than 45% of your gross monthly income to all of the debts, plus your proposed housing payment, then……generally, you’re safe. You can go a lot higher in this area, but there are a lot of caveats when increasing your back ratio.
What qualifies as income? Basically, it’s income that has at least a proven, two-year history of being received and pretty high assurances that the income is likely to continue for at least three years. What’s not acceptable? Unverifiable cash income, short term income and income that’s not likely to continue like unemployment income, student loan aid, VA education benefits, or short-term disability are not allowed for a mortgage loan.
2. Assets
What the mortgage underwriter is looking for here is how much can you put down and secondly, how much will you have in reserves after the loan is made to help offset any financial emergencies in the future.
Do you have enough assets to put the money forth to qualify for the down payment that the particular program asks for? The only 100% financing or no money down loans still available in Kentucky for home buyers are available through USDA, VA, and KHC or Kentucky Housing Loans. Most other home buyers that don’t qualify for the no money down home loans mentioned above, will turn to the FHA program. FHA loans currently requires a 3.5% down payment.
Kentucky Home buyers that have access to putting down at least 5% or more, will usually turn to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage programs so they can get better pricing when it comes to mortgage insurance.
These assets need to be validated through bank accounts, 401k or retirements account and sometimes gifts from relatives or employer. Can you borrower the down payment? Sometimes. Generally, if you’re borrowing a secured loan against a secured asset, you can use that. But rarely can cash be used as an asset. FHA will allow for gifts from relatives for down payments with little as 3.5% down but Fannie Mae will require a 20% down payment when a gift is being used for the down payment on the home.
The down payment scenarios listed above are for Kentucky Primary Residences only. There are stricter down payment requirements for investment homes made in Kentucky.
3. Credit
620 is the bottom score (again with few exceptions) that lenders will permit. Below a 620, then you’re in a world of hurt with most FHA, VA, Fannie Mae and USDA Lenders that we deal with. I do deal with some lenders that offer a FHA loan down to a 560-credit score, but most FHA and VA lenders will want a 580 to 620 score. Fannie Mae or Conventional loans will not go below 620.
Even at 620, people consider you a higher risk that other folks and are going to penalize you or your borrower with a more expensive loan. 720 is when you really start to get in the “as a lender we love you” credit score. 740 is even better.
Watch your credit scores carefully. You have three credit scores from Experian, Equifax and Transunion, and the lender will take your middle score. For example, Experian comes back with a 598, Transunion a 620 score, and Equifax a 615 score, then your qualifying middle credit score would be 615.
Your scores will have to come from the mortgage company’s credit report bureau they use so please be aware that sites like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame will show different estimates of your scores that could vary once the lender pulls your true fico scores. Getting your fico scores costs money, so you can always pay and get your score first or have the lender pull it for free.
Your scores will have to come from the mortgage company’s credit report bureau they use so please be aware that sites like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame will show different estimates of your scores that could vary once the lender pulls your true fico scores. Getting your fico scores costs money, so you can always pay and get your score first or have the lender pull it for free.
Credit score Models used in mortgage lending
Which FICO Score Generation Do Mortgage Lenders Use?
The only way to know for sure is to ask the lender which credit report and which credit score version it plans to check, but that isn’t a guarantee that they’ll tell you.
The mortgage industry is different. Because of the aforementioned FHFA mandate, mortgage lenders must use the following versions of FICO’s scoring models:
- Experian: FICO Score 2, sometimes referred to as FICO V2 or FICO-II
- TransUnion: FICO Score 4, sometimes referred to as FICO Classic 04
- Equifax: FICO Score 5, sometimes referred to as BEACON 5.0
For a bank to sell a mortgage to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the loan has to meet certain guidelines. Some of these guidelines require borrowers to have a minimum credit score under specific FICO Score generations.
If a lender uses a different scoring model other than what the GSEs approve when it underwrites a mortgage, it probably won’t be able to sell that mortgage after it issues the loan. This limits the lender’s ability to write new loans because it will have less money available to lend to future borrowers.
As far as previous Bankruptcies and foreclosures:
Kentucky FHA Mortgage Loans currently requires 3 years removal from a foreclosure or short sale and 2 years on a bankruptcy with good, reestablished credit.
Kentucky Fannie Mae Mortgage Loans currently requires 4 years removal from a bankruptcy, and 7 years on a foreclosure.
Kentucky VA Mortgage Loans currently requires 2 years removal from a bankruptcy or foreclosure with good, reestablished credit.
Kentucky USDA loans require 3 years removal from bankruptcy and foreclosure with good, reestablished credit.
4. Appraisal
Generally, there’s nothing you can do to affect this. Bottom line here is….”is the value of the house at least the value of what you’re paying for it?” If not, then not good things start to happen. Generally, you’ll find less issues with values on purchase transactions, because, in theory, the realtor has done an accurate job of valuing the house prior to taking the listing. The big issue comes in refinancing. In purchase transactions, the value is determined as the
lower of the value or the contract price!!!
That means that if you buy a $1,000,000 home for $100,000, the value is established at $100,000. Conversely, if you buy a $200,000 home and the value comes in at $180,000 during the appraisal, then the value is established at $180,000. Big issues…. Talk to your loan officer.
For each one of these boxes, there are over 1,000 things that can affect if a borrower has reached the threshold to complete that box. Soooooooooooo…..talk to a great loan officer. There are so many loan officers that don’t know what they’re doing. But, conversely, there’s a lot of great ones as well. Your loan is so important! Get a great lender so that you know, for sure, that the loan you want, can be closed on!
If you have questions about qualifying as first-time home buyer in Kentucky, please call, text, email or fill out free prequalification below for your next mortgage loan pre-approval.
Customer Testimonials
Joel Lobb, American Mortgage Solutions (Statewide)
Phone/ call or text 502-905-3708
Email: Kentuckyloan@gmail.com
Website: www.mylouisvillekentuckymortgage.com
Joel Lobb, American Mortgage Solutions (Statewide)
Phone/ call or text 502-905-3708
Email: Kentuckyloan@gmail.com
Website: www.mylouisvillekentuckymortgage.com
American Mortgage Solutions, Inc.
10602 Timberwood Circle Suite 3
If you are an individual with disabilities who needs accommodation, or you are having difficulty using our website to apply for a loan, please contact us at 502-905-3708.
Disclaimer: No statement on this site is a commitment to make a loan. Loans are subject to borrower qualifications, including income, property evaluation, sufficient equity in the home to meet Loan-to-Value requirements, and final credit approval. Approvals are subject to underwriting guidelines, interest rates, and program guidelines and are subject to change without notice based on applicant's eligibility and market conditions. Equal Opportunity Lender.
NMLS#57916http://www.
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