Insurance and Taxes

[Amber]

Here is a link that describes some typical private mortgage insurance premiums:
PMI premiums

Jen, I recently was the purchaser in a land/home deal in the same ballpark as your figures. My PMI premium is looking to be around $48 a month, but I was able to lock in a favorable interest rate on my permanent loan and my PITI (mortgage payment plus hazard insurance plus taxes plus PMI) is a bit under your target total (as result of the rate I got). I am currently on the construction loan (costs of which were built into my loan), which has a higher interest rate, but a very short term.

You should check with your local tax assessor to determine what your property taxes will be, as they are entirely based on location, even in the same area it can vary greatly. For example, my taxes are based on my school district, hospital district and county --- and are about 40% less than in a neighboring county, which has a much higher school district tax and a city-imposed tax as well.

I am doing an FHA loan with a discounted rate through the Texas Veterans Land Board, and as described by Mr. Murray, only put down $500. I used the Genesis program for the requisite 3% down payment (so the down payment and a premium for that is built into the total cost of my loan).

When you shop your loan, look closely at the GFEs (good faith estimates) that you are provided. Even going through your sales agent, you may be able to find different brokers (the person that I bought my home from submitted my information to two different brokers, who offered three GFEs based on different loan programs). I also looked at local banks and other lenders who specialize in manufactured homes on land, but went with this particular broker because of the favorable rate.

Whether an attorney is generally present at the closing of often a matter of local custom. The cost of an attorney may be built into your GFE under "document preparation" -- but you can ask the lender to be sure. If you do not know a real estate attorney, you can always ask your local bar association for a referral.

Oh, and one thing about working with brokers --- they may not be familiar with the costs of certain things you need in your area. My broker had figured our survery would cost half of what it did.