Shoutout to the HUD counselor in Dallas who told me to pick the FHA loan over the subprime ARM
Two years ago my credit was sitting at 580 and I had $4,000 saved for a down payment. I had two lenders pitching me: one wanted to put me in a subprime ARM with a 9.5% rate and no credit repair needed, the other said wait 6 months, fix my credit through a HUD-approved counselor, and go FHA at 4.75%. I picked the FHA route even though it meant couch surfing for 5 more months. The counselor helped me dispute two old medical collections and get my score to 640 by March. Closed on a $165,000 house in Oak Cliff with 3.5% down and my payment is $400 cheaper than the ARM quote. Has anyone else had a lender push them toward a bad loan just to close faster?
That subprime lender was probably less upset about losing your loan and more upset about losing that 9.5% rate, which is basically legal robbery with extra steps. Couch surfing for 5 months to save $400 a month is the kind of math that pays for itself in about a year, so congrats on doing the boring thing that actually worked. Dallas HUD counselors out here doing the Lord's work while the other guy was trying to lock you into a loan that would've eaten you alive.