# Please find someone to help us **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648 "2011-01-22T17:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gmaof24now](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@gmaof24now](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gmaof24now)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/1 "2011-01-22T17:40:28Z")
my husband and i just want a simple 3 bedroom home nothing fancy just so its warm in the winter and cool in the summer our grandchildren need room to play we live in public housing now and there is just now room he works very hard at his factory job but no one will let us buy anything that doesnt have astronomical interest rates. We just want a home to call our own!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/2 "2011-01-23T12:26:35Z")
Welcome to the boards, **gmaof24now**. You started this thread/post in General Questions with a very long quote about the rules. I deleted that and moved your basic post to MPSIMS. Perhaps you can find help here. **samclem** Moderator, General Questions ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/3 "2011-01-23T16:21:58Z")
> [@gmaof24now](#): > > my husband and i just want a simple 3 bedroom home nothing fancy just so its warm in the winter and cool in the summer our grandchildren need room to play we live in public housing now and there is just now room he works very hard at his factory job but no one will let us buy anything that doesnt have astronomical interest rates. We just want a home to call our own!🙂 Why isn’t your family helping you? ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/4 "2011-01-23T16:22:33Z")
If you can’t afford interest rates how about renting like the rest of us poor people? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/5 "2011-01-23T16:28:09Z")
Did this become the “help me find real estate that I have no business buying” forum? ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/6 "2011-01-23T16:34:33Z")
24 grandkids? How many children do you have and how old are they? Seems like a pretty large pool of labor/capital to draw from in my opinion. And if they won’t help you, why should anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/7 "2011-01-23T16:40:19Z")
Are you looking to buy a place, or rent it? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/8 "2011-01-23T16:43:01Z")
I don’t think there are a lot of bankers or mortgage lenders or real estate agents on this board. That’s who you need to talk to, to see if there are any government programs that would help you buy a home. You might want to start with the [Federal Housing Administration](http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/hsgabout.cfm). Since you’re in public housing, there might be someone in the management office who could tell you where to start. I lived in public housing many years ago, and it was the management folks who referred us to an agent who helped us buy a home under an FHA program. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/9 "2011-01-23T18:16:24Z")
The place to start is a local lender who will know of what government or local loan programs you qualify for depending on your income. For example our community has new housing available for about half price for people who meet certain income limits. There are also FHA, and USDA loans from the federal government. Also try Habitat for Humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/10 "2011-01-23T18:51:57Z")
How much down payment do you have? How much can you afford to pay each month for mortgage, taxes, and home insurance? What is your credit rating like (both you and your husband)? If you’re finding that the only loans banks are willing to give you have astronomical interest rates, maybe that’s because you aren’t in a very stable position for taking on a mortgage. You’re in public housing now; is the rent for that the same as what your loan/interest/taxes/insurance payments would be for a house? If you’re paying less in rent now than you would be paying for a house, can you afford a house? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/11 "2011-01-23T20:31:31Z")
Another thing to consider is the upkeep on a house. If the heat goes out, can you afford to fix it? What if you need a roof? Major appliance? You’ll be responsible for that kind of stuff as a homeowner. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/12 "2011-01-23T23:20:08Z")
Astronomical interest rates? Rates are at an almost all-time low! If you’re being charged much more than the average (less than 5%) than you’ve probably screwed up your credit somewhere along the line. It that’s the case, you’re going to have to take your lumps and either pay more or rebuild your credit and try later, when interest rates will probably be higher. StG ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/13 "2011-01-24T02:51:07Z")
How much do you and your husband make per year? How much does a home like you want cost? I don’t want to know those numbers (and you shouldn’t tell us on the SDMB), but you should think about them and compare them. I believe the usual rule is that you can afford to buy a house that’s about three times your annual income (from all sources). (Anyone here, if that isn’t the rule, please tell me what the rule is.) If the problem is that you want to buy a house that’s, for instance, fifteen times your annual income, then there’s no way that you should consider buying such a house. If you make, say, $50,000 per year, then there’s no way that you should try to buy a $750,000 house. Any bank that offered you a mortgage on such a house would be scamming you. You would quickly fall behind on the payments and they would end up getting the house, leaving you with no house after paying a lot of money. ---
**Author:** ![Mongo\_Ponton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mongo\_Ponton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongo_Ponton)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/14 "2011-01-24T03:23:36Z")
Fannie Mae’s foreclosures are listed on their site. They have good financing and money for rehabbing. All those prices are negotiable. [Homepath](http://www.homepath.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-find-someone-to-help-us/568648/15 "2011-01-24T04:06:45Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Another thing to consider is the upkeep on a house. If the heat goes out, can you afford to fix it? What if you need a roof? Major appliance? You’ll be responsible for that kind of stuff as a homeowner. That’s a really good point - we’ve bought two houses together now, and with both there were significant unexpected expenses almost right away (no washer and dryer in the first house, washer stopped working in the second house, garage door opener stopped working, fridge is unfixable\*, etc.). Our insulation in our attic is sub-par here, too, and we need to get up there and blow a whole bunch more up there, and our roof is probably going to be due for re-shingling in a couple of years, too. \*Although we decided not to replace the fridge at this point.