From: "John A. Weeks III" 
Newsgroups: misc.invest.financial-plan
Subject: Re: The cart or the horse?  What would be the best strategy?
Date: 7 Apr 2004 15:50:02 GMT
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In article , George M.
Wagner  wrote:

> I am considering the purchase of a house in the next year, but the
> finances may be a problem.  I have a high debt/income ratio due
> largely to high interest credit cards, and other than the high debt
> have a recovered credit report from my youth.  I am trying to decide
> whether to get the finances in order now or look for a house/mortgage
> first.

My suggestion is to visit a home mortgage lender, and go through
the process of getting pre-qualified.  This will tell you if you
currently qualify for a new home, and if not, what you have to do
to get ready for next year.

As far as taking out another home equtiy loan to pay debt, that
might be a good idea in your case, as long as you (1) have your
spending under control so you don't rack up a bunch of new
charges on the credit cards, and (2) you leave enough equity to
pay the real estate selling costs and be able to make a 20%
downpayment on your new home.

In reality, I think that you are more like 5 to 7 years away
from being ready for a new home, not 1 year.  Get your current
house under control before you think about biting off a new
home.  Just because a crazy lender might let you have a loan
does not mean that it is a good idea to do so.

-john-

-- 
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John A. Weeks III            952-432-2708         john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications                       http://www.johnweeks.com
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