[pranamama]

<p>I am thinking about buying a home,   has anyone done these classes?   Are they helpful?   Do they help you get a better loan?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>

 

[rhiandmoi]

They help you qualify for some first timers loans. And they're good if you've never worked out all the math on how much you can afford and what the hidden costs of ownership are. I thought the class was a little boring, but it was worth it to get a first timers loan.

 

[hopefulfaith]

<p>I had a first-time, rural development loan and had to take one.  It was a 1:1 session with us and the instructor, and I simply came with my household budget book and latest "State of the Household" report, showing our income/expenses.  She went through the motions and let us go in twenty minutes with a smile and a wave.    Definitely worth it to qualify for the loan. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think it would have been very useful for families who don't truly know how much they can really afford (as opposed to what the bank told us we could, for example), or don't know how much a house really costs (i.e., property taxes, utilities).  She had a lot of that information ready to give us.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We had to go, to qualify for a specific gov't loan (I forget exactly which one), and when we left, she gave us the all-important piece of paper stating that we had attended the class and had met that requirement to apply for the loan.  "Don't lose this!", she had said; we wouldn't have been able to apply for the loan without it, from what I recall.</p>