Go talk to bank now or no ?

[Malcolm Darensbourg]

Hey everyone ! So I'm a 20 year old newbie. I've been working a full time job for about 6 months now. I've been thinking that my first step into real estate will be through the FHA loan by acquiring a MFH. I also just started establishing my credit for about 6 months with a student credit card. I read that you need to work a full time job for at least 2 years before being considered for an FHA loan. So what I'm asking here is should I go talk to the bank to get the requirements for the loan and the steps I will need to take to be accepted for the loan. Or should I just wait 2 years before even going to inquire about the loan? Any information is appreciated.

[Bryan O.]

Hi @Malcolm Darensbourg. Always get your money lined up before spending it :)  Talk to a number of banks/credit unions and see what their requirements are, but be clear with them that they should not pull a credit report. You can get your free report at annualcreditreport.com, and you can buy your FICO score for something like $25. If you are getting ready to buy you don't want the ding on your credit from the credit pull, but they will have to know that information to tell you if you can qualify. Most of the banks I've spoken with in the past have the process automated and there is no way around them checking credit. If they must do it that way, do all your shopping around in a short time span (I think it must be in less than 30 days). That way it should only be 1 hit to your credit.

Best of luck and happy investing.