These range low 500s to the mid 600s.  

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Bankrate, the big perks of an FHA home loan are:Lower Down Payments: They typically require a smaller down payment than conventional loans, sometimes as low as 3.5% of the home’s purchase price.Lower Credit Score Requirements: They’re designed to help buyers with credit scores that might not qualify for conventional financing.

- very low remaining mortgage balance!!

We are in a constricted market cycle, low volume, strained budgets, high costs.

The program is designed to assist low-income families, and these benchmarks might exclude a lot of qualified people.That said, the requirement for stable rental and work history is reasonable, but you might consider relaxing the credit score or income requirements since Section 8 guarantees a portion of the rent.

Happy New Year, everyone!
Getting right to the purpose of my post, with all the relevant context: I’m 52 and living near Seattle. I have a good FT job in education administration, but I want to retire asap, focusing ...

They said that was too low for them, so I offered $175,000 and they accepted. 

The chances that you currently live in a city meeting all these criteria are low.

The price is about as low as you can go in Southern California.

- My first thought is offering cash, but the home owner would most likely just let it go to foreclosure because of how low the offer would be. - My second thought is offering some cash and taking over the loan - there are no liens on the property yet.