Can I get approved for a home loan before July 1st despite the fact that I wont be getting paid until then? Is a letter from the residency program stating my income going to be good enough to the mortage company? Or do I have to wait until several months after my internship starts in order to get a loan?
Some companies will accept the contract but you wouldn't be able to close until 30-90 days before the start of your contract (depending on your loan company). These are usually the physician loans. Those who go conventional can sometimes get exceptions but usually they will require a copy of 1-2 paystubs.
My credit score is very good, 769. I have about 150k in student loan debt, but no other debt (credit cards, car payments, etc). Is this student loan debt going to cause me to get very high interest rates despite my good credit score?
interest rate is dependent on the risk of the loan which will encompass your credit score, downpayment amount (Loan to Value or LTV), your income and your income to debt ratios. So say you have income of $3000 a month and debt of $1000 a month so your ratio is .3. Most companies will feel comfortable going up to .5 if the rest of the loan is solid. Your ratio will include your student loans, mortgage and taxes and interest. If you are deferring your student loans you will need to get proof before you are allowed to close. If you are putting 5% of the house value as downpayment you have an LTV of 95%. The lower your LTV the better chances you have of a lender working with you.
Is there any downside to talking to 20 different loan companies and have them compete for loan offers? Do you have to pay fees just to get a loan offer? I heard somewhere that if too many companies do credit checks on you that it lowers your credit score.
Yes there isa downside, but do it all within the same period and it won't hurt you as much. DO YOUR RESEARCH before you give them any information some companies will tell you they have a standard rate, some will base it off the loan
Can I get a loan set up now and wait until after Match Day to use it to buy a home, or do I have to wait to get the loan until just before I buy a house?
Yes but its a waste of your time b/c you can't lock the rate without paying a fee for that long. A good lender would give you a free lock for 30-90 days. I wouldn't suggest 180 day lock in this market b/c rates keep going down.
Can I get the loan set up while I'm living in a different city?
Yes this is quite common. Your lender just needs to be able to work in the state you are moving to, many bigger lenders are set up in multiple states.
Do you think a 150k house is too much? I'm looking at areas in which a 150k house consists of 4 bedrooms, 2500+ square feet, some of them with swimming pools. According to a mortgage calculator, that comes out to about 900 a month assuming 6.5% interest. Is this too much money that I wont get approved for?
I don't think its too much on one salary but things will be tight. We bought about the same, but have payment of taxes and insurance (also called PITI in the lending world - principle and interest including taxes and insurance) of about $1200/mn. So if you are only getting say $3500/mn (say about $41,000 per year) and that's before taxes, after taxes, health insurance you get say $2500/mn, you're spending half your spending money on your house, not including maintenance, upkeep ... as well as electricity, heat, water, sewer, cable, internet, etc. Not trying to scare you just being realistic, these things add up. Now you will get some of those taxes back but unless you have an accountant helping you out, most people just claim 1 on the W-4 if single and be done with it getting money back in April from their taxes.
If you plan on stayign there for at least 5-7 years I'd suggest purchasing if renting costs about the same and in th right market. Watch the areas of where to buy and where values might go up. Also if you buy a house that needs to fix up, your more likely to have your value go up than a house that's already updated (like new kitchen, new bathroom, finished basement, new windows, etc).
Hoped this helps a bit. And yes BOA has a physician loan program you'd fit well in but I also know a few people that got screwed by them (with good credit) b/c the lenders have a high volume and can't attend to problems that pop up in the loan. I know 2 people last year who's sales fell through at the last minute last year with two different lenders at BOA b/c the lender overlooked and didn't disclose everything to the borrower until last minute and it was too late. There are other programs to consider where you will get better customer service and better rates. Also you can check out local banks that might be willing to work with you. If you are looking at real estate, as your agent for suggestions. And I wouldn't go with a 30 yr fixed unless you plan on staying there for the long term. I'd go for an arm b/c you'd probably move up in housing once you becoming an attending.