Back to the Sooner State

May 12, 2008 12:42 PM

What should a Florida teacher know about buying a home (i.e., getting a mortgage) in Oklahoma?

I'm just about to finish my first year of teaching in Florida, after which my husband and I are moving to Oklahoma, where I'm originally from. We'll be crashing with my mother for a couple of months until we find a home to buy. My questions are:

1. Do I need to secure a teaching position in OK before I can start looking for a house to buy, or will mortgage lenders rely on my prior proof of income (FL paycheck stubs)?

2. What else do I need to know about this whole process? Any general advice about making this move?

posted by Edelweiss to home & garden (6 comments total)

1. You'll need to secure a position before buying.

2. If you haven't done so yet, save money for a down payment. You'll need at least 3% for an FHA or 5% for a conventional mortgage. The days of the no down payment loans are gone for a while.
posted by curlyelk at 1:56 PM on May 12

You might need more than 5% for a conventional mortgage in some cases.

Housing prices in Tulsa have been going up, as have Oklahoma City's. They're still pretty low over all. Rest of the state has been flat or declining, though the smaller towns around Tulsa and OKC are big-time bedroom communities now.

OHFA offers low-interest mortgages for teachers through OHFA Advantage. If you end up in Tulsa, Tulsa Teachers Credit Union writes mortgages for teachers.

Finally, if you have a tribal affiliation and are going to be teaching on tribal lands, you can try a Section 184 loan, which will get you in with a 2.25% down payment and a federal guarantee.
posted by dw at 4:17 PM on May 12

The down payment isn't an issue - we're planning to put down between 20 and 30%.

I guess I was just hoping we could jump right into something, as the thought of living with my mom for an extended period of time makes me cringe a bit. But it seems that I'll have to wait around until the state comes through with my certification and then deal with the job search before we can do anything. Ugh.
posted by Edelweiss at 4:24 PM on May 12

Get a loan in OK while you still have the job in Florida. Sooner, rather than later.
posted by yohko at 5:18 PM on May 12

Yohko - I can do that? How would that work?
posted by Edelweiss at 6:41 AM on May 13

Sorry, it took so long to get back to this - had to go friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend to get direct experience. However:

If you want to go the credit union route in Oklahoma City, the consensus pick is the Oklahoma Educators Credit Union. They offer mortgages and loans to members - you become a member by applying in person with proof of your current or former educator status and opening a savings account (minimum deposit: $5). The employee I spoke to said that they've recently changed policy to include out-of-state educators. Specifically, they would be happy to offer membership to a recently-arrived Florida educator seeking a local teaching job, and would at least entertain a loan proposal. I'm mefimailing you the lady's contact information if you want to pursue it further.
posted by ormondsacker at 12:37 PM on May 20