Short/No Credit History Mortgage?

It is certainly possible you could get approved, but would probably be required to put a nice chunk of change down. Basically you have 2 pieces of credit (1 being an authorized user revolving account) and a gas card. You need to continue to build credit. Open up a small installment loan. Perhaps do a share secured loan. Continue to build credit.

Why do you say that?

Hadn't looked into the small installment loan as a way to build credit. Had just kept applying and getting denied for a credit card (like 5x in 6 months) I'll look into the loan idea.

With FHA loans you get stuck with PMI and you'll have to pay a year of it up front at closing. With the new rules on FHA loans you'll have to redo with another loan to get out of paying PMI. More closing costs to deal with. Additionally the 3.5% down can be misleading. I had my closer work up a few huds and I could bring in less money at closing with a 5% down payment and no PMI required through a credit union. In fact the money I had to bring in at closing wasn't far behind the 10% down payment at the credit union. I went that route. Rate was slightly higher but I started with 10% equity as opposed to 3.5% and no PMI so my monthly obligations are lower as well. FHA loans take longer to close on as well. A lot of government rwd tape.

I'd advise you stay far away from that terrible idea.

Assuming the interest rate is not outrageous, it sounds like you found a very good deal. But a bank or credit union offering 95% LTV and no PMI (even on a nonconforming inhouse mortgage) is not typical. So that doesn't make the FHA 203b a "terrible idea" in general terms. It just doesn't match what you got. To get the loan that you got, I'll assume that your credit score is above average and your employment history is established. That's not the situation that the OP is in. But if he can find a product similar to the one that you found, I'd say go for it... without hesitation.

If he can't find that, I'd suggest working with a banker and/or agent who specializes in first time home buyer programs. There is/was a program in my state which combined a state program with FHA, and it was quite lenient on credit score, debt/income ratios, employment history and downpayment source of funds. The FHA MIP is just the cost of doing business on a low downpayment loan. It was there when I got my first FHA loan roughly 30 years ago, and to the best of my knowledge, not much has changed in regard to that aspect of the program. A lot of other things have (like assumability, etc.), I'm sure. But whatever he does, always shop around. Many states have some excellent first time homebuyer programs.

Good luck. And happy shopping.

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shouldn't I just be able to get a credit card at that bank if I secure it with my savings account

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Not all institutions offer secured credit cards. My wife (GF at the time) had zero credit and was looking to build some. She applied for regular credit card at Capital One and she was denied. I had her immediately call customer service and they set her up with a secured credit card using the same credit pull. She sent them a check for $59 (could've been up to $200) to put in a savings account for collateral against her secured credit card with a $200 credit limit. 6 or 12 months later she applied for a regular credit card with a different institution and got approved with a $2200 limit. Fast forward 5 years later she has 3 cards total (including the original secured one) and a mortgage with a 750+ score. It's a slow process but starting out with a secured card is not a bad start, especially if you get denied for a non-secured card.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Capital One, I just know they still offer secured cards.

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To get the loan that you got, I'll assume that your credit score is above average and your employment history is established.

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I suppose. I think when the bank officially ran my credit it was in the 740 range which is above average but nothing spectacular

I had some relatively new lines of credit that were bringing down my score

There really should be a filter on who can give information or some kind of verification.

There is so much incorrect in these threads on mortgages. Just like marriage, just because you bought a house doesnt make you an expert