buying a home

For those of you who have bought a home, or who are thinking of buying one after the wedding...

Do you know approximately how much cash you need in order to make a down payment and for closing costs?

Am currently having a debate with FH

We want to wait till after our wedding and use all gift money for a down payment... is this realistic?

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Posted by FutureMcBride

For those of you who have bought a home, or who are thinking of buying one after the wedding...

Do you know approximately how much cash you need in order to make a down payment and for closing costs?

Am currently having a debate with FH

We want to wait till after our wedding and use all gift money for a down payment... is this realistic?

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As per the experts i spoke to you need at least 10% down for the home---- assuming you will be approved for a mortgage for the remaining amount. But if you are only approved for example for 80% of your house cost--- then you need to come up with 20%. HTH.

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Posted by HoosierCouple

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Posted by FutureMcBride

For those of you who have bought a home, or who are thinking of buying one after the wedding...

Do you know approximately how much cash you need in order to make a down payment and for closing costs?

Am currently having a debate with FH

We want to wait till after our wedding and use all gift money for a down payment... is this realistic?

---

As per the experts i spoke to you need at least 10% down for the home---- assuming you will be approved for a mortgage for the remaining amount. But if you are only approved for example for 80% of your house cost--- then you need to come up with 20%. HTH.

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Yeah- that's similar to what I've been told as well.
The more a house is, expect to more $$ down. When we closed, it was definitely over 60k that we had put down.

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Posted by JennylovesStephen

You also have to remember closing cost but you can always do a seller concession and add them into your mortgage instead of coming out of pocket for them if you have any question you can fm me im a realtor ill be more then happy to answer any for you

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thanks so much!!! sending you FM

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Posted by JennylovesStephen

It all depends on the loan you get if you get an FHA loan you can put as low as 3.5% down. And it also depends on the price of the house

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Best advice. We bought our house in March with an FHA loan. Put 3.5% down and seller agreed to pay closing costs. Because we didn't put everything down we were able to redo the whole first floor including kitchen. It was an awesome experience!!!

just keep in mind if you don't put 20% down you have to pay PMI, which can hit hard.

I would say, have about 30% of the house cost ready in cash to cover down payment, closing costs, and any incedentals that first month of living (ie moving costs, cleaning supplies, paint etc.)

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Posted by Tink1118

just keep in mind if you don't put 20% down you have to pay PMI, which can hit hard.

I would say, have about 30% of the house cost ready in cash to cover down payment, closing costs, and any incedentals that first month of living (ie moving costs, cleaning supplies, paint etc.)

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whats PMI????

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Posted by haitianbeautie

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Posted by Tink1118

just keep in mind if you don't put 20% down you have to pay PMI, which can hit hard.

I would say, have about 30% of the house cost ready in cash to cover down payment, closing costs, and any incedentals that first month of living (ie moving costs, cleaning supplies, paint etc.)

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whats PMI????

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Private mortgage insurance

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Posted by FutureMcBride

Well FH has been trying to convince me that we should move in with my parents to save money.. he keeps insisting that we will need at least 60000 cash to buy a home.

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Sounds about right depending how much you want to put down, your closing cost and remember you have to furnish the house too which adds up fast.

You can do a FHA loan where you can put less money down but you'll pay an PMI fee but you can always absorb that into you loan. If you do a convenional loan you need a minimum of 10% down. So if the house if 400K, you'll need at least $40K down + closing cost. Closing cost, i'm only talking from experience so don't quote me but i'd say $10-$15K.

I tell my friends buying a house was an adventure... There was soo many ups and downs. I don't look forward to moving again for a while!

We just bought an apartment, so I'm not sure if the same rules apply for a home - but banks are really strict lately about who they approve, so my guess is the more financially stable you are and have more to put down the better position you'll need to be in.

We had to put down 20% down payment as a requierement. For homes, I believe you can put down less, but as others have said you will be paying PMI which can be a few hundred a month.

As far as closing costs, I think it depends on the lender and of course the final price. Ours was I think around 3% of the final price - which included costs from the bank, lawyer, etc.