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How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

agv Posted:

How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

I am just curious. We would only be able to put 5% down and everyone is trying to talk us out of it and wait. Our lease is up soon on our current apt. and so instead of waiting and continuing to pay a pretty high rent we thought we would look into purchasing a home with less $$$ down. We know less $$ down will mean a much bigger monthly payment but since our rent is already up there is will not be that much more.

Just curious on people's experiences...did you find sellers/realtors /banks were less likelty to deal with you because of the smaller down payment.
kpny622 Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

so many people these days only put 5% down, or even 0% down! as long as your credit is really good you should have no problem with a bank.

as for the seller, they may not care if they want to sell the house - when it will come into play is if you are competing with another buyer who is putting more down, then perhaps the 10% down offer may be chosen

I think you are smart to try and buy now because prices will only go up and so a year from now, after saving some more, you still may only have 5% to put down due to the higher house prices!
DjPiLL Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

You also shouldn't overextend yourself either. Just because your lease will be up doesn't make it 'good' to go buy a house when you aren't ready.

Yes you can get a place with 5% down... but you will have to significantly outbid all the people out there offering 20% and such.

I know as a seller... if I had a choice between a buyer with 5% saved... and another with 20% saved... you damm well know I am taking the 20% offer.

StepherG Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

I bought a house and put 3% down. Do what's right for you and don't listen to anyone else!

laughinlala Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

Yes, you can do it . As long as you can afford the monthly payments and have good credit! Good luck! PS- I know quite a few people who have bought homes with less than 10% down!

agv Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

Thanks ladies....I appreciate the feedback. It is good to know others out there were able to do it. We have very good credit and have been talking about getting a house for awhile so I feel we are ready in every aspect but the big savings.... (such a minor detail right )

DjPiLL Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

Posted by agv

Thanks ladies....I appreciate the feedback. It is good to know others out there were able to do it. We have very good credit and have been talking about getting a house for awhile so I feel we are ready in every aspect but the big savings.... (such a minor detail right )




Just remember you also need money to put down (besides the 5%) for stuff like closing costs (thats another 3%).

You should also include a couple grand for immediate costs for the house which include your attorney, and immediate parts you need for the house, etc.
cluelessbride Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

We'll be putting less than 10% down.

soon2bMrs Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

We will be when we buy a house. We have a similar situation to you. DH was transferred overseas so all of our stuff is currently in storage and paid for by his company. When we come home we plan on staying at his house on Staten Island which is fully furnished. So either we pay the storage costs to his firm or we pay PMI on a house. So we have opted to pay PMI so at least we can start building equity in our own home.

septbride Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

You can do the 80/15/5 Mortgage to avoid PMI. I don't think people such away from people putting less than 20% down. Actually I think it's more common than not to put less than 20% down.

pinky424 Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

FH and I put 5% down on our condo. Our closing cost was about 5% too so you might need a total of 10%.

agv Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

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Just remember you also need money to put down (besides the 5%) for stuff like closing costs (thats another 3%).

You should also include a couple grand for immediate costs for the house which include your attorney, and immediate parts you need for the house, etc.


Yep you are right...we absolutely have considerred closing cost, etc....
It is when we crunched those numbers that we realized we would only be able to put 5% down in order to make it happen. We were warned about the fees that can creep up
casey31 Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

It's fine to put 5% down! Go for it- IMO it's always better to own than to rent. It sounds like you really looked into things and thought about a budget and can afford the mortgage, so there is no reason not to!
Valentinegirl Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

We put 5% down and paid our closing costs at closing.
kittyke Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

I agree you can get away with less than 10% down, however in our case, there was a bidding war, and we would not of won without the 10% down. Each scenario is different. Keep us posted! Good Luck!

MrsTC Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

we put down 5%. And in 6 months we were able to refinance and get rid of the PMI.

jags77 Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

We put 9% down - we had enough for 10% but Washington Mutual has some sort of program where you'd get a better rate if you meet with a person to go over mortgage terminology and all of that. It took about 30 minutes and DH didn't even have to go- we put less money down and got a better rate.

Just keep in mind that you need about $10K for closing costs.

Novem05 Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

Yes if the house we're negoiating comes through we're not putting down 10%. We rather the cash to fix it up the way we want it. I think it's very common not to put down 10%.

NPbride Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

Posted by MrsTC

we put down 5%. And in 6 months we were able to refinance and get rid of the PMI.


Do you have to pay closing costs again when you refinance to get rid of PMI? Thanks
Charly Posted:

Re: How many people put less than 10% down for a down payment?

We did an 80, 15, 5 with a sellers concession to roll the closing costs into the mortgage! So when all was said and done we only had to come up with 5% total plus attorney fee.

You don't have to pay closing costs up front - you can roll it into your mortgage. All you need is the sellers permission (there's no downside for them do it) It will increase your mortage payment - but honestly it was immaterial that I felt better keep the cash at the time and pay a tad bit more monthly.

THe only reason why you need the sellers permission is because you are borrowing more than the selling price and the seller just needs to acknowledge the are to only receive the agreed upon price and the bank gets the remainder of the loan for the closing costs.

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