Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

CN'TWAIT Posted: May 07, 2003 11:48 PM

Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

It seems that on Long Island the average house is going for about a half mil...The way I figure it I need to come up with about 80 thousand dollars for a down payment...

Sunny Posted: May 07, 2003 11:48 PM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

That's all??? JK- I live in mom's basement!

dgtlsunshine Posted: May 07, 2003 11:52 PM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

I will never complain about prices down here again. I am in Northern VA. I am sure they have programs where you don't have to put so much down though.

NovBride Posted: May 07, 2003 11:58 PM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

Yeah Right...I'll be happy if I can afford rent somewhere. You know what I'll be happy if I can afford the wedding...

violetfairy Posted: May 08, 2003 05:31 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

C'NTWAIT: FI and I didn't pay anywhere NEAR that for our house. Depends on what towns you're looking at, of course.

Becky Posted: May 08, 2003 07:21 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

On LI? No way can I afford that. Luckily for me I live in MD. FH and I are planning on using all of the money we receive from the wedding (plus a few months of savings) towards a down payment.

However, we still are not going to put 20% down. We are too eager to buy right now. But what we are going to do is take out an 80% first mortgage and a 10% second mortgage/home equity loan. That way we only have to put 10% down and we can still avoid PMI. The second loan will have a higher interest rate, but we have been quoted 6.2% which is not too bad.

I am not sure if that helps you, but I hope it does

soon2bmrs2004 Posted: May 08, 2003 07:29 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

LI is sooooo expensive. You don't have to put down that much and there are some affordable housing. It depends on the town.

julybride444 Posted: May 08, 2003 08:19 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

nope...we live in Brooklyn and want to buy here, but have to see where we're going to grad school. Plus, we have to pay off the wedding first. My FH's sister and her husband lived at home for a 3 year engagement just to end up buying a $250K house out east. It's not easy. We want a brownstone in Brooklyn....about 1.5mil..... Maybe we'll buy a small apt. first since rents are outrageous anyway

jenny2penny Posted: May 08, 2003 08:21 AM

x

WithThisRing Posted: May 08, 2003 08:23 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

Florida all the way.

some builders have no down payment and no money at closing programs. Friends of ours did that 2 years ago and they have absolutly no problems with there house.

other builders have different morgage plans.

the house we are considering with all the upgrades we want is 155K. At its base price, meaning no upgrades is 112.

Its sick.

I cant wait to be living in FL

itsbouttime Posted: May 08, 2003 08:27 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

Unfortunately not while planning a wedding! Will need to wait til afterwards to buy one. I wish we could move off of LI and out of NY. But FH has to live in NY for his job. It's crazy expensive this island!!!

dgtlsunshine Posted: May 08, 2003 08:29 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

I want to go to Florida

In northern VA we are buying new and the builder is covering closing cost. Thank the Lord for that. We only have to worry about escrow money. We are buying a town home and that high 200s. Now a single family in my area starts at 400k I don't want that mortgage. I am too young for the stress

1.5 mil it would be renting here I come

WithThisRing Posted: May 08, 2003 08:36 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

I cant wait to go to FL. All the houses are built for you. They take about 6 - 8 months to build. Everything is built into your morgage (home owners insurance, taxes). This is what makes me sick, our friends morgage is LESS then NY rent. There car insurance for the year in full coverage is what our downpayment was for the premium on just liability.

Houses up here are too expensive. The most expensive house we saw in FL was 175 base. With all the upgrades it was about 225. This house was HUGE. 30 foot rooms, cathedral ceilings, built in wall unit, built in counter and grill in the lanai, 3 full bathrooms, 5 bedrooms, tile floors, whirlpool tub and so many other upgrades.

the house we want is 4 bed 3 bath, 20 foot rooms and cathedral ceilings. (all appliances are included except washer and dryer but the hook up is there)

If we were to buy a house in NY we would be saving till we are 90

smooch Posted: May 08, 2003 08:42 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

It's really hard. FH and I saved for a long time for both the wedding and the house, but we knew we wanted to stay on LI. You don't really have to put 20% down. We didn't. Some people take out two loans: one is the mortgage for 80% and the other is a regular loan so that the down paymen meets 20%. We didn't do that. We put minimal down and have a big mortgage but we really wanted to stay on LI. After the wedding, the money we have been saving for the wedding will go toward the mortgage so we can pay it off in less than 30 years.

If you are REALLY REALLY disciplined, you can do it. We've had to cut back on entertainment expenses. We go to the movies twice a year: Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings. We don't spend a lot on clothes, and only when there is a great sale. We don't go out to eat. If we want a special dinner, we make it special but still eat at home. It's hard bc there are many things we want to do, but it'll have to wait until we win the lotto!

kelly6273 Posted: May 08, 2003 08:50 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

40 year mortages are becoming popular now because of this. Maybe you should look into that. That way, instead of putting 80 down, you just be paying for it until your 80 instead...

WithThisRing Posted: May 08, 2003 08:54 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

I think that part scares me a little. I dont want to be paying a morgage till I am 70. Great 70 years old and I can finally enjoy my house. Just bury me in the backyard.

Anniegrl Posted: May 08, 2003 08:56 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

NO, we could not have afforded a down payment! We literally have maybe a few thousand dollars saved between us. Luckily FH is former military, so he got a V.A. loan with no money down (except for earnest money) and 6%.
Plus, we got -1 points at closing! I'd never heard of minus points before. Our closing costs came out to almost nothing, so we were super lucky.....

kelly6273 Posted: May 08, 2003 09:05 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

Chip...

I feel the same way!

MichelleW Posted: May 08, 2003 09:12 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

There are ways to buy a house with out the traditional down payment. Other options are financing through FHA, which only requires 3% down and through Fannie Mae programs.

The only downside is you will have to pay PMI

Marnles Posted: May 08, 2003 09:17 AM

Re: Is anyone able to afford a downpayment for a house?

In regards to paying a mortgage, just keep in mind, if you pay 13 payments a year rather than 12 on a 30 year mortgage, you can knock like 6-7 years off the mortgage...if you make 2 or 3 extra payments a year (I think that's the number), you knock like 16 years off!! We just found that out from our mortgage company...so we will probably take our tax refunds each year to put towards an extra payment each year. But not this year - this year that money is going towards a new car, being that mine is breaking down!

LI prices are ridiculous. But my DH really wanted to stay here, so we bought a house that just 3 years ago sold for 200,000, and we purchased for over 300,000!! But they did do a lot of work to it, and our friend is an appraiser and check out other homes in the area, and we paid the right amount. You will have to deal with PMI if you dont put 20%, which we couldn't possibly put down, but unfortunately once you start paying PMI, it's not easy to get rid of it. And it's like setting your money on fire, cause it goes NOWHERE - not towards the principal, interest, nothing!!