When to put a downpayment?

ok...I'm trying to get a clear picture about the whole process...

my aunt was telling me a horror story about a couple who put down $20K, and then he lost his job...
she said the sellers felt bad about the whole situation and wanted to do the right thing and give it back...it just got me wondering about the whole process...

We didn't put our down payment in until we closed.... We gave the title company our check that covered our down payment as well as our closing costs.

Amy

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Posted by LIBrideinBWI

We didn't put our down payment in until we closed.... We gave the title company our check that covered our down payment as well as our closing costs.

Amy

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You're kidding?? I thought the downpayment was given well before closing???

We put 1/2 when we singed the contract
the other 1/2 at closing with closing costs!

BUT my BIL was buying a house and his FW lost her job and they had to pull out...they lost the money the put down when they signed the contract..5000!

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Posted by oct.2004bride

We put 1/2 when we singed the contract
the other 1/2 at closing with closing costs!

BUT my BIL was buying a house and his FW lost her job and they had to pull out...they lost the money the put down when they signed the contract..5000!

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wow...sorry to hear that...you would think the sellers would have a heart due to the circumstances and give it back... guess everyone's different.

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Posted by MrsERod

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Posted by oct.2004bride

We put 1/2 when we singed the contract
the other 1/2 at closing with closing costs!

BUT my BIL was buying a house and his FW lost her job and they had to pull out...they lost the money the put down when they signed the contract..5000!

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wow...sorry to hear that...you would think the sellers would have a heart due to the circumstances and give it back... guess everyone's different.

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yea you would think that!

They have theri new house now so all is well

we put 5% at contract, and 15% at closing.

We put down half at contract and half at closing as well as closing costs.
However usually you are supposed to put more down at contract. The people we bought our house fom were sooo nice and knew we were qualified and serious, so they we happy w/ half, but their attorney would have liked more, but basically they didn't agree w/ the attorney and told us to just out down half (they were so sweet!!). We were told that the only way we would lose the money we put down at contract was if we backed out of the deal. If the sellers backed out or if the bank didn't give us the mortgage then the money on contract is refundable. Check w/ your attorney and broker about it though.

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Posted by MrsERod

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Posted by LIBrideinBWI

We didn't put our down payment in until we closed.... We gave the title company our check that covered our down payment as well as our closing costs.

Amy

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You're kidding?? I thought the downpayment was given well before closing???

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I guess maybe they do things differently down here in Maryland. We did give a good faith deposit of $3000 with our offer - but we weren't required to do that - it just made our offer more attractive. We weren't required to put anything down until the day we closed, and all paperwork was signed.

Amy

you negotiate with the seller how much to put down at contract - usually 1/2 of your downpayment but since house prices are so high now, many sellers (like mine) may take less, and the rest at closing

the contract has a contingency that says if you can't get a mortgage, then the contract ends and you get the downpayment back - chances are if someone loses their job, a bank is not going to give them a mortgage anyway