How much should I pun down on a house?

Question

How much should I save up for a down payment on a house? I’m thinking about getting one that’s no more than $150,000.

Answer 1

You definately will want to accumulate about $35,000 for your intent to purchase a $150,000 house. If you don't have the cash, then try to do a loan from a family member. Do it as a private loan (but do it with proper paperwork); maybe from mom 7 dad at a 1% interest rate or something. You'll also need about $5,000 for various closing costs. That will leave you with a 80% mortgage of $120,000 and the 2nd step is to figure out what the monthly payments will be for a 30 year fixed mortgage or an adjustable (I don't like them)....be sure to have your property taxes taken-out in escrow automatically, especially if you're the kind of person who can't be self-discaplined to save-up for the tax payments.

Answer 2

It is common these days to get two loans, one big one (80% of home value) and one smaller (10-20% of home value). The big loan is not impacted in this scenario.

The small loan is essentially covering the 20% you need to put down to avoid PMI which is mortgage insurance. The small loan will have a higher interest rate and will vary based on your credit scores and how much you put down.

I do not recommend putting 'as much as you can' down, because if something goes wrong like loosing a job, etc, you might be in a foreclosure situation early into ownership. I like to have a buffer in case something unexpected happens.

I recommend an 80/15/5: big loan covers 80%, small loan covers 15% and you put down 5%. This means you will put down $7.5K and will hopefully have some $ left over that can cover a few months of mortgage and other things you may need. (appliances, etc)

Don't forget that closing costs could run $3-4K for this size loan as well.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Down payments on houses are generally 20% of the price of the house. You should put down at least $30,000 before committing to a purchase, or else the mortgage will be higher and you will be paying more in interest in the long run.

Answer 4

As in previous answers, 20% will get you the lowest interest rate. However, you can get up to 100% and you do not have to pay MFI or whatever the other answer stated. I am a real estate loan expert. If you'd like more info you can call me at 562-818-6404 or reach me by the email below.
Debbie

Answer 5

THE MORE YOU PUT DOWN THE BETTER INTEREST RATE YOU WILL GET. ON FIRST TIME BUYERS PROGRAMS THEY ASK FOR 0%, 3%, OR 5%. NOW IF YOU WANT A NO DOCUMENT LOAN (BAD OR NO CREDIT) THEY ASK FOR 20%. IF THIS IS A SECOND OR THIRD HOME AND YOU ARE DOING IT TO FLIP IT OR RENT IT THEY MAY ASK FOR 15%-20% DOWN BECAUSE ITS A COMMERCIAL LOAN.

Answer 6

Well if you wanna avoid paying M.F.I., then you need to put 20% of the value of the house down

Answer 7

Put down as little as possible. That way you free up your cash to invest in more liquid investments and possibly make a greater return.

Answer 8

20% would be good.

Would you consider delaying your plan for 6 months? You probably save about 5% or 10%.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/15/real_estate/Metro_home_prices_fall/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/23/news/economy/homesales/index.htm

Answer 9

You should put down as much as you can. Also, if you put down 20% or more you won't have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Answer 10

Was going to answer this but you already got the answers
20 % if you don't wont to pay PMI