If you are 31 years of age, and want to buy a house appx 150-225, is having 40k down enough??

Question

Would it require more than that, for just average credit scoring. IF not what do houses that price have for a down??

Answer 1

That should be more than enough to put down. What you really want to do is put down 20% of the cost of the house or more. This threshold allows you to avoid having to pay monthly PMI charges.

PMI stand for something like Private Mortgage Insurance. Basically, you are paying insurance to protect the lender from having you default on the loan. Interesting...the lender benefits from the insurance policy you are paying for..hmmm.

I don't know what the PMI would be for your house or how it is calculated. We bought a house a few years ago and didn't have the 20%. Our house cost 240k and we were paying just under $150 a month for PMI. If you think about it, that's alot.

We got rid of PMI by refinancing our house and proving that the equity in our house exceeded the 20% at that point. Then we could take the $150 that we were paying out and use it for something like paying down the house more or the kids college fund.

So, I think you have more than enough to put down for that kind of a house. I would highly advise putting the 20% down or more to avoid the PMI and avoid trying to get rid of the PMI after the fact....although it can be done.

Answer 2

You want to put 20% down, then you have closing costs too. If you are down low enough for a FHA loan, then it could be as low as 3%, but that would include a fee like a PMI each month. I think in your situation, based upon your salary qualifying as well, and credit being acceptable, you should talk to a loan person first, and then get pre-qualified. Then you will know the payment that fits your pocket book. You will also know the price range. It is not necessarily the amount you have down, unless you are putting 30% down, and would be considered not a high risk loan. The average is 20% down, and then the 10% is the higher risk loan, that you want to avoid. Sounds like you can be ok on the down payment, but you need to know how much you need to be making, and also the payment you are comfortable with. You should get with a reputable Realtor who can direct you to reputable loan people, because they deal with them on a regular basis. There are points and other fees that you do not know about, so they can explain all of that to you, which will be additional money to the actual 20% down. I would stay away from on-line people who say they can get you 0 down, etc., if it sounds like it is too good to be true, it usually is exactly that. Get with someone in your area that you can rely on and ask around for the best Realtor in your town.

Answer 3

Yes it is enough. It depends on how high you want your house payment to be. We put 20% down on a $200,000 house and our payments, which include home insurance, are $1,770/month. Check with your bank and ask to prequalify so you know what your down payment will be and how much your jpayments will be. Be sure to negotiate your interest rate so you don't end up paying more than you should. Check at more than one bank so you have some negotiating leverage and so you can go with the bank that gives you the best overall price.

Answer 4

Speaking as a nationally known credit and mortgage expert, you have more than enough for a down payment, so long as you can afford the loan amount.

Most of my buyer clients buy with 0% down. Of course, they have adequate income, credit and job history to qualify for these loans.

Call if you wish. I am licensed in 50 states and Canada.
Dave Peters 866-328-3738

Answer 5

10% is usually considered the minimum for a down payment but if you have a good, honest real estate agent, some creative financing can be done

Answer 6

That should be plenty