Autumn is a popular time for new home buyers to start looking for their first house or condo. But with that down payment looming, everybody could use a bit of help saving up to make that bulk payment a little less intimidating. There are plenty of unconventional ways...
Down Payments
Mortgage Myths: Here’s Why You Don’t Need a Full 20 Percent Down Payment
If you're just getting into the real estate market, you may have heard that 20% down is the ideal percentage in order to lower your monthly payments and get your mortgage application approved. However, while 20% is often suggested, many people struggle to come up with...
How to Calculate Your True Cost of Living and Determine How Much of a Home You Can Afford
A monthly mortgage can seem like enough of a financial responsibility on its own, but there are many factors involved in home ownership that affect its fiscal feasibility. If you're in the market for a house and are wondering how your income will stack up against the...
Buying a New Home? Learn How the ‘Conforming Loan Limit’ Might Affect Your Purchase
From mortgage to equity to debt-to-income ratio, there are many terms associated with home ownership that can be quite confusing if you've never been on the market for a home before. 'Conforming loan limit' may be a less familiar real estate term than the rest, but...
Everything You Need to Know About Fannie Mae’s New Home Ready Mortgage
Traditionally, getting a mortgage requires you to have a level of income appropriate to the size of home that you're buying. But for a lot of low-income and minority borrowers, a simple measure of one person's income isn't an accurate measure of whether or not that...
5, 10, 20 Percent or More? How to Determine How Big of a Down Payment You Need
Whether or not you're new to real estate, there's little doubt that you've heard the term down payment as it relates to purchasing a home. There's a lot of different information out there in regards to how much this figure should be and it can be hard to determine...
3 ‘Must Know’ Pieces of Advice for First-time Home Buyers
When delving into the realities of home ownership, there can be many factors involved that make it difficult to determine what you need to know and what can wait until later. If you happen to be a first-time buyer who's looking for the best tips for purchasing a home,...
Mortgages 101: How to Calculate How Much You Will Need for Your Down Payment
If you're planning to buy a home in the near future, you're probably already in the process of saving up for a down payment. But if you haven't seen a mortgage advisor or started looking at properties yet, you probably don't have a good idea of what a down payment...
Can You Give a Relative a Gift of Cash for a Mortgage Down Payment? Yes – Here’s How
A new house is a major investment. Even if you have a mortgage, the bank and the seller will still expect a sizeable down payment. That's why lots of people regularly gift down payments to friends and relatives - it's a great way to help young people start out on the...
Saving Up for Your Down Payment? Try These Money-Saving Tips To Speed Things Up
One of the most significant challenges that many people face when preparing to buy a first home relates to saving money for a down payment. While there are many different loan programs with varying down payment requirements, the fact is that it can still be difficult...