Reklamimi ne Parajsen ShqiptareModaParajsa Shqiptare ChatHoroskopi DitorShendetiAdvanced Teaching of Reliable Education - Worldwide EncyclopediaBioritmiKultureMuzikeSport
Parajsa.com Radio Parajsa - Zeri yne per ju Live!

How to Buy a Home Without a Down Payment





Mortgage rates are rising and it's becoming more difficult for a prospective buyer to save up for the necessary down payment. Fortunately, there are ways around this hurdle.

Although homebuyers were once required to put down 20% of the purchase price, those times are long gone. Generally, lenders now require 3 to 5 percent down. The problem then becomes how to save up for that 3 percent.

What many don't know is that they have several options for coming up with the money.

RETIREMENT SAVINGS

Most 401 (k) or Individual Retirement Accounts will allow people to borrow or withdraw money early. Doing so can be a good strategy for the home buyer. With a 401 (K), one can borrow up to $50,000 or 50 percent of the balance, whichever is less, and then repay a loan over five or more years, with interest. The added advantage is that this type of borrowing won't count as debt when a lender is assessing a person's qualifications for a loan. And there is also the possibility of getting better appreciation on money invested in real estate.

But, are there drawbacks from borrowing from a 401 K? There can be. For one thing, if the borrower quits or gets laid off from the job, he must repay the loan within 90 days or be subjected to penalties and taxes on the early disbursement.

GIFT MONEY

While borrowing against retirement savings is possible for people who were able to set money aside, there are many people who have little or no savings.

What many don't know is that some loan programs allow borrowers to use gift money to make down payments. This gift money must generally come from family members, spouses, domestic partners, or even nonprofits.

NONPROFITS

There are many nonprofit organizations, such as the Home Solution program, that help first-time borrowers. Sometimes the seller will pay 3 percent of the sale of the home, plus a fee, to the nonprofit. The organization then loans the buyer that 3 percent at closing time for use as the down payment. And the Federal Housing Administration generally insures both Gift and Non Profit Loans.

There are also programs run by nonprofits to help low-to-moderate-income people purchase homes. One such program is the Habitat for Humanity, which requires buyers to contribute by working on their own home as well as the homes of others.

Additionally, housing finance agencies in many states offer special loan programs for low- to moderate-income buyers. Fannie Mae, the biggest buyer of mortgages, offers loans through housing finance agencies that require down payments of as little as 1 percent or $500, whichever is less.

NO-DOWN and LOW-DOWN

Another option available is the no- and low-down payment loans. These types of loans, however, have the disadvantage of requiring costly mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance benefits the lender in cases where a borrower defaults on the loan.

But, there are ways around this hurdle. A person can avoid mortgage insurance by getting a "piggyback loan." A piggyback is a home equity loan borrowed on top of a primary mortgage. For example, one could put 5 percent down, get a primary mortgage for 80 percent of the home's price, and a higher-interest home equity loan for 15 percent of the price.

In one example, a couple made a 5 percent down payment from the proceeds of a previous home, got a 20-year home equity loan for 15 percent of the purchase price, and a 30-year mortgage for 80 percent of the price. The piggyback loan allowed them to avoid buying the mortgage insurance. While the payments on the second mortgage are roughly the same as what they would have been paying toward mortgage insurance, they can deduct the interest expense on their income taxes. And so there's the added benefit that the piggyback loan is working for them, not the lender.

THE UNORTHODOX

Some African and Caribbean cultures use the unorthodox method of forced savings known as the susu. In the susu plan, a group of people use peer pressure to compel each other to save. They pool their money and then distribute it among themselves, periodically, such as on a monthly basis.

For example, a dozen people might contribute $500 each into the pool every month for a year. In the first month, one person gets $6,000. The next month, the next person gets $6,000, and so on. At the end of the year, each person has both contributed, and received, $6,000.

There are many options out there for getting around the down payment hurdle. Ultimately, the borrower must decide what method is most suitable to his needs.

Genesis Font is an SEO and Developer for LoansInteractive.com > Mortgage and Loan Officer Websites. We also offer Quality Web Hosting Services.


MORE RESOURCES:

Examiner.com

Beware of mortgage refinance ripoffs
Examiner.com - 12 hours ago
by Tom Mackinnon, Dallas Personal Finance Examiner With mortgage interest rates at all-time lows (my company has 30 year fixed rates as low as 4.25% at the ...


BBC News

Is It Time To Refinance Your Mortgage?
Forbes, NY - Jan 8, 2009
Falling rates and a friendly Fed mean good things for homeowners. But there's a catch. Looking to refinance your mortgage? Do it now. ...
Mortgage Rates At 37- Year Low WHIZ
Refinancing suddenly booms Honolulu Advertiser
all 34 news articles


Cardoza proposal could aid housing crisis
Stockton Record, CA - 17 hours ago
By Bruce Spence Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, has a plan to reverse the housing crisis and boost the economy: a 4 percent interest rate on fixed-rate, ...


Waco banks seeing a boom in mortgage refinance applications
Waco Tribune Herald, TX - Jan 2, 2009
By Mike Copeland With mortgage rates hitting record lows, Mary Jo Teakell is seeing a growing backlog of refinance applications. “We’re quite busy right now ...
Borrowers seeking to refinance may face challenges WTOP
all 15 news articles


Situations determine refinancing
FayObserver.com, NC - Jan 7, 2009
By Hilary Kraus It depends on your situation. How much do you still owe? How long do you expect to stay in your home? Are lower payments a priority? ...


Mortgage Refinance Loans
Kitchener, Ontario Canada, Canada - Dec 31, 2008
The City of Kitchener is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. ...


St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mortgage Refinance Online
PWO, France - Dec 17, 2008
If you want to consolidate debt or get cash to pay for home improvements, you can apply for a mortgage refinance online that offers you a cash back option, ...
Video: Record low mortgage rates ReutersVideo
Mortgage Rate Hits 37-Year Low Wall Street Journal
all 864 news articles


Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance Loan- 3 Most Important Items to Get ...
CrunchGear, NY - Dec 23, 2008
Ultimately if you are looking to do a bad credit mortgage refinance loan you need to keep several things in mind to ensure that you don’t get taken for a ...


TopNews

Question & Answer on mortgage refinancing
Boston Herald, United States - Jan 1, 2009
By Holden Lewis / Bankrate.Com With mortgage rates at historic lows, lots of homeowners are debating whether to refinance their mortgages these days. ...
Don't miss the mortgage refinance window Barre Montpelier Times Argus
A toast to low mortgage rates MarketWatch
Applications Show Refi Wear-Out? Housing Wire
all 457 news articles


Are points a good buy on refinancings right now?
WalletPop, VA - Jan 5, 2009
During the housing boom, my wife and I probably got at least a dozen solicitations a month from banks wanting us to refinance our mortgage or borrow against ...

Mortgage-Refinance - Google News

Parajsa Shqiptare