https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:07:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-21326 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:20:38 +0000 LuLu Mom 21326@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 10% I believe (it's been awhile) but we both wish we would have put down more! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-21320 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:17:53 +0000 HabesBabe 21320@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 5% I think, Plus closing costs and everything, it added up to one pretty penny! But now we're screwed paying PMI until we get to around 22% equity. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-20837 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:06:48 +0000 tequiero21 20837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we put down zero, but that was 6 years ago before the bubble popped and we got a "doctor's loan".... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17885 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:28:43 +0000 yoursilverlining 17885@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Totally know what you mean, I would not want all/almost all my money tied into my home. I guess you guys just have to find the happy medium between 20% and 50% - or find a way for that extra 30% your husband wants to put down to make additional interest, so it makes financial sense not to dump it into the home via the downpayment! ;-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17868 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:22:42 +0000 looch 17868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: we did the same thing. we've easily got the 20%, we could have 50% if we did some serious belt tightening in the next year. I just don't want to tie up the money if we don't have to, YKWIM? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17862 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:20:21 +0000 yoursilverlining 17862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Looch,</p> <p>Its great you are thinking of these things! We’ve had several friends/cousins get in trouble because they spent all their savings on a home (or purchased where they could afford to make the mortgage, but not make mortgage + save each month), and get into trouble with the home repairs you describe.</p> <p>What we do, which might work for you, is we have a separate bank account just for the home. We put about $3k in it to start, and then we deposit a set amount from our paychecks each month, so there is always a cushion of money that is strictly for the house. If something big were to come up, we know we have money set aside specifically for that issue, and don’t have to worry about how to come up with the $, or worry about wiping out other savings.</p> <p>Good luck with your search! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17846 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:03:01 +0000 looch 17846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone for chiming in. You've all given me a lot to think about. I used to be more familiar with the mortgage loan business, but it's been awhile since I worked in that particular area and I've been abroad for a bit, so I feel out of touch.</p> <p>I am planning that this is our forever home, I hope we can first find something that meets our requirements. Then, we have to basically start from scratch in furnishing it as we're selling everything we own so we can move easier and cheaper. I figure it's cheaper to just buy everything new rather than pay to ship it.</p> <p>I really want to avoid PMI and we'll have to pay our property taxes quarterly. What makes me anxious is having something go wrong with the house, like a sudden leaky roof or a burnt out boiler and having to do major repairs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17816 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:43:09 +0000 sugar 17816@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We hope to put down 10%. I think it depends on where you live- there is NO way we could afford 50% where we live. I think 20% is the perfect amount. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17784 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:12:21 +0000 PitBulLover 17784@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We haven't bought a home yet, but my coworker just closed on her house and they put down 0% with an FHA loan. I think it's ideal (and awesome) to put down 20%. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17700 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:10:35 +0000 DillonLion 17700@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 0%...The area we bought in was doing incentives to get people to move there. The sellers paid the closing costs and we took ownership of the house a month before they moved out. So, they paid us rent for a month.</p> <p>So, we actually made money when we bought our house. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17693 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:04:16 +0000 808love 17693@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did 3.5 FHA as well. It got us into an affordable (for this neighborhood) home faster. Our mantra was no paying rent..instead we pay a little bit of the PMInsurance that adds to the cost of the home...but again, no paying rent. With our extra money, we are saving for a car. I advise you to cut out any extra (frivolous) expenses now...you will find lots of things you need in the future. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17692 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:03:35 +0000 Mrs. Marbles 17692@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 20% so that we would have some money for renovations. It depends on your financial situation, but it may be good to talk to a financial adviser before deciding. We have a few friends who are advisers by profession so it was free. Also, you can usually go on finance advice sites like Charles Schwaab or Fidelity for some general tips. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17670 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:28:42 +0000 yoursilverlining 17670@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would (and we did) put down 20% to avoid PMI and also to really jumpstart your way to building equity in your home. Putting down more would really depend on your total liquid cash/savings situation – I would not recommend putting down 50% if that would mean putting down all of your savings. Homes are cash-drains; no matter what condition they will need some repairs and you’ll want to make sure to have plenty of cash on hand if/when something comes up. I would also not deplete savings completely since you are or will be on 1 income, in case something happens that would require a larger cash purchase (i.e., substantial car repairs/replacement, medical issues, etc.).</p> <p>Don't forget to factor in insurance and taxes into your plan for a future mortgage payment, taxes especially migth up what you pay each month by several hundred (or thousand) dollars, depending on where you live. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17669 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:25:35 +0000 Shutterbug 17669@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down zero percent, because we were young and had hardly any savings, but this was almost 5 years ago. My how things have changed in the housing market! Although at least we were smart enough to get a 30 yr fixed and not some crazy ARM. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17667 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:18:40 +0000 Weagle 17667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 20%... we're cheap and were not about to waste money on PMI. I suggest saving the 30% as a buffer... though our mortgage is about the same as our rent was, buying a house has definitely proved to be more expensive every month. You can always use it for new furniture or appliances :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17661 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:57:38 +0000 twinmama 17661@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think 20% is a fantastic down payment. If you can comfortably put down 50%, there's also nothing wrong with that, but it's really not necessary. However, I'd definitely recommend putting 20% down, and then keeping the rest as a buffer in your savings. From what I know, the higher your down payment, the better interest rate you can get....but I'm not sure it would improve much after hitting 20%.</p> <p>As for us. Hubby put around 20% down on our current home, and we have a 15 year mortgage. I have to say, if you can afford it, it's an amazing thing to know we'll have our mortgage and heloc paid in full sometime between age 35-40. On our investment property, we're putting down 20% again, but really just because all the banks require it :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17657 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:51:01 +0000 mrsjyw 17657@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It depends on if this is your forever home. If it is, then I can see the benefit in a huge down payment and paying off the mortgage faster. However, I think it's smarter to do the 20% down to avoid mortgage insurance.</p> <p>We put down 10% on an FHA loan, which was a mistake. We probably should've just put the minimum required 3.5% and had the extra cash on hand... we didn't think about it until afterwards. We still pay PMI insurance and don't have the extra cash in our savings! Oh well, lesson learned. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17632 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:40:00 +0000 Adira 17632@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You guys are killing me, haha. We put down 3.5%. With conventional loans, I believe you need to put down at least 10%. Once you hit 20%, you don't have to pay PMI anymore. We got an FHA loan, which allowed us to just put down 3.5%. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17625 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:25:17 +0000 Mrs. Sunglasses 17625@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For us, we put 5% which is the minimum (but had insurance to pay on that seeing we weren't putting down 20%)<br /> If you can go with a 15 year mortgage go for it!!!<br /> When we are renewing we are reducing our # of years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17611 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:34:27 +0000 Andrea 17611@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We wanted to make the monthly payments about equivalent to what we had been paying in rent and in order for that to happen we put down 40%. We live in New York so it's very expensive. The majority of our monthly payments is made up of the property tax amount so that kinda stinks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17606 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:05:37 +0000 mediagirl 17606@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd say put down 20%. If you have 50%, get a 15 year mortgage and use that extra 30%to help with the larger payments. You'll be mortgage free in no time! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17604 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:51:20 +0000 winniebee 17604@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 15% and would have put down 20% I'd we has had the cash. With 20% we could have gotten an even netter rate than we got. I agree with Ksnow though, with interest rates where they ate, no need to tie up 50% (unless you really have the cash to spare). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17601 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:47:23 +0000 ksnow 17601@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put down 10%. I would definetly lean towards 20%. With such low interest rates right now, there's not much benefit of tying up that extra 30%. Also, if you look at some online mortgage calcuators, you might see that it's your best bet to put down 20% and then just make some accelerated payments (going directly towards principal) will put you in an even better place (less interest over the life of the loan). That way you could go in with 20%, then see how your cash flow situation was looking and contribute extra as you felt comftroable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-down-payment-percentage#post-17600 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:06:19 +0000 looch 17600@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband and I are having a debate/argument about how much to put down on a potential home. We plan to buy something within the next 2 years, and with me being home, only have 1 income. If we need to save more, we have to cut out some expenses.</p> <p>I say 20%, he thinks 50%.</p> <p>If you own your home, what percentage of the purchase price did you put down? </p>