Hellobee Boards

We put down 10% of the purchase price and are paying PMI since it was actually cheaper than having a second loan for the other 10% (to get to the 20% down). The PMI will fall off in a few years as we are aggressive on our payment. This was recommended to us by our broker since rates were rock bottom when we bought.

We did 20% of the purchase price. We used our savings and we saved for the better part of 10 years between us (my husband is 5 years older).

There was a thread a few weeks about this topic. It didn't ask the exact same question, but had a lot of feedback:
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-did-you-pay-for-your-down-payment#post-1473924

ETA: The real kicker is if you have to pay closing costs too. If they aren't covered by the seller, you need to budget for conservatively 5% of the sales price in closing costs. You also need money to pay for the inspection and to write the earnest money check.

We had to put 150k down to get us to the 20% mark. It took us a lifetime to save that money. Rough times.

What was really painful was that closing costs and transfer taxes came to around 45k.

We put down roughly 23%. BUT, DH was working for 2-3 years while living at his parents and having ZERO debt or bills (and also being a cheap and frugal crazy-pants about his money). So, by the time we got married and bought a house he was able to pay off my student loans, put down a large down payment on the house, and have enough leftover for new windows/siding and a good savings account.

@MamaMoose: well in our case, renting would be as much as a mortgage for us. So if we are gonna move and pay more per month, we are gonna own. And if all we can swing without draining our savings is 3.5%, that's what we will do. Doesn't mean we can't afford to own..just will have a higher mortgage.

@sorrycharlie: To clarify, I think the concern she is voicing is that if the housing market tanks and your house loses value and then let's say life gets really rough and you lose your job and need to move because you can't afford the payments, you could potentially end up OWING the bank money when you sell the house. There is just less cushion and with even a small amount of housing market fluctuation, you can quickly become upside down in your house.

ETA: Please feel free to correct me @MamaMoose !

We put down 3.5% and it took us about a year to save up. However, we had a few things working for us such as only one vehicle (paid off) and low student loan payments since I didn't have any. We also chose a home that would keep our mortgage payment close to our rent.

I voted other: we put down 5% on our first house becsuse that's all we had - we knew we'd renovate it and sell it for a profit. We put 20% down on our second house which we flipped in a year and then bought our forever home with the profits of both (23% down).

20%

We put down 20%, which DH had saved up over 10+ years of working and living pretty frugally. Since I hadn't been working that long post-law school, I hadn't really contributed to our savings in a significant way, which made me feel a little guilty...but that's just how it goes. The actual amount of our down payment was WAY more than your highest option because we live in an expensive housing market. We wouldn't have felt comfortable putting down less than 20%, and would have kept renting if we didn't have enough to cover the down payment, closing costs (though ours were pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things, only a couple thousand dollars) and a bit if a cushion left over.

@sorrycharlie: Oh definitely! That's why I wanted to clarify - I know she's in the finance industry too (specifically financial planning, which I do too!) and we tend to be worry-warts. I've had a few clients do < 5% down and I usually just say that they need at the very least a healthy emergency fund to protect them!

@BakerBee: exactly! We made some stuuupid choices that we are still paying off, so I've become crazy paranoid and worrisome. That's why I wouldn't want to put more down, because I want a decent amount (though not as much as some) in an emergency fund! Blah.

I think a little over 20%. We wouldn't have ever put down less. It took us maybe 4 years to save that plus more so we still had money for closing costs and immediate improvements.

10% but our next home we will put down at least 20%. The PMI is killer!!

We close on our new home in 2 weeks and will put down 20% (to avoid PMI!) ...then closing costs too.

@kjpugs: FYI, if you guys are looking to move soon, we'll be moving out of our single family rental here in Winter Garden (super close to your DH's work, I think) next month. Rent isn't terrible and it's a nice place(upgrades, fenced yard, etc)/neighborhood. If you want the info, wall me. I know how impossible the rental market is here in Central FL!

@sorrycharlie: @BakerBee: hi guys, sorry I had to run to day care pick up! Yes, my primary concern with putting so little down is that you can end up underwater on your mortgage so quickly. But there are other concerns as well. To me, it's not enough to say "well even if I only put 3.5% down my mortgage payment is still the same as renting anyway so I choose to own". With that formula you aren't accounting for all the other expenses that come with home ownership that don't come with renting like taxes and insurance (though these may be wrapped into your mortgage payment) and maintaining the home when things like broken water heaters and leaky roofs occur. Plus, when you put so little down you pay so much more over the life of the mortgage between the additional interest and PMI. I just think our society has come to believe that owning a home is the ultimate American Dream and that it's a given right to hard working people but sometimes is just doesn't make smart financial sense and that's ok! I heard a really interesting talk recently from Susan Bies who was a former member of the Fed Reserve Board of Governors. She was pushing for mortgage reform and was apparently accused of denying people the America dream of homeownership and her response was that in fact, she was trying to protect them from financial ruin.

@BakerBee: PS... This reminds me that I never actually said thank you for the bitcoin info. It was really helpful!!

We put down about little over 20%. I was lucky that I got along fine and was able to live with my parents for a few years after graduating and was able to save a lot. I'd probably still be saving now if I had been renting.

1st house - $0
Condo- 3%
Current house -5%