• Ashyr@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    Just as an FYI, most first time homebuyers don’t have to put down 20%. Talk to a professional and discover what your options are. There’s tons of assistance programs for first time home buyers that varies from state to state.

    I know housing is insane, but a starter home to get your foot in the door may not be out of reach.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      5% down loans come with all sorts of strings attached, typically requiring private mortgage insurance that can add hundreds to your monthly payment. Add to that the increased interest on the additional principle, and the cost of a low-money-down mortgage can be two or three times as expensive.

      Being poor ain’t cheap.

      • mean_bean279@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I live in Cali, one of the HCOL areas that people removed about. My first home was 400k in 2019 at age 24. My wife and I made a little over 100k combined and the first time homebuyer program in Cali made it so that we could buy whatever home we wanted as long as it passed inspection. The state kicked in the 20k down and we just covered closing costs. We refinanced a year later and dissolved any state loans. The state gave us a loan that had 0% interest and only required that we simply pay it back or it dissolved after 20 years. Being poor isn’t cheap, but a lot of expensive states actually have help. You pay taxes in those states for a reason, use it. There was no increased interest, PMI is minuscule by comparison, my mortgage is still hundreds under friends apartment rent and I have 4 times the bedrooms, double the bathrooms and actual land.

        • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          My first home was 400k in 2019

          That’s not a HCOL area, unless you’re talking about a 2 bed, 1 bath condo in a shitty school district.

          And most states won’t give you $20k and 0% loans unless it’s a farm or VA loan.

          Lastly, mortgage rates were 4% in 2019. Today, it’s 7.5%. Getting 0% over twenty years is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but just the difference between rates then and rates now is almost $1,000 a month.