DOWN PAYMENT DILEMMA

HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TO PUT DOWN ON A HOME?

You'd be a homeowner right now if it weren't for one thing: the down payment. Right? Even for those who have decent credit and make good money, the down payment is often the great homeownership killer.

For many others, who do have enough money set aside to make a substantial down payment, the question is: how much? Conventional wisdom—not to mention most of the banks and a good portion of homebuying and financial experts—will tell you that 20 percent is the standard bearer when it comes to down payments. But is it really necessary to put 20 percent down?

The short answer is: no.

Now for the long answer.

"Raising a 20 percent down payment isn't an easy thing to do. Fortunately, you don't have to. "It's a myth that all homebuyers must have a 20 percent down payment to buy a home," says Nancy Herrera-Siples, a Riverside, Calif., branch manager at Primary Residential Mortgage on U.S. News. "So why do you constantly hear that you need to put 20 percent down? Because if you don't, it usually means you'll have to shell out money for either private mortgage insurance or government insurance, which is usually financed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)."

And there's another rub for those who are already struggling to come up with the minimum down payment: that extra couple of hundred dollars per month feels like a penalty. It's not, of course—"Mortgage insurance protects the lender in case you can't make your payments and the house is foreclosed on," said U.S. News—but that money can make a significant difference for those who are stretching to buy a home.

Still, when your only option to buy is a low down payment, which can mean an FHA loan or one of the new low down payment loans from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae—"At the end of 2014, the two government-backed companies announced plans to slash down payments from 5% to 3%," said CNN—PMI might literally be a small price to pay. Especially if swelling rents are making homeownership look more and more promising. Remember that PMI does go away eventually when your loan balance is 80 percent or less of the home's value. If you're in an area where homes are rising in value, this could happen sooner than you think.

Still confused about the ins and outs of down payments? Here are a few reasons to go high…or low.

When to make a substantial down payment

• When you're looking to keep your monthly payment as low as possible and have cash to spare
• When you just can't fathom paying PMI
• When your goal is to buy a forever home and own it free and clear
• When you are approaching retirement age and can envision a reverse mortgage sometime down the line
• When you want to buy your house and pay it off as quickly as possible
• When the rate is lower with a higher down payment. "The more you put down, the better position you are in for negotiating a lower interest rate with your lender," said Credit.com. Plus, a "low down payment might affect other loan features, such as…the points, which are upfront interest charges," said Banking My Way.
• If you're worried about being under water. If the market should drop in your area, you run the risk of owing more than your home is worth.

When to go low

• When you don't have the funds for a higher down payment and can't earn or borrow them quickly enough
• When the rate on your FHA or Fannie or Freddie loan is comparable to that you'd get with a higher down payment
• When you need to escape a high-rent situation and the monthly payment on a house is lower than what you're currently paying, even with the PMI factored in
• When you're confident your home will appreciate quickly, allowing you to refinance and get rid of PMI quickly
• When your investments can't be touched without a penalty or are returning better than the interest rate you'll get on your home
• If you have something better to do with the money. "If you bought a $400,000 home, 5% down would be $20,000, while 20% down would be $80,000—a whopping difference. An immediate need such as a college tuition payment would make the smaller down payment more appealing," said Banking My Way.
• When you feel more secure setting money aside for emergencies instead of tying it all up in your house.

Shared from:  http://realtytimes.com/consumeradvice/buyersadvice1/item/38415-20150917-down-payment-dilemma-how-do-you-know-how-much-to-put-down-on-a-home

Getting Married? Skip the Fancy Plates and Ask for a Down Payment Instead!

They already have the high-powered blender, the 800-thread-count sheets, and the stemless wineglasses. And while they could always register for even more kitchen gadgetry and overstuffed throw pillows, some modern couples have their eyes on a different kind of wedding gift. What many of them want more than anything else is a house—or, more specifically (and reasonably), the down payment that will unlock the front door.

A growing number of altar-bound lovebirds are rethinking the traditional retail-based wedding registry (or registries, in many cases). Some are nudging their wedding guests toward online crowdfunding-style registries, designed to accept contributions to a couple’s down payment goals. Others are quietly suggesting “money for the house” when asked about their preferred present. Either way, plenty of couples are reconsidering altogether this gift-receiving opportunity in light of what they truly need.

A range of factors is at play here, the most obvious of which is the higher average marrying age—27 and 29 for women and men, respectively—than in past generations. It’s hardly a secret that many 20- and 30-somethings are temporarily sidestepping marriage while they establish careers, travel the world, hit up trivia night guilt-free, and, well, search for the right someone to marry.

Then again, even some younger couples seem to think that receiving a mountain of swanky home accessories before owning a home is putting the cart before the horse. After all, you can’t feather a nest if you don’t have a nest to begin with.

Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Barros and his fiancée, Traci Whiting, 24, of Plano, TX, are getting married in October. When they started thinking about setting up a gift registry, they were struck by the reality of their living situation.

“We live in an 800-square-foot apartment,” Barros said. “Even if we wanted a bunch of wedding presents, we wouldn’t have anywhere to put them. Getting that down payment together is our top priority, and we’re grateful for any amount our friends and family are willing to give to make that happen.”

To help achieve their goal of $5,500, Barros and Whiting set up a registry atFeatherTheNest.com, a Florida-based crowdfunding site that allows “nesters” to register for anything from contributions toward a down payment to funds for home improvement projects. Beth Butler, principal at the site, says crowdfunded registries offer couples a way to involve their friends and family in the most important purchase they’ll ever make.

“When you’re choosing a gift from a traditional retail registry, you’re pretty much bound to the prices of the items the couple has chosen, and even then, you’re likely giving them something they may forget about at some point in their marriage,” Butler said. “But helping a couple get into their first home, that’s a contribution they won’t ever forget.”

Butler said that her site, which launched in May 2014, now sees 15 to 20 “nests” (as each fund is called) per month.

Other similarly functioning sites—such as HatchMyHouse.com andDownPaymentDreams.com—offer comparable services, typically for the cost of a small percentage of the couple’s gift total.

Rieve MacEwen, president and co-founder of Hatch My House, estimates that the monetary value of the average U.S. wedding registry hovers between $8,000 and $8,500—an amount that, if applied to a down payment (generally at least 20% of a home’s price), could certainly give a significant boost to a couple’s savings efforts.

But not everyone is so enthusiastic. Teresa Krebs, who started Down Payment Dreams in 2009 and has since hosted some 800 registries, said that a handful of users have reported a lukewarm response from family members, some of whom felt that asking for money was tacky. But, as Krebs points out, “a registry is just a suggestion, and a down payment registry is no different. It’s a couple’s way of saying, ‘We’d like your presence at the wedding, and if you choose to bring a gift, this is what would be most helpful to us.’”

Just how helpful? When Sally and Yann Sauvignon married in 2010, they set up a registry at Hatch My House, along with two traditional retail registries. About a year after their 200-guest wedding, the couple was able to use their down payment gifts to cover the closing costs on their new home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We weren’t quite sure how it would be received, but I think about a third of our gifts were given through the Hatch My House site,” Sally Sauvignon said. “It was a really neat way to connect our friends and families to a goal that was really important to us.”

To be sure, the concept of a down payment as a wedding gift is still a bit of an outlier. The majority of engaged couples are still filling their conventional registries with flatware and “good” china. But MacEwen—who says Hatch My House has hosted roughly 2,600 registries since its founding in 2009—is confident that the next decade will see a more pronounced shift in the wedding gift tradition altogether.

“What will really change the way people use gift registries is when they look beyond the idea of purchasing an item, and decide they want to be a part of someone’s overall life experience instead,” MacEwen said. “Buying a home and getting married are two of life’s biggest events. Over time, I think people will realize that it makes a lot of sense to connect the two.”

How to crowdfund your dream home

Don’t be sheepish. Wedding registries of any variety are simply a series of gift ideas for wedding guests who are already planning to buy a present. A down payment registry is no different—it’s just a suggestion.

Spread the word. Share the specifics of your down payment registry on your wedding website, on any wedding shower invitations, and when friends and family ask where you’re registered.

Be grateful. In addition to the thank-you notes that you’ll send promptly after the wedding, consider sharing periodic updates about your home-buying adventures with the people who helped make it possible. It’s just another way to show your gratitude.

Leave a paper trail. When applying for a home loan, you’ll need to verify that your down payment is yours, free and clear, and not the result of another loan. Most down payment crowdfunding sites will  document the nature of the monetary gift.

Shared from:  http://www.realtor.com/advice/down-payment-wedding-registry/

Low Down Payments Make a Comeback!

Borrowers who have steady income and good credit, but not much money in the bank, will find that it recently became easier to buy a home.  Down payment requirements, which rose after the subprime mortgage crisis, are easing again as lenders and mortgage backers try to draw in new buyers.

"It's one of the things that's inhibiting first-time homebuyers," said Rob Chrane, president of Down Payment Resource. "There are a lot more people who can qualify for a home that don't realize that they can."

FHA cuts insurance costs

The Federal Housing Administration has long backed loans for borrowers with lower credit scores and with down payments as low as 3.5%, but until this year it also required hefty insurance payments.

FHA monthly insurance premiums dropped dramatically at the beginning of 2015. The change, from 1.35% to only 0.85%, will make FHA loans a better choice for some borrowers after years of prohibitively high premiums, said Anthony Hsieh, chief executive officer of loanDepot, one of the largest FHA lenders in the country.

"We're starting to get back to what's reasonable," said Hsieh. "The crisis has shaken the market so much that there is no doubt there was an overreaction."

Fannie and Freddie

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee more than half the country's mortgages. At the end of 2014, the two government-backed companies announced plans to slash minimum down payments from 5% to 3%.

The new program from Fannie Mae went into effect in December, and the one from Freddie Mac will begin in March. Both are only for first-time homebuyers, and the Freddie Mac program is restricted to low-income borrowers.

Related: Where zombie foreclosures are making a comeback

Loans backed by the two mortgage giants still require private mortgage insurance for down payments below 20%.

And just because Fannie and Freddie are willing to buy loans with looser requirements doesn't mean the lenders themselves will change their standards.

"It's a phenomenon of the post-recession where lenders learned their lesson," said David Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "They learned that simply because the investor will allow it, the lender may still not feel comfortable doing it."

"Rural" and VA loans

Other types of low-down payment loans have also become far more popular since the recession.

Despite its name, loans from the Department of Agriculture are available to borrowers in many locations that are hardly rural, and they include no-money-down financing. To be eligible for USDA loans, a borrower must have dependable income and decent credit, and can't already own a home, exceed certain area median income thresholds or live within certain urban areas.

Related: What will your monthly mortgage payment be?

Department of Veteran Affairs loans are also booming, coming close to outnumbering FHA loans. Although not available to the average American homebuyer, VA mortgage backing allows veterans and surviving spouses to purchase property with no money down, no outside insurance and limited closing costs.

Average VA interest rates are lower, and credit and income requirements are also more flexible than conventional loans.

A return to easier credit

The shift toward loans with lower down payments has drawn criticism from some politicians -- after all, easy loans with little money down contributed to the crisis that led to the Great Recession.

Stevens said that new rules for qualified mortgage loans and more diligent underwriting by lenders will protect the lending market.

"Down payment has become the single largest barrier to home ownership," said Stevens. "Quite frankly, it's going to be a lot safer and sounder this time than it was in the past."

Reposted from:  http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/16/real_estate/low-down-payment-mortgages/index.html