With today's prices, very few first time buyers will have 20% cash.
It would be nice, though. I sold a house three years ago in a hot
market and was amazed at how many offers came in from people that were
flat broke. They were even financing the closing costs.

Talk to the loan broker at your realtor's office for ideas (you do
have an agent, right?) and then go online to get the best rate. It's
cheaper by a big margin.

Typically you end up with a mortgage for 80% and a home equity loan
for all or part of the remainder. Your down payment ends up being 0%
or 5% (+ closing costs).

There are other ways. There's a deal in my state that will finance up
to 107% of the purchase price in one loan without PMI.

There are FHA loans. If I remember, there are additional flaming
hoops to jump through to qualify for one.

Then there's PMI if you want to go higher than 80% on the first
mortgage. You have to pay PMI until the loan is paid down to 80% of
the original purchase price even if the value increases.

Anyways, there are lots of options and many companies / brokers who
can help you and are desperate for your business right now. Read the
fine print and understand what you're getting into.


-rev



On May 30, 4:57 pm, Slain wrote:
Are there any special schemes for first time home buyers?

I also do not have the 20% needed for downpayment. What are some
options I can have?