For those of you that live in houses, how much "cash" down payment would be a resonable amount for a house ranging between $100,000 and 150,000?

I always considered it was the amount you were out by, with the usual mortgages working in england being a x3 off your wage, any amount after than you had to put down. But then i guess it depends on what mortgage your getting, interest only, payment tracker etc. Just be wary of those MIG's, do not want those things nipping ya on the butt should ya miss a payment.

Id say $10,000 - $15,000 would be reasonable.

The min downpayment would be 5% (it's possible to get 3% though but less common)

5% of 150K$ = $7500

The you have closing costs - this is any fee's + initial insurance & taxes accruals. This would add up to around 3000 approx,

So around $10,000 min.

If you can do 20% you can avoid the PMI (mortgage insurance) fees that they toss in, which is a good thing because you can't deduct those. Or you can put 10-15% down and get a second mortgage for the other 10-5% - the advantage there is that you avoid the PMI and get to deduct the second mortgage from your taxes as well.

On my first house we were only able to put 5% down and the interest rate on the second mortgage would have been higher because of that, so we ended up paying the PMI, which as I recall was abou $75/month on a roughly $125,000 loan.

The PMI is a good point.

If you can't afford the 20% down - just wait a few years and then get your house re-appraised - if you then have 20% equity due to price appreciation - the bank will drop the PMI if you ask.

Real estate is a great investment - go for it !

When I bought my house, the closing costs (damn them!) was aproximately $5000. In addition to the usual fees, they may very well want you to pay the taxes for the entire quarter, which raises the closing costs, big time. They tacked an extra thousand to my closing cost.

There were other postings about the PMI. The one 25% of the closing cost is a very good formula to base your purchase on. However, lucked out with a good loan agent and she got me a mortgage with no PMI in spite I didn't have the money needed for 25% of the purchase price.

All in all, its a big PAIN IN THE ASS to go through the whole buying process. However, it's worth it. You own the home, if your mortgage rate is fixed, what you pay for the home never increases, which can't be said when you pay rent. By all means, go for it!!! Well worth the sacrifice.

Make sure the person you're buying from throws in a one year home warranty. Didn't use it with the first house, but it paid off with this house when the A/C went out.

Thanks Guys :)

I am a Sales Associate with A Leading National Mortgage Bank. We're located in 17 states with 32 offices in NY. We are the number# 1, F.H.A lender in NY State. All of our Processing and underwriting is done in house. so if you have any other questions feel free to email me at evantz@yahoo.com

BUmp

Arrgh! Salesmen...

They're everywhere! :eek:

Originally posted by The Praetorian
Arrgh! Salesmen...

They're everywhere! :eek: salesmen have to eat, LOL....;)

I know, I'm one too! :)