Misconception About Down Payments

By Chris Doherty

Christian Doherty lists and sells more homes than any other agent in the Greater Lowell, Massachusetts market with over 300 homes sold in the past 12 months. Chris is ranked in the top 1% of all agents in the United States.

Today I want to answer a question that a lot of sellers and buyers have been asking recently. How much money does a buyer need if they want to purchase a home?

There are plenty of mortgage options to help buyers purchase a home in today’s market. Depending on the product, we’re seeing down payments ranging from 3% to 25%. It’s a common misconception that people need 20% or 25% down to buy a primary home. The reality is that most buyers are purchasing a property with a 5% down payment.

If somebody’s looking to buy a property for $400,000, they need $20,000 for a 5% down payment. Then they’re going to have closing costs, but we roll that into the offer price and ask for a concession back.

If you’re an FHA buyer, you can get your down payment down to 3.5%. We have some bank partners who are doing a standard 3% down mortgage, and then in some cases, we have other programs that are getting people into real estate with 0% down.

If you want to learn more about buying and want to know what your options are, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.