Thursday, August 14, 2008

Stop This Homebuyer Insanity Already!

Aaaarghhh!!! Stop this insanity already!

This post may be a bit more blunt than what you're used to coming from me, but some things just have to be said.

IF YOU'RE A HOMEBUYER AND YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR A DOWN PAYMENT...

... you're basically going to be SOOL (S**t Out Of Luck) come October 1st if you don't have a signed purchase contract and preapproval in place because seller-funded Down Payment Assistance is out the door on October 1st.

... keep your fingers crossed that they'll reinstate seller-funded down payment assistance programs but don't get your hopes up. It's better to err on the side of caution on this one. In the meantime, start looking toward your 401k, employer and family members for down payment assistance instead.

... just to put it into perspective, a 3.5% down payment on a $200,000 purchase is $7,000. At the very least, see if you can get your employer or family member to give you even half of that, and then go sell some stuff on eBay, or a garage sale, or get a part-time gig to come up with the rest.

... and you want to buy a single-family residence with a nice yard, WAKE UP! Unless the 'rents had the cha-ching to give you a brand-new, smokin' sportscar for your 16th birthday, your first vehicle probably wasn't a BMW either. If all you can afford the first time around is a condo or a townhome, deal with it. Chances are, owning your own condo unit or townhome is going to be a heck of a lot better than throwing your money away on rent every month. You can always buy a bigger, better home when your earnings catch up with your lifestyle wishes.

... keep in mind that before all the No Money Down loans happened, people did have to put at least 20% down. The straight-up No Money Down days are OVER!!!

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