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Down Payments and First Time Buyers

April 22, 2008 | By Kelley Koehler | Filed Under First Time Buyer 

I sat down with a first time buyer the other day and we were going through my little buyer presentation and we got to the money section, talking about earnest money and closing costs and down payment – she stopped me and said that everyone is telling her that she shouldn’t have to put any money down as a first time buyer.

Ah, hold on a second there, my dear.   Things have changed since your friends bought houses three years ago.  For one thing, financing has gotten tighter.  Lenders, in general, are much more picky about which loans they will originate and to whom.

She’d been talking to a lender who was rather non-responsive, so we got her to a lender more interested in helping her purchase a home, and we’re working on the financing end.  There are various assistance programs and Seller closing cost credits we can use to help her come in with less money, respectively.  It will depend largely on what kind of loan she wants and her credit scores.

But no money down in general for a first time buyer in today’s lending market?  Not so much the best advice. 

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