The Down-payment Quandary - wait, WHAT?
Down-payments are needed in most Real Estate transactions. Now the amount of the down-payment is dependent on the loan type.
FHA only requires 3.5% as a down-payment. You can ALWAYS put down more, but the low amount is the most attractive part of the FHA loan. The process does require a bit more, but nothing that you need to do; an FHA home inspection is added on by the lender to protect the loan.
Conventional requires 3-5% as a down-payment. These loans require a higher credit score, and in today’s market (post-pandemic), the lenders have raised the credit scores on all home loans. Yep! Even the people who were approved for conventional and on their way to the closing table… they pulled it out from right under them! But things are settling now and finding a conventional loan from a loan originator is safer than it was a few months ago.
USDA loans require 0% down. They are backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By that, we can already guess that they are for rural areas. We don’t have a ton of rural areas here in Orlando, but 30 minutes in either direction, and you can find some rural areas with TONS of land. That guarantee acts as a form of insurance protecting USDA mortgage lenders, so they’re able to offer below-market interest rates and zero-down home loans.
Last, but certainly not least, the most respected, VA loan. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs helps Service-members, Veterans, and eligible surviving spouses become homeowners. Benefits of a VA loan compared to others, No MIP! That’s a great way to say “Thank you” to all of our service-members and keep some extra cash in their pockets. They are easier to qualify for and even have lower closing costs.
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Matt Schnitker is a Realtor® in Orlando, Florida with BEX Realty. I'm a proud husband and father of two, self-professed tech nerd, and bona fide food fanatic. My wife and I are both Real Estate nerds and we love looking at Real Estate, so of course, we got into the business together. 😆
If you have any questions or would like some more information on anything you see in my videos (or anything else) please email me at matts@BEXRealty.com or call my team at 407.415.1015
Keep smiling :)