There are conventional loan options that require a down payment of as little as 3 percent, but many lenders impose a 5 percent minimum. If the loan is for a vacation home or a multifamily property, you could be required to put down more, generally 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
It's better to put 20 percent down if you want the lowest possible interest rate and monthly payment. But if you want to get into a house now and start building equity, it may be better to buy with a smaller down payment — say 5 to 10 percent down.
The difference between putting down 20% versus 5% is obvious. The amount of interest and private mortgage insurance you save is significant. The difference between a 5% down payment and 10% down payment becomes less significant. Going into home ownership with a solid savings balance is necessary.
The traditional advice is to make a down payment of at least 20% of your new home's value. This is a great benchmark to aim for because it will get you more favorable loan terms and you won't have to pay PMI. However, most homebuyers make down payments of 6% or less.
The traditional way to avoid paying PMI on a mortgage is to take out a piggyback loan. In that event, if you can only put up 5 percent down for your mortgage, you take out a second "piggyback" mortgage for 15 percent of the loan balance, and combine them for your 20 percent down payment.
You can avoid PMI without 20 percent down if you opt for lender-paid PMI. However, you'll end up with a higher mortgage rate for the life of the loan. That's why some borrowers prefer the piggyback method: Using a second mortgage loan to finance part of the 20 percent down payment needed to avoid PMI.
Before buying a home, you should ideally save enough money for a 20% down payment. If you can't, it's a safe bet that your lender will force you to secure private mortgage insurance (PMI) prior to signing off on the loan, if you're taking out a conventional mortgage.
With average housing prices in US metropolitan areas hovering around $250,000, the usual down payment on a house for a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage is around $12,500. That's equivalent to 5 percent of the total purchase price.
To purchase a $300K house, you may need to make between $50,000 and $74,500 a year. This is a rule of thumb, and the specific salary will vary depending on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, the type of home loan, loan term, and mortgage rate.
If you make $3,000 a month ($36,000 a year), your DTI with an FHA loan should be no more than $1,290 ($3,000 x 0.43) — which means you can afford a house with a monthly payment that is no more than $900 ($3,000 x 0.31). FHA loans typically allow for a lower down payment and credit score if certain requirements are met.
Though each bank has its own minimum beacon requirements, the realistic range needed to qualify for a 5% down payment is between 640 to 680. With a score like this, you are considered to have 'good credit' but not automatically approved.
A conventional loan requires a credit score of at least 620, but it's ideal to have a score of 740 or above, which could allow you to make a lower down payment, get a more attractive interest rate and save on private mortgage insurance.
On a $70,000 income, you'll likely be able to afford a home that costs $280,000–380,000. The exact amount will depend on how much debt you have and where you live — as well as the type of home loan you get.
On a $200,000, 30-year mortgage with a 4% fixed interest rate, your monthly payment would come out to $954.83 — not including taxes or insurance.
The more money you put down, the better. Your monthly mortgage payment will be lower because you're financing less of the home's purchase price, and you can possibly get a lower mortgage rate.
How much do I need to make for a $900,000 house? A $900,000 home, with a 5% interest rate for 30 years and $45,000 (5%) down requires an annual income of $218,403.
While the amount you pay for PMI can vary, you can expect to pay approximately between $30 and $70 per month for every $100,000 borrowed.
When attempting to determine how much mortgage you can afford, a general guideline is to multiply your income by at least 2.5 or 3 to get an idea of the maximum housing price you can afford. If you earn approximately $100,000, the maximum price you would be able to afford would be roughly $300,000.
As a result, consumers today are no longer required to put 20% down for a house — in fact, some mortgage lenders actually allow down payments as low as 3%. For example, the DreaMaker℠ loan from Chase Bank lets homebuyers put down just 3% of the home's price, as does the HomeReady loan from Ally Bank.
If your down payment is less than 20% and you have a conventional loan, your lender will require private mortgage insurance (PMI), an added insurance policy that protects the lender if you can't pay your mortgage.
Get an 80-10-10 loan
Combined with your savings for a 10% down payment, this type of loan can help you avoid PMI.
You have the right to request that your servicer cancel PMI when you have reached the date when the principal balance of your mortgage is scheduled to fall to 80 percent of the original value of your home. This date should have been given to you in writing on a PMI disclosure form when you received your mortgage.
Based on a standard work week of 40 hours, a full-time employee works 2,080 hours per year (40 hours a week x 52 weeks a year). So if an employee earns $40,000 annually working 40 hours a week, they make about $19.23 an hour (40,000 divided by 2,080).
For the couple making $80,000 per year, the Rule of 28 limits their monthly mortgage payments to $1,866. Ideally, you have a down payment of at least 10%, and up to 20%, of your future home's purchase price. Add that amount to your maximum mortgage amount, and you have a good idea of the most you can spend on a home.