To purchase a $200,000 house, you need a down payment of at least $40,000 (20% of the home price) to avoid PMI on a conventional mortgage. If you're a first-time home buyer, you could save a smaller down payment of $10,000–20,000 (5–10%). But remember, that will drive up your monthly payment with PMI fees.
$1,400 per month qualifies to borrow a loan amount of $204,913; add your $20,000 down payment to this, and you can purchase a home of $224,913. Of course, you'll still need cash for reserves and to cover the loan's closing costs.
FHA loans require as little as 3.5 percent, and VA loans and USDA loans have no down payment requirement at all. Most homeowners don't put 20 percent down. In 2022, the median down payment among homebuyers was 13 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
$20,000 down and at least $25,000 in annual household salary with a good credit score.
How much is a down payment on a 200K house? A 20% down payment on a 200K house is $40,000. A 5% down payment is $10,000, and a 3.5% is $7,000. Talk with various lenders to see what you might qualify for.
If I Make $70,000 A Year What Mortgage Can I Afford? You can afford a home price up to $285,000 with a mortgage of $279,838. This assumes a 3.5% down FHA loan at 7%, a base loan amount of $275,025 plus the FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75%, low debts, good credit, and a total debt-to-income ratio of 50%.
The minimum credit score needed for most mortgages is typically around 620. However, government-backed mortgages like Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans typically have lower credit requirements than conventional fixed-rate loans and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).
If you put a large chunk of it into your down payment, you may not have as much available in case of emergencies. You may also need to be more careful with your monthly budgeting. In some cases, this can be very inconvenient. The money cannot be invested elsewhere.
You likely need 8%-10% in cash to buy a house
The amount of money needed to buy a house varies hugely from person to person. Still, most buyers should expect to save at least 8% to 10% of their target home purchase price. That covers 3%-5% for a minimum down payment and 2%-5% for closing costs, which is about average.
For a conventional loan without private mortgage insurance (PMI), you typically need to make a down payment of 20% or more of the home's purchase price. Lenders generally require PMI when a borrower makes a down payment of less than 20%, as it protects the lender against the risk of default.
As noted earlier, the typical down payment for first-time home buyers in America is about 6% of the purchase price. However, buying a home with as little as zero down is possible for USDA and VA borrowers, and others can put as little as 3% or 3.5% down.
A conventional mortgage is not backed by the government, providing competitive interest rates and terms. To qualify for a no-money-down conventional mortgage, you'll typically need a credit score of at least 620 and a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of no more than 43%.
Downsides of a 20% Down Payment
Won't provide as much benefit when rates are low: If mortgage rates are low, you could potentially put that money to better use by investing it or paying down high-interest debt. That could be the case even if you have to pay PMI.
On a salary of $36,000 per year, you can afford a house priced around $100,000-$110,000 with a monthly payment of just over $1,000. This assumes you have no other debts you're paying off, but also that you haven't been able to save much for a down payment.
If you have a conventional loan, $800 in monthly debt obligations and a $10,000 down payment, you can afford a home that's around $250,000 in today's interest rate environment.
You can generally afford a home for between $180,000 and $250,000 (perhaps nearly $300,000) on a $50K salary. But your specific home buying budget will depend on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and down payment size.
It might, depending on your needs. For example, you may be able to save time and money with a bank if your mortgage loan file is straightforward. But banks don't have to disclose what they make on your loan, so you may pay more than you should if you don't shop aggressively.
If you begin saving 20% of your income each month, you could be in a good position to not only qualify for a loan with a reasonable interest rate, but also to be able to have a sufficient down payment ready.
Closing Costs
Along with the down payment, you must have additional cash ready for closing day. Closing costs can be another 2-5% of the sale price of the home. This would range between $4,000 and $10,000 for a $200,000 home, on top of the down payment.
Buying a Car with Bad Credit but a Large Down Payment
Don't get us wrong. There are several good reasons to put down a large down payment: smaller loan, lower payments, and a smaller chance that the car will depreciate faster than you can pay it off. But a larger down payment will not offset your credit rating.
A 20% down payment would keep many home buyers locked out of the housing market. Fortunately, 20% is no longer the benchmark for a down payment on a house. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, in 2022, the average down payment was 6% for first-time home buyers and 17% for repeat buyers.
You can borrow $50,000 - $100,000+ with a 720 credit score. The exact amount of money you will get depends on other factors besides your credit score, such as your income, your employment status, the type of loan you get, and even the lender.