What You Need to Know About 20% Down Payments

If you’re buying a farm or house for sale in Northern Florida, you may not need to come up with a 20% down payment.

You might want to, anyway, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

There are several mortgage loans that don’t require you to put down 20 pecent – but as many as 44 percent of Americans believe that that’s exactly how much you need.

It used to be the standard, but it’s not any longer.

For exmpale, a Federal Housing Administration loan only requires you to put down 3.5 percent. A VA loan – available only to those who have served in the military and their spouses, as well as a few other qualifying categories of people – doesn’ require a down payment at all. There are also USDA loans (those backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture) that don’t require a down payment.

Qualified buyers may not even need any of those programs to qualify with less than 20 percent down.

Why You Might Want to Save Up More Money

While it is possible to get a mortgage loan with less than 20 percent down, there are reasons to save up that much:

If you have less than 20 percent down, you’ll have to pay for private mortgage insurance, or PMI. The only exception is with a VA loan, in which lenders can’t make you buy PMI.
The more you put down, the lower your payments will be.
Sometimes the amount of your down payment affects your interest rate.

Are You Buying a Home for Sale in Lake City?

If you’re moving to Lake City, we can help you find the perfect place to live. Call us at 386-243-0124 to tell us what you want from your home and we will begin searching right away.

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What You Need to Know About 20% Down Payments