First time home buyer program
Posted by Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 21 comments
This applies to my fellow xennials.
Posted by Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 21 comments
This applies to my fellow xennials.
bikeonychus@reddit
Where I live, we were told we absolutely needed a 20% down payment, even though we had an exceptionally good credit rating (we have been super, super careful). We had to use a government program to get the last $25k for the $40k down payment, and have 25 years to pay it back, this was back in 2023 (we're not in the US).
I'm still mad that our house was $400k, and the previous owners bought it 2 years earlier for $250k and flipped it.. it was the cheapest home I could find, house prices are insane for the area now.
Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit (OP)
Sorry, I was directing this at U.S first time buyer programs. I should have stated that. I have no idea what might be available in other countries.
bikeonychus@reddit
Yeah, probably should have stated that in the main post. This isn't a US-only sub.
Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit (OP)
Oops. They could have stuff too
Yrch1@reddit
Did that in 2010. 70k. 10% down. Got 7k back on taxes.
House is worth 350k and the mortgage is 1200 a month. 500 is the note.
I feel like I got the last chopper out of nam.
NoContextCarl@reddit
It's admittedly gonna be harder post COVID but some states do have first time buyer programs to offset closing costs and down-payments. Realtors generally know the system and can at least give you options up front.
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
I might be taking advantage of this.
ossetepolv@reddit
They’re all so heavily means-tested here that I honestly don’t know how anyone ever uses them.
Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit (OP)
I dont understand what you mean.
ossetepolv@reddit
The first-time buyer assistance programs in my state have unworkably low maximum incomes.
cybah@reddit
Yes. This. I am afraid to admit I was one of these people who thought you needed 20% down to buy. I didn't know about FHA loans and such. I went for many years thinking I would never own a home. Then I got informed and bought my condo several years ago. While I had a private sale, the process was pretty easy tbh.
In a way I am glad it worked out this way, i'm more established and dare say more responsible now that I am near AARP age. Plus I make enough now that I can afford to live alone comfortably. I wouldn't have been able to do this in my 20s without roommates.
absentlyric@reddit
Its not the down payment thats hard, it's the interest rates that are a bitch, ask everyone in here that bought a house before COVID if they could afford their house now with the higher interest rates, most will say no.
Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit (OP)
That doesn't make sense at all. If you can afford $80k down payment the little higher mortgage rate isn't gonna hurt too much. The problem is, most people dont have close to that and saving it would take a decade.
Look, im not smart. I just have some info I want to share that can help some people buy a home. There are 1000s of reason why some people can't get a house. I get it. This isnt for them. This is for the people
whoisbill@reddit
The first house we bought was small condo and was 95,000, then we upgraded to a house which was 180,000. We had to move to a different state and the house we are in now was 280,000.
These days it's worth about 450k. And the 180,000 house according to zillow is over 500k. No central AC and it's small.
These programs are great. But def depends on the area. An almost 180% increase in price is insane.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
I feel like we did pretty well. Within the first year of owning our house, it was worth $100k more than we paid for it (and we wouldn't have been able to afford it if we'd waited). It's doubled in value since we bought it, so I feel pretty good about our decision. But I'd be a little more careful about making a decision in a more volatile area.
whoisbill@reddit
Yea. But I'm def lucky to have bought the house when we did. But these days I can def see why people feel priced out in certain areas. Like I said. These programs are good and can help people get in. But they only do so much. If the monthly payment is still insanely high that you are house poor. It doesn't help.
Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit (OP)
We bought right before covid hit. 3 years later we sold with $180k profit that we used on a down payment on larger home. Pure luck!
Yes, not for everyone.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
When we bought in 2017, we bought using something called the Chenoa Fund. It's a program that finances the down payment on an FHA loan (3.5 percent). My wife and I had been trying to save, but every time we'd get a big raise and it looked like things were going better...nope! Gonna raise that rent just a bit more, or the car will break, etc;
We were approved for a $400k FHA, so we ended up buying a $353k house, plus the cost for the downpayment. I have two mortgages every month and one of them is just $65.
GeetarEnthusiast85@reddit
Your story sounds very similar to mine. Only, I haven't been able to buy a home yet. I started looking and saving around 2017 and got laid off in 2020 thanks to the pandemic. I had to use some of those savings to stay afloat until I got a new job. From 2020 to 2022, I drifted between unfulfilling jobs that paid just enough to keep my head above water. Then in 2022, I landed a job that really brought me to a new level in my career that paid $30k more than my previous jobs. Then I was laid off again. Had to use some funds to stay afloat.
Then in 2024 I landed a really cool job that paid well and was making good money, paying off debt and saving. Then there was an organizational change at my company and I had to take a 15% paycut.
And now here I am. 40 years old and I'm still living in the same apartment that I moved into 12 years ago.
I have about $9k saved for a down payment right now after all's said and done. I want to somehow get close to $50k so I'll have enough for a down payment, closing costs, etc AND have a decent emergency fund.
My plan right now is to earn a new certification and then get a job that pays more than what I'm making now. I've been looking at postings at other companies for roles that require my skillset and most seem to pay 40-50% more than what I'm making now.
Sure_Artichoke_3662@reddit
Also, look into the NACA program.
Apart_Pineapple2392@reddit (OP)
Yes, im so surprised this is not more well known.