Unique Ways To Fund Your Downpayment

One of the biggest concerns many people have when it comes to buying a home is coming up with the down payment. Or perhaps coming up with a down payment that is large enough to lower their monthly payment. These are very legitimate concerns ; therefore, we have come up with some unique ways to help you afford your down payment.

1. The most popular(and maybe not so unique) is to dip into your savings account

2. Hit up some of your friends - who knows what kind of money they have lying around

3. Ask all of your relatives - if all of your relatives can give a little, perhaps you can reciprocate the next time they need a favor

4. Check with your 401k administrator - in certain cases you can borrow some money from it without penalties

5. Look at your entire portfolio - do you have stock proceeds you can use or maybe you could sell some stocks to beef up your down payment

6. What assets to you have - do you have anything that you could sell to come up with that extra down payment

7. Sometimes, depending on the lender , a co-signer might be an option

8. Does your city offer any down payment subsidy programs - sometimes these subsidies are $5000 to $10,000 - this is free money - who doesn't want free money. This will also significantly lower your monthly payments as well

9. Some banks still offer zero percent down - which means you have no down payment - these are usually reserved for first time home buyers with extremely good credit

10. Perhaps you might consider a lease with an option to buy

11. Sometimes a seller is willing to fund part or all of your down payment just to get the deal - this is called a carry back mortgage - it will help the seller sell their home faster and help the buyer buy a home that they could not otherwise afford

12. Talk to your lender about a second mortgage

There are many, many ways to fund your down payment. Ask your realtor to help you come up with the options that will work best for you. You might be surprised at just how well versed they are in helping buyers reach their down payment goals. So use their experience to your advantage and don't let a little thing like a down payment get in your way.