Where to get Down Payment Money for Your Home

Written by Andre McFayden


Down Payment Money - For most first-time homebuyers, that is probablyrepparttar biggest hurdle they face in their quest to purchase a home. These days, one can easily find a loan program that allowsrepparttar 111982 buyer to put down only 10% ofrepparttar 111983 purchase price. Even at 10% down,repparttar 111984 homebuyer will have to come up with $25,000 for a median-priced home in Fresno, CA! That is a lot of money forrepparttar 111985 average person. How does one come up withrepparttar 111986 down payment?

Here are some ideas:

Savings This is obvious but if you’re serious about realizingrepparttar 111987 American Dream, you’ll have to save, save, save. Track your spending for a month and you might be surprised at how much extra you can save.

Research 1st-time Homebuyers Assistance Programs Check with lenders regarding down payment assistance programs available for first-time homebuyers. There are state and federal loan programs designed to assist first-time homeowners, e.g. Federal Housing Administration (FHA), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) and California Department of Veterans Affairs (Cal-Vet). Your city and county might have some financing programs as well.

Borrow from parents, siblings, relative or friend Can you possibly borrow part of your down payment money from any of them? Have you asked?

Borrow from your 401K plan Some 401K plans allow you to borrow against them. Check with your employer or plan administrator for more details.

7 Reasons to Pay Yourself First

Written by Diann Cannon


Last month I was referred to a young fellow who wants to open his own business. He was pleasant, energetic, knew his stuff too; all good qualities to have, especially if you're self-employed.

We started out well enough. We talked about his long-range goals as well as his current circumstances, exploring how they might influence each other. When I learned that he had no real savings, I recommended that he begin putting away at least 10% of his income. Well, that's when things took a left turn. He became quite irritated and told me that there was absolutely no way he could do that; every penny he and his wife brought in was already allocated and they just couldn't afford to hold on to any of it. Everything he said thereafter just demonstrated allrepparttar more that he really NEEDED to have some savings cushion: his wife's position was not secure;repparttar 111981 business she worked for may be folding, they had just had a baby. Despite my best efforts, he was not willing to consider putting his family's security onrepparttar 111982 front burner. Instead, he decided not to hire me as his coach, because he said, "I wasn'trepparttar 111983 'right kind.'" Hmmmm.

I've seen businesses come and go and those who cannot handlerepparttar 111984 money at home typically takerepparttar 111985 same habits into their business and before they know it, they become a failure statistic. So, regardless of how you are employed (employee vs. self-employed), saving money is smart for some obvious and some not-so-obvious reasons:

Working becomes more FUN! If your entire paycheck is spent on basic survival needs, going to work every day can be very depressing. Saving a portion of your hard-earned dollars is empowering becauserepparttar 111986 decision is made not only by you, but also for your benefit. There is an excitement that comes from watchingrepparttar 111987 savings account grow. And when we see our dollars grow, we become more conscientious in our spending habits. Taking care of self brings about a sense of freedom. If you find yourself in a difficult situation where you feel your values are challenged, you are more likely to say so if you have been taking care of your self in other ways. Regardless ofrepparttar 111988 degree of difficulty, or whorepparttar 111989 person across from you happens to be (like your boss?), you will be truer to yourself and more direct with others. The act of self-care and financial responsibility promotes personal freedom.

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