You may be closer to 20% down than you think

Its no secret that coming up with the 20% needed to qualify for a <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/loan-options/conventional-loans/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">conventional mortgage</a> in the United States is difficult for a first time homebuyer — especially as <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/home-prices-rose-year-over-year-in-98-of-metro-areas-in-third-quarter-of-2022" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">home values have exploded since 2020</a>. You can still qualify without the 20%, but then you’ll be required to <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/mortgage/insurance/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">pay private mortgage insurance</a> (“PMI”) on top of the mortgage itself. This additional cash out the door every month serves no benefit to you whatsoever and does not reduce your loan balance — its like paying a higher interest rate, and is great to avoid if possible. When faced with a “make an offer today or the property will be gone to a competing bid” situation in my 20s, I didn’t have anywhere near the $68,000 cash that I’d need to qualify for a down payment on a conventional mortgage. What I did have, though, was about $20,000 in cash and… my 401(k) that I’d been faithfully contributing <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-22500-for-2023-ira-limit-rises-to-6500" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">the maximum to</a> since I started working at age 22. <a href="https://lacey-hunter.medium.com/you-may-be-closer-to-20-down-than-you-think-9fb707f830c2">Click Here</a>