There are a lot of financing options available to people looking to buy homes today. Even if your mortgage application has been turned down by a conventional lender, you can go ahead and purchase a home with owner financing. That’s exactly what we – here at Buyer Investor Match – do. We help credit-challenged people buy any home they want with owner financing. So in other words, financing is hardly going to be a problem if you are in the market looking for a home. The real obstacle that most prospective home buyers face is to arrange for a down payment.

Under our program, you need to make a minimum 15% down payment to buy a home with owner financing (Check out the following article to know why to keep your down payment 15% or more: 4 reasons why you should keep your down payment 15% or more when buying a home). Even if you are taking out a mortgage from a conventional lender, you should arrange for at least 20% down payment. If your down payment is less than 20%, you will need to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) every month in additional to the principal and interest amount. PMI payments can add up to thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, so it makes sense to avoid them.

Here are a few tips you can use to arrange for a down payment:

Determine how much money you would need for a down payment

Getting an idea of how much money you will need to make a down payment should be your first step. For that you will need to know your budget.  You can browse free online property listing websites and see in what price home are being listed in particular neighborhoods based on the number of bedrooms, square footages and amenities.

So let’s say for example you came up with a median price of $300,000 for a three-bedroom home. It means you will need to put at least $45,000 down to qualify under our program. To avoid paying PMI when taking out a mortgage from a conventional lender, you will need to arrange for at least $60,000.

Tape into your 401K savings

If your employer has set up a retirement account for you or as a self-employed professional, you have a Roth Solo 401K account; you can make qualified withdrawals (if you are aged 59 ½ years or more) and use the money for a down payment. You can also withdraw $10,000 from your retirement savings to buy your first home (the age threshold doesn’t apply in this case). Consult with a certified personal accountant (CPA) to know your options in this regard. To know more, check out this article: Buying a home with Roth Solo 401k: Important things to know.

A financial gift

A growing number of millennials are either borrowing or receiving financial gifts from their parents to realize their homeownership dream, several studies suggest. You should consider this option as your parents, friends and relatives will definitely want to help you become a homeowner.

Increase your income

In today’s age of technology, it is quite easy to work from home and generate a steady source of income on the side. Depending on your skills and experience, you can find a job in almost any field. By increasing your income, you will be able to save more towards your down payment. Another advantage is that the increased income will help you make your monthly payments comfortably on time once you have bought a home.

Short-term down payment saving in low risk saving accounts

Instead of making high-risk investments such as in stock market, you should consider investing in FDIC-insured instruments such as traditional savings accounts, certificates of deposits (CDs), and money market accounts. While it’s true that you won’t get great returns on your deposits, at least you won’t run the risk of losing your capital. Moreover, these short-term investments will ensure that that your down payment is actually there, in full, whenever you need it.

Here at Buyer Investor Match, we provide consultation to people on how they can overcome credit-challenges and realize their homeownership dream. We will help you explore all your options with regard to down payment through our free training. Get started on your path to homeownership by click on the GET STARTED button below: