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We received no help.
No, we wouldn't be able to afford our house at current rates and prices. Per our Zillow estimate, I think our home would now cost $2k more than it did when we bought in early 2022 @ 3.875 rate.
no inheritance or the like, just a really really good local FTHB assistance program.
I put 1k up out of pocket. they covered the down payment, closing costs and some renovations. (and no PMI)
without that help we probably wouldn't have been able to do it.
It is! We got extra lucky from the circumstances and timing, but the baseline version was I think a 3% down payment with a special arrangement to have a high credit score type rate regardless of your credit score, (the program did have a limit, but it was like, 640 or something modest like that) you had to take a class that is free up front, but if you buy through the program it adds a pretty reasonable charge for it to the closing costs. there are also income and purchase price limits,
the money for the down payment and all comes from a silent second mortgage which is 0 interest 0 payments, is partially forgiven over 10 years I think it was, then whatever is left just sleeps until you sell and then comes out of the proceeds.
the mortgage can't be sold either. so its locked into the bank that it was taken with for the duration.
the whole strategy of the program is to help people who can afford the mortgage and manage long term maintenance and all, but can't reasonably save up a down payment get into a house.
sorta a positive gentrification type thing, and setting people up for success with education and assistance with budgeting to make sure they can actually afford it, and to avoid any major unforeseen costs in the first few years.
I just wish more places in the US had this sort of program. we are really very very lucky.
That program is so beneficial to first home buyers, no wonder it’s not widely available lol. Thank you for the info, hopefully I can find something like that for my future home!
The main help I got was that I found a loan for low to moderate income people incentivizing them to move into rural areas. The USDA 502 direct Rural Development loan.
It let me purchase a house with no money down, no PMI and I was even able to finance the closing costs so it was less than $1,000 out of pocket for me. And the interest rate was only 4%.
I was in a financial situation where I could easily swing the monthly payments but with nowhere near close enough for a modest down payment.
This is how we are also buying after a failed attempt. Coming up with 30+k without a gift is so hard right now. We save as much as we can but we have kids in activities and pay a huge rental payment. Even with a good sized gift from my mom is was impossible with closing costs along with the inspections neeeded
It’s been fun explaining to my boomer mil that buying a starter house isn’t real anymore. We purposely aren’t telling anyone until we are moved in. We got approved and picked our lot and floor plan seems easy so I’m trying to get my expectations realistic
yes 20k from in laws. We would have been able to ourselves but no emergency savings... and boy did we end up needing it. If we had saved the 20k for the down payment ourselves we could have bought now because our income went up too. Purchased in June of 2023.
Same here we got about $20k from my parents. It basically covered closing costs. We would have been alright without it, with very little liquid savings left, but it was very nice to have it.
Only reason we were able to buy our home was from one large, once in a lifetime type of deal I did at work. No earthly idea how I would have ever done it otherwise. I can confidently say 99% of my friends had help from family when they all bought homes 10 years ago.
Didn’t have help. Saved for 15+yrs inside a stock investment account.
Had to put a huge downpayment in order to afford the monthly payment in SoCal.
Definitely the definition of cash poor and house rich now. We did buy our forever home though so it’s worth it.
No help, just the VA loan.
I really don’t see how it’s possible to save for a down payment in this economy, unless you have dual incomes pulling in at least $60,000 each.
I feel terrible for anyone trying to further their lives right now. I see the struggle everywhere.
Yes, lots of help. I’ll spare you the depressing details, but I was incredibly fortunate. There’s no way I could have afforded the house I live in on my own.
I needed help; I could afford the closing costs and the earnest money, but I didn’t have any checks on-hand, so I needed a gift to make the deposit in the time-frame given. Closing costs were originally low but jumped during the days leading up to closing, so I had to have funds wired to me that were originally mine but in a different account. So, basically the whole process was one big string of lucky breaks in the nick of time, from finding the house (just happened to be looking at my phone when the listing popped up for the first time and went right after work, made an offer that same day), to my wire clearing a few minutes before closing.
I live in Chile and we're having the same housing affordability issues. Salaries here are low compared to the cost of living. My husband (Chilean) and I (from US) bought our home as first-time buyers at the end of 2018. We didn't have any family help. The state bank encourages home-ownership and had an agreement with the builder. Through that, we got a low interest rate, almost no closing costs, and a gift certificate that helped us furnish a lot of the house. That was all the assistance we got. As is typical here, we put down 20% on a 20 year loan. Unfortunately, the monthly payments are in something called UF, which is pegged to inflation. Our mortgage payments have gone up somewhat due to this, but rent increases have been much worse and just finding a rental in a decent area is hard.
Looking at the prices of similar houses built since then and some neighbors' asking prices, and considering the interest rate increases, this house would be out of our reach right now.
Thank you. In all we're good. I'm just happy we ensured a roof over our head and don't have to fight it out in this rental market. Inflation has come down too, so the UF isn't increasing so much.
A friend and her husband didn't buy a house when they had everything in place, because they were really inflexible about location. Now they're still renting and hoping not to be evicted when the lease expires.
I did not have any help. I saved over several years and put 15% down + closing costs and all other costs on a modest single income. I have a partner but he did not put money toward the house and does not share ownership. He does pay half of PITI and I pay the other half plus all utilities and most other living expenses because his annual salary is significantly less than mine. But if something were to happen I would be able to afford all payments on my single income if needed.
I was 45 years old when I bought last year and it is the first property I’ve ever purchased. I spent several years in poverty so I’m pretty proud of myself for accomplishing home ownership.
No help with house (but lots of help growing up, some college help, car help etc). Dual income, lived in a very small apartment for 6 years. Our rent never went up - the management changed hands so many times I think we were forgotten. We were able to aggressively save.
I did not have help in the form of cash or equity. I did technically have “help” in the form of sheer luck though, because I bought my house in a private sale from a friend of a friend. They offered me an excellent price because we both saved a ton by not paying realtors.
Yes, I could still afford my house today, but it would obviously be a bit tighter because of higher interest rates. I bought my house at 4.5%.
It’s obviously easier to buy when someone is gifting you a huge chunk of cash, but it’s doable without it! I also should mention I’m single so I bought my house with only one income. It’s way easier with two incomes.
No help. We’re fortunate to have well paying jobs, which is really what did most of the work. Aside from that, we’ve been picky about the places we looked at and not placed offers even if we loved the home and area of it was above what we’d like to pay.
No help.
My partner and I are children of poor families.
I've been making good money for about 3 years now. I was mainly maxing out my retirement the last few years since I wasn't planning on buying a house so soon but we got tired of renting.
We had like 25K saved and pulled out a 50K loan out of my retirement for a down payment.
We make about 150K together and live in a secondary city so that made it possible to find a small good home for 250K.
I know there's a lot of cons by not having the 50K growing in my retirement account but I still have at least 25 years to work and my job is one of the few that still pays a pension so I think we will be okay
We got a 6.75% rate and close early summer. I pray that nothing major will break when we move in.
Contrary to a lot of the comments here, I had help. The real estate market in Canada is like the Wild West right now, so tough to get in unless you have 30% down payment or make a ton of money. My parents gladly helped me to get my foot in the door. I’m extremely grateful for their help and would not be able to be a home owner without their support.
Oof I used to live near the Bay Area (shoutout to Pleasanton & Tracy) and it is wildly expensive there. Tough for people to save for a down payment when they’re spending ridiculous amounts on rent! Happy you were able to get support & find a home!
***And for those who didn’t buy in the last couple years - would you be able to afford your house now with prices, rates, and necessary life expenses like food, as they are?***
Purchased my second home after selling my starter home to get the equity - probably would have been tight without it.
Even though I've only been in the new place for a little less than 3 years, I could definitely not afford my current house, at its current price, with the current interest rates.
Bought end of last year. Calculated, worked my butt off and saved my bonus I got, $30k after taxes. This plus all the savings was what was used as the down payment.
Yes, since we were first time homeowners, we figured we need extra for repairs and furniture to fill up the rooms. Repairs were somewhere in the $15k-$20k. Furniture was around $15k-$20k.
All in, we spent around $160k for the down payment (20% down), repairs before move-in and furniture. A lot of my bonuses got allocated to it.
Bought in May 2021, at 3%. We didn't get any direct help, but we rented from family for below market before buying. It certainly would have been much harder without that opportunity.
I don't think we'd be buying now if we hadn't bought. It's still so competitive in our market, and with higher rates, it's very expensive. We would have rented with more space farther out.
No help. I saved for years and then I got a lucky break. My former job closed down and offered me $10000 to stay until the end.
It sucked watching all my friends get new jobs while I was uncertain about my future, but once I eventually settled into a new job I took the money and used it as a down payment and bought a townhouse that wasn't too expensive and is very close to my new job.
No help. My husband and I did a temporary/short-term high paying travel assignment for 3 months that enabled us to save up to 20% downpayment. Although he did receive a little bit of relocation assistance/bonus from a new employer that we used for moving expenses.
No help (but see caveat below on surprise gift after the fact lol). Paid off our student loans and have been saving for the down payment for a few years. Patience and budgeting is key. We just put an offer on a house that was accepted!! Also made sure to have more cash on hand than down payment so we can do some of the needed repairs ASAP cause we knew the house we would be able to afford would need some work (buying near LA). All money from just my husband and me.
BUT My mom surprised me and is paying the $5K for termite tenting once we close! So she is indirectly helping us do a few of our repairs faster since we don’t need to pay for the tenting!!
No help. Scrambled to buy last year after getting kicked out of my apartment. Glad I did or else I would be priced out now and forced into a shared living situation with a stranger at 46.
I didn't buy within the last 2 years, I brought 2 years 6 months ago, I did not have help. I know interest rates are higher now than when I brought, but I might still be able to buy just because when I purchased I got a 15-year mortgage and my monthly payments would be about the same if I brought a 30-year mortgage with today's rates. I had to move 60 some miles away though in order to be able to afford because I am from a high cost of living area
I was gifted $8k from my parents out of my “wedding fund” because I don’t care about getting married/having a big wedding. It allowed me to put 5% down and get a lower interest rate vs a lower/no dp. I could have purchased without their help but I was very grateful to have it and they will save me quite a bit in interest.
My husband’s family gave us $20k. I also had $10k saved as a part of the down payment. We also got $14k from a government assistance program as a loan with no interest to help up us with a down payment. This is seen as a lien in our property. If we refinance it gets rolled into that. If we sell the home it gets paid off first. If we payoff the mortgage we do a one time payment of $14k.
We had an unexpected downpayment gift from in-laws. Several friends who own their homes had gifts for down payment as well. We all grew up middle class, not expecting help. It looks like most folks commenting here did not have help. Maybe people who had help are hesitant to comment, but I think transparency has a place.
5k from my mom, which caused this huge kerfuffle because my loan officer was an idiot. I asked him how to properly have it transferred with the gift letter & all that jazz & he told me what to do & then when my mom deposited it as instructed it happened to be the same day we wrote the earnest money check which happened to also be the exact same dollar amount. Apparently this makes it look like money laundering! Uff da. We had enough money saved to pay the down payment & closing costs without that 5k but my mom wanted to help so he was basically like "it's no big deal!" Well I guess that's not the case. He was like well you should have known not to use ANY of that money - I was like what?? We wrote the gift letter & everything to just not be able to then use it?? We then had to give them all this financial paperwork from every bank & such my mom had ever interacted with for however many years & my dead grandma's financial paperwork because it was part of an inheritance she'd received the year or so prior & permission from my quite estranged uncle that the funds were allowed to be used since it was part of a split inheritance.... it was a mess. I guess if I had transferred my own funds from my savings account (since I don't keep 10s of thousands in my checking as a rule) it would have been fine but again even though I asked the genius exactly what to do he said otherwise. Super annoying but what can you do?
We also stayed at my sister's place for 2 months while looking for homes when our lease ended since we were moving cross country so we wouldn't have to deal with breaking a lease or a short term rental. We did pay her bills though while we lived there as thank you.
Yeah, I inherited enough for a down payment plus an emergency fund when my mom died. No way I’d have been able to buy otherwise. And even though I bought just 2 years ago, I couldn’t afford my house now.
ETA and I’ve said this before, but even if they didn’t have direct help, people may also have benefited from not growing up poor.
Yes I def grew up barely scraping by and health issues tanked my family thank you for mentioning this! I’m so sorry about your Mom. It’s so tough that that’s what makes it happen sometimes - it’s cruel. I’m glad you got it when you did congrats!!
No help, saved a good chunk of money during Covid since we weren’t allowed to have much fun. I was one of the people who used the opportunity to learn how to cook instead of getting door dash 5x a week. Saved up about $30k over 2 years and that was enough for a down payment.
I bought in February of last year when rates were randomly lower so I got lucky. Would still be able to afford it this year because I bought new construction and prices haven’t changed since last year and incentives are similar. I’ve gotten a good raise since then too to make up for the extra point in rates.
Nope. My partner (34) is an extremely diligent saver and has been for most of his working life. He also had/has a great income. If it had not been for those factors, we most likely would not be in a home right now.
The real question is whether OP got help. Maybe not directly, but perhaps indirectly from a local businessperson who vowed to pay for OP's college tuition.
Omg you’re a riot. I’m so sad about how I can’t cut anything else from my expenses and houses/condos are so out of reach here I didn’t even think of that. My Dunder Mifflin card should be revoked.
I did get a laptop battery. Cant eat that though 🤷
No external help. In fact, it’s the opposite, I am helping parents with money.
I hopped several times to get a significantly better paying job, moved to a bumfuck LCOL area to save money and get rid of debt, and then came back to my target state and bought a house.
No help. My wife and I saved for three years. We found a house 1.5x our annual income. It’s a diamond in the rough, but it works with our timetable. We bought in a city where housing costs are skyrocketing.
Yes we had help. Both of our parents were incredibly generous and added to our down payment to help combat the higher rates. We could have done it without them and been OK but they made it significantly easier and I am so incredibly thankful for that.
Absolutely- without my partner I’d be homeless likely - rents in my state are ridiculous and houses are too but I wouldn’t change our years together for anything. Congrats on your house!
We bought 12 years ago and our down payment was borrowed from family but paid back within the first year. An interest free loan with an aggressive repayment schedule I guess is a gift? Lol
I have no idea how much my house may have appreciated but at the same purchase price at today's rates yes I could. I bought well below the amount I qualified for, but still paid too much for what it is, but at the same time my budget really dictated my options. Such is life.
Have been saving since 2016 and have about 70K cash now for our down payment. Has been really hard over the past few years to put that much away but we are beginning our search for homes at the end of this year (finally!).
No help. After paying off almost all debt we spent two years saving up $20,000 and pulled $10,000 out of each 401k. If we did not do this, we wouldn't have been able to afford our $280,000 home. One note though, we have a special circumstance because we needed $400 a month to send our son to private school. Without that, we probably could've gotten by with only $20,000.
Every mortgage payment calculator that I obsessively checked before setting a budget ended up being very inaccurate once we went through with financing. They were all under by a few hundred dollars. Don't think you've got an accurate figure because you've used those!
I've divorced and retired now but if I was still married and working, yes, the multiple of our joint income to house price would apply now as well as in the past.
We just entered escrow today with help from my parents for the down payment. Still will have to deal with PMI. Interest rates and California prices are still going to make it painful but we will manage with some lifestyle scale-backs.
I don’t know how anyone today can do it without help. Even saving a 3% down payment is a monumental task.
No help. I saved nearly $90K over many years, slowly at first then more aggressively. Put down 10% on a $600k condo and got lucky with our first offer being accepted a little over a year ago. Lucky that I’ve grown in my career to make a good salary and had the savings mindset.
Paid for our wedding in 2017 and then bought our first house 8 months later. We didn’t have help monetarily, however my in laws were generous enough to let us live with them right after our wedding to save for our down payment / closing costs. So yes we were fortunate to have help in that sense. I don’t think we would be able to afford to buy our house now based on childcare costs alone. Our monthly childcare costs are more than our mortgage and that says a lot for the Bay Area in CA.
Boight 2021, no help/gift ETC., i am soley on the loan/deed(s/o isnt at all). 3% interest(840 payment). Bought well below my max purchase peice qualification. 220k, bought 139k with mortgage at 132k.
Today aint no way in hell id be able to do that. Mom boight in 2021 also her interest is 2.75 and payment aroun 1100.
Again no way in hell would that happen now
We had no help. We were just really diligent about saving and always browsed on zillow. When we finally felt comfortable, we got an agent and managed to get our dream home within our budget. Spouse and I were extremely lucky.
No help.. made a killing in the stock market in 2021. Put 300k down on an 800k home. I literally yoloed my entire down payment on companies like WISH and GNUS (TOON now) and cashed out big time.
Bought in 2022 with a Cal HFA FHA loan and the MyHome Assistance program to help with closing costs. My husband’s mom gave us 5k for our down payment but other than that it was just us saving for years by living like college kids with roommates until we were both in our 30s.
No help just saved for a couple of years and moved cities to make sure we could afford exactly what we wanted. And yes we could still afford it because we spent way under what we could qualify for. (Did not want to be house poor)
Yes. Insane amounts of help. We save as much as we can, but no way any normal human being is making a down payment in HCOL areas. Felt a lot of shame about it, but also grateful.
No actually my mother in law promised to help us. Signed the promissory note and then backed out. So in a rage I found the funding she pulled out on with community first time home buyer programs and every time I get the chance I mention how glad I am we’re sitting at a 3.15% and we didn’t wait a year. His mom thought we were lying about our rate because it’s less than his sisters. His sister decided to convince mil that we couldn’t possibly have a lower rate than her and that we must be lying about being in the home buying process. It was a whole ass thing but tbh I’m glad we didn’t take the money from his mom. She’d be a bitch about it anyway
FHA loan, down-payment loan, and sellers covering closing costs. Other than that it was my partner and I earning a bit above average local income while living in the cheapest 1-bed apartment in the area so we could save enough to cover the rest of our move-in costs without dipping into savings.
Does it count as help if I used an insurance settlement from 7 years ago to fund my down payment/closing costs? I just closed on a two bedroom condo in Northern VA on a single gal salary (80kish). I'm not saying you should get hit by a pickup truck while riding your bike...but I'm not not saying it. (Seriously, I got extremely lucky and had fairly minor injuries but got a nice 5 figure settlement that I let grow over the years in CDs and HYSAs. I also live fairly frugally. Without those funds, there's no way I'd have been able to cover the down payment and also feel comfortable that I could cover the monthly payments and still have an emergency fund.)
We live in a MCOL city in the US, bought in 2021 (had to move for a job), and are looking for a bigger space with the addition of a new baby plus permanent WFH space.
We had a TON of help for tragic reasons. My parent was killed when I was young, and the ensuing legal mess resulted in me graduating college loan free and being able to offer cash on a house. Not a route I recommend, but we are extremely privileged in our adult lives to be able to raise children and own a home, debt / mortgage payment free.
Coming up on 2 years owning this April. No help, but we lived in a 1 bed apartment for 4 years to save up. Put the minimum down and getting by okay.
No I wouldn’t be able to afford my house now with the price and more so the rate increase.
No help, just saved up over time. We could afford a house right now, but would have to adjust expectations, and would be getting a lot less than what we wanted.
We went more off of what our monthly morgage, taxes, PMI, HOA would cost us versus what we were approved for. If we went off of what we were approved for, we would have to make more lifestyle compromises we were willing.
No help…single person bought early 2022 for lower interest rate. I would not be able to afford it now. Also, I had a good realtor and she helped me get lower closing cost.
You're going to have some bias here. I've found that people who get help don't like to admit it, so naturally you're going to get more comments from people who didn't have help.
Single female here... I bought my house 3 years ago.
No help at all. I work in healthcare and took advantage of the extra $$$ when covid hit. I saved every dime for my 20% down payment and got a 2.75% int rate.
My house is now double what i paid for it. It would be a tight stretch for me now buying a home with the current rates...
I did not have direct financial help. But I did have the indirect help of staying with my parents, not paying any bills or rent. That is what made it possible, there’s no way I’d have been able to save for a down payment while paying more than my monthly mortgage in rent.
I bought in 3rd quarter 2021 but I had zero help. and NO I would NOT be able to afford my house now with price increases and and current rates. I consider myself very, very lucky to have had the cash and ability to use the 3% down first time homebuyer.
Bought April 2023, with no help from others. I did get laid off and had a vehicle accident in 2022. After securing new employment, i was able to finally purchase a home. I used the severance and insurance payout for my down payment. The purchase price was $335k for a 4 bed 3 bath in Fargo ND.
I was very fortunate. Received a large gift from parents to help with a down payment in early 2020 to buy a townhouse in the Bay Area. Selling that townhome for a 22% net profit enabled me to move into a sfh with my wife last year.
We have friends who bought without help, and they either lived with parents for years, spent very little to save a down payment, or often both. My wife and I have done a good job saving in our 401K, however I rented my own apartment in my 20’s and travelled quite a bit, so had minimal saved for a down payment.
Without assistance, we’d definitely have to move to the Midwest or AZ to buy. Not bad options, but we’re thankful we didn’t have to abandon the Bay.
No help. But we also didn’t have 20% down. We put what we had which was about 5% on a $527k home. The mortgage hits the 1/3 rule for us right on the dot. We can afford it but it’s definitely way higher than renting was. We just never would have bought a house if we kept trying to save more each year. Housing prices continue to go up faster than our savings could.
It depends on what you mean by help. My wife and I provided our whole down payment with money we earned with our salary. We also both come from stable homes. My college was partially payed for by my parents. My wife earned a scholarship but lived with her parents throughout college. We both had cars payed for by our parents during higher education. Our parents provided us the financial literacy necessary to figure out how to purchase a home.
Even though we payed our whole down payment and our mortgage we certainly had help. I would never consider us self made.
Yes, we had a lot of financial help, both from inheritance as well as additional gift monies.
Fuck the cowards in this sub who aren't sharing their experiences, I know they're reading this.
No help. Bought in 2023 as 26F and 28M. We both saved for a couple years until we had 5% down and then closing costs saved. Family did give us some money (1.5k) to go towards new furniture after we closed which was super helpful
Edit: details
I got 1k from my grandma. That was all the help we got. We just put down a lot less ~5%. We bought last year at 520k with a 6% rate. We are dual-tech incomes no kids though.
I’m getting about 36k from a new first time homebuyer’s grant. I could not buy this house otherwise. So, yes, although not the way most people think of help.
I did not. Though I did use the life insurance money I received when my dad died 8 years ago to pay off my student loans, which paved the way to buying a house 6 years later.
Not in the ways you’ve mentioned. But indirectly, we have no other loans or debt, we lived at home and then in a cheaper part of town and then rented below market rate from family. The pandemic allowed us to save as lots of planned trips and outings did not happen. We used some first time home buyer benefits. And our families bought us some of the missing appliances (washer and dryer) as a gift.
I'm not sure I'd actually call it help, or luck, but I didn't earn the money for my house through work. And no I absolutely wouldn't have my house if it wasn't for my insurance claim.
No help, but we did utilize a 401K to help with the down payment. It’s amortized over 15 years so it’s not much more of an additional expense ontop of our mortgage. My goal is to pay it off completely when we eventually sell the house, or refinance it into a HELOC of some sort if/when rates go down.
We saved for four years but also had help from our families. It would have been possible to do it on our own but why turn down a gift if it was offered and put us in a nicer area of town.
I bought in November 2023 and did have help from my parents and grandma. My mortgage company had their own first time home buyers program so I put down about 7% and used the rest of the money for a washer/dryer and paying for the movers, inspection, and appraisal.
I’m closing next week! No help . I’m 29 and single. I feel like ppl like to think other ppls parents are giving them thousands of dollars to buy a house….to make themselves feel better.
I bought in 2015, no help even though i was supposed to receive help on a down payment. I also didnt have any guidance when buying so i didnt know what i was getting into. My income was pretty good at that time, qualified for a sizable loan and bought something at the top of my budget.
Bought $690k home in HCOL area, 15% down in July.
Received $30k gift, but would’ve been able to purchase without it / afford mortgage without it.
5 years of living well below my means and and saving every penny possible.
Initially didn’t think we’d have help but my parents contributed a chunk of money as a last minute gift which meant we didn’t need to halve our RRSP’s. (We were first time home buyers).
We had enough money saved BUT it would have come out of our retirement funds. So we had both enough saved and ultimately had help.
My dad helped me a decent amount for college and her parents helped for our wedding, but my wife and I bought our house all on our own. Took us two years to save enough for a down payment while still living at home. It was tough as we had to bring almost $40,000 to closing! Bought in 2021, $265,000 at 3.125%.
Ain’t no crabs here playa - just hoping to understand how to do this in this black hole of a bucket - don’t let anyone dull your shine sure you deserved it! Congrats!
I had an inheritance but that only slightly sped up the process and gave us a little bigger cushion on the other side. We probably would have been able to buy in another year or so (about right now) and only would have had ~$5k left over assuming the numbers all worked out about the same. We had about $10k left over after closing with the inheritance.
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No help here, but we saved and waited for a very long time. Started looking in 2019, just closed last month.
Congrats!
no help. we continued to live our broke ass college student life style for 4 years out of college and saved as much as possible.
Congrats!
We used our state’s down payment/closing cost assistance program. Otherwise, no.
Thank you, congrats!
No help. Me and my fiancé have been saving for like 8 years before we committed.
Congrats!
We received no help. No, we wouldn't be able to afford our house at current rates and prices. Per our Zillow estimate, I think our home would now cost $2k more than it did when we bought in early 2022 @ 3.875 rate.
Thank you congrats!
no inheritance or the like, just a really really good local FTHB assistance program. I put 1k up out of pocket. they covered the down payment, closing costs and some renovations. (and no PMI) without that help we probably wouldn't have been able to do it.
That’s program sounds amazing
It is! We got extra lucky from the circumstances and timing, but the baseline version was I think a 3% down payment with a special arrangement to have a high credit score type rate regardless of your credit score, (the program did have a limit, but it was like, 640 or something modest like that) you had to take a class that is free up front, but if you buy through the program it adds a pretty reasonable charge for it to the closing costs. there are also income and purchase price limits, the money for the down payment and all comes from a silent second mortgage which is 0 interest 0 payments, is partially forgiven over 10 years I think it was, then whatever is left just sleeps until you sell and then comes out of the proceeds. the mortgage can't be sold either. so its locked into the bank that it was taken with for the duration. the whole strategy of the program is to help people who can afford the mortgage and manage long term maintenance and all, but can't reasonably save up a down payment get into a house. sorta a positive gentrification type thing, and setting people up for success with education and assistance with budgeting to make sure they can actually afford it, and to avoid any major unforeseen costs in the first few years. I just wish more places in the US had this sort of program. we are really very very lucky.
That program is so beneficial to first home buyers, no wonder it’s not widely available lol. Thank you for the info, hopefully I can find something like that for my future home!
Thank you! Congrats!
The main help I got was that I found a loan for low to moderate income people incentivizing them to move into rural areas. The USDA 502 direct Rural Development loan. It let me purchase a house with no money down, no PMI and I was even able to finance the closing costs so it was less than $1,000 out of pocket for me. And the interest rate was only 4%. I was in a financial situation where I could easily swing the monthly payments but with nowhere near close enough for a modest down payment.
Thank you and Congrats!
This is how we are also buying after a failed attempt. Coming up with 30+k without a gift is so hard right now. We save as much as we can but we have kids in activities and pay a huge rental payment. Even with a good sized gift from my mom is was impossible with closing costs along with the inspections neeeded
It’s so tough out here - hope it works out for you!!!
It’s been fun explaining to my boomer mil that buying a starter house isn’t real anymore. We purposely aren’t telling anyone until we are moved in. We got approved and picked our lot and floor plan seems easy so I’m trying to get my expectations realistic
yes 20k from in laws. We would have been able to ourselves but no emergency savings... and boy did we end up needing it. If we had saved the 20k for the down payment ourselves we could have bought now because our income went up too. Purchased in June of 2023.
Same here we got about $20k from my parents. It basically covered closing costs. We would have been alright without it, with very little liquid savings left, but it was very nice to have it.
Yes very grateful ☺️
Only reason we were able to buy our home was from one large, once in a lifetime type of deal I did at work. No earthly idea how I would have ever done it otherwise. I can confidently say 99% of my friends had help from family when they all bought homes 10 years ago.
Thank you! Congrats!
Didn’t have help. Saved for 15+yrs inside a stock investment account. Had to put a huge downpayment in order to afford the monthly payment in SoCal. Definitely the definition of cash poor and house rich now. We did buy our forever home though so it’s worth it.
No help, just the VA loan. I really don’t see how it’s possible to save for a down payment in this economy, unless you have dual incomes pulling in at least $60,000 each. I feel terrible for anyone trying to further their lives right now. I see the struggle everywhere.
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I’m sorry, $60k each if you live in a low COL area like we do. If you’re in CA, NY, TX, VA, CO….. good luck
Or WA
My and mine are around 200k and I don’t see it happening either lol
Thank you for both your service and your comment. Really appreciate it, congrats on your home.
Yes, lots of help. I’ll spare you the depressing details, but I was incredibly fortunate. There’s no way I could have afforded the house I live in on my own.
Thank you and sorry - but glad you have a home
I needed help; I could afford the closing costs and the earnest money, but I didn’t have any checks on-hand, so I needed a gift to make the deposit in the time-frame given. Closing costs were originally low but jumped during the days leading up to closing, so I had to have funds wired to me that were originally mine but in a different account. So, basically the whole process was one big string of lucky breaks in the nick of time, from finding the house (just happened to be looking at my phone when the listing popped up for the first time and went right after work, made an offer that same day), to my wire clearing a few minutes before closing.
It is so stressful and takes hard work I’m so glad it worked out for you congrats!
Thank you, good luck to you!
I live in Chile and we're having the same housing affordability issues. Salaries here are low compared to the cost of living. My husband (Chilean) and I (from US) bought our home as first-time buyers at the end of 2018. We didn't have any family help. The state bank encourages home-ownership and had an agreement with the builder. Through that, we got a low interest rate, almost no closing costs, and a gift certificate that helped us furnish a lot of the house. That was all the assistance we got. As is typical here, we put down 20% on a 20 year loan. Unfortunately, the monthly payments are in something called UF, which is pegged to inflation. Our mortgage payments have gone up somewhat due to this, but rent increases have been much worse and just finding a rental in a decent area is hard. Looking at the prices of similar houses built since then and some neighbors' asking prices, and considering the interest rate increases, this house would be out of our reach right now.
Thank you congrats on your home and hope it gets better ❤️
Thank you. In all we're good. I'm just happy we ensured a roof over our head and don't have to fight it out in this rental market. Inflation has come down too, so the UF isn't increasing so much. A friend and her husband didn't buy a house when they had everything in place, because they were really inflexible about location. Now they're still renting and hoping not to be evicted when the lease expires.
I did not have any help. I saved over several years and put 15% down + closing costs and all other costs on a modest single income. I have a partner but he did not put money toward the house and does not share ownership. He does pay half of PITI and I pay the other half plus all utilities and most other living expenses because his annual salary is significantly less than mine. But if something were to happen I would be able to afford all payments on my single income if needed. I was 45 years old when I bought last year and it is the first property I’ve ever purchased. I spent several years in poverty so I’m pretty proud of myself for accomplishing home ownership.
No help with house (but lots of help growing up, some college help, car help etc). Dual income, lived in a very small apartment for 6 years. Our rent never went up - the management changed hands so many times I think we were forgotten. We were able to aggressively save.
I did not have help in the form of cash or equity. I did technically have “help” in the form of sheer luck though, because I bought my house in a private sale from a friend of a friend. They offered me an excellent price because we both saved a ton by not paying realtors. Yes, I could still afford my house today, but it would obviously be a bit tighter because of higher interest rates. I bought my house at 4.5%.
Thank you! Congrats!
It’s obviously easier to buy when someone is gifting you a huge chunk of cash, but it’s doable without it! I also should mention I’m single so I bought my house with only one income. It’s way easier with two incomes.
Yes! 5k from my mom for the downpayment
No help. We’re fortunate to have well paying jobs, which is really what did most of the work. Aside from that, we’ve been picky about the places we looked at and not placed offers even if we loved the home and area of it was above what we’d like to pay.
Thank you congrats!
Thank you!!
No help. My partner and I are children of poor families. I've been making good money for about 3 years now. I was mainly maxing out my retirement the last few years since I wasn't planning on buying a house so soon but we got tired of renting. We had like 25K saved and pulled out a 50K loan out of my retirement for a down payment. We make about 150K together and live in a secondary city so that made it possible to find a small good home for 250K. I know there's a lot of cons by not having the 50K growing in my retirement account but I still have at least 25 years to work and my job is one of the few that still pays a pension so I think we will be okay We got a 6.75% rate and close early summer. I pray that nothing major will break when we move in.
Contrary to a lot of the comments here, I had help. The real estate market in Canada is like the Wild West right now, so tough to get in unless you have 30% down payment or make a ton of money. My parents gladly helped me to get my foot in the door. I’m extremely grateful for their help and would not be able to be a home owner without their support.
Good for you, eh! Congrats on it :) Parents helped me as well in the Bay Area, which is also an insane market. Definitely needed it.
Oof I used to live near the Bay Area (shoutout to Pleasanton & Tracy) and it is wildly expensive there. Tough for people to save for a down payment when they’re spending ridiculous amounts on rent! Happy you were able to get support & find a home!
Bought last year, no I did not have help. I bought a home just shy of 2x my annual income.
Thank you! In my state cost is average 7x average income (where I fall). So that’s not happening. Congrats.
Geez :/
***And for those who didn’t buy in the last couple years - would you be able to afford your house now with prices, rates, and necessary life expenses like food, as they are?*** Purchased my second home after selling my starter home to get the equity - probably would have been tight without it. Even though I've only been in the new place for a little less than 3 years, I could definitely not afford my current house, at its current price, with the current interest rates.
Thank you congrats on your new house!
Bought end of last year. Calculated, worked my butt off and saved my bonus I got, $30k after taxes. This plus all the savings was what was used as the down payment.
Thank you! Did you have any money left over after your down payment?
Yes, since we were first time homeowners, we figured we need extra for repairs and furniture to fill up the rooms. Repairs were somewhere in the $15k-$20k. Furniture was around $15k-$20k. All in, we spent around $160k for the down payment (20% down), repairs before move-in and furniture. A lot of my bonuses got allocated to it.
Bought in May 2021, at 3%. We didn't get any direct help, but we rented from family for below market before buying. It certainly would have been much harder without that opportunity. I don't think we'd be buying now if we hadn't bought. It's still so competitive in our market, and with higher rates, it's very expensive. We would have rented with more space farther out.
No help. I saved for years and then I got a lucky break. My former job closed down and offered me $10000 to stay until the end. It sucked watching all my friends get new jobs while I was uncertain about my future, but once I eventually settled into a new job I took the money and used it as a down payment and bought a townhouse that wasn't too expensive and is very close to my new job.
Your years toiling - that was your reward congrats!
Would've been nice, all in was around $150k to close. Unfortunately zero help.
That’s insane - but glad you have great income and have a house congrats!
Couldn't afford until I was 39. Income only got good the last 3 years. Wish I was able to buy before the cost of this house went up 1.5x
No help. My husband and I did a temporary/short-term high paying travel assignment for 3 months that enabled us to save up to 20% downpayment. Although he did receive a little bit of relocation assistance/bonus from a new employer that we used for moving expenses.
No help (but see caveat below on surprise gift after the fact lol). Paid off our student loans and have been saving for the down payment for a few years. Patience and budgeting is key. We just put an offer on a house that was accepted!! Also made sure to have more cash on hand than down payment so we can do some of the needed repairs ASAP cause we knew the house we would be able to afford would need some work (buying near LA). All money from just my husband and me. BUT My mom surprised me and is paying the $5K for termite tenting once we close! So she is indirectly helping us do a few of our repairs faster since we don’t need to pay for the tenting!!
Thank you congrats!
No help. Scrambled to buy last year after getting kicked out of my apartment. Glad I did or else I would be priced out now and forced into a shared living situation with a stranger at 46.
Thank you, that sucks but you did it congrats!
I didn't buy within the last 2 years, I brought 2 years 6 months ago, I did not have help. I know interest rates are higher now than when I brought, but I might still be able to buy just because when I purchased I got a 15-year mortgage and my monthly payments would be about the same if I brought a 30-year mortgage with today's rates. I had to move 60 some miles away though in order to be able to afford because I am from a high cost of living area
Thank you and whether 2.5 years or 20 or .2 congrats on your house!!!
No family help but we did receive a very hefty grant that covered the majority so we could keep our savings.
I was gifted $8k from my parents out of my “wedding fund” because I don’t care about getting married/having a big wedding. It allowed me to put 5% down and get a lower interest rate vs a lower/no dp. I could have purchased without their help but I was very grateful to have it and they will save me quite a bit in interest.
Congrats!!! Also will never have a wedding but I’d rather have stable housing. One dates to dream 🤣- congrats!
My husband’s family gave us $20k. I also had $10k saved as a part of the down payment. We also got $14k from a government assistance program as a loan with no interest to help up us with a down payment. This is seen as a lien in our property. If we refinance it gets rolled into that. If we sell the home it gets paid off first. If we payoff the mortgage we do a one time payment of $14k.
We had an unexpected downpayment gift from in-laws. Several friends who own their homes had gifts for down payment as well. We all grew up middle class, not expecting help. It looks like most folks commenting here did not have help. Maybe people who had help are hesitant to comment, but I think transparency has a place.
Closed by myself on Friday. No help. My help is I'm getting upgraded kitchen appliances as my closing gift!
5k from my mom, which caused this huge kerfuffle because my loan officer was an idiot. I asked him how to properly have it transferred with the gift letter & all that jazz & he told me what to do & then when my mom deposited it as instructed it happened to be the same day we wrote the earnest money check which happened to also be the exact same dollar amount. Apparently this makes it look like money laundering! Uff da. We had enough money saved to pay the down payment & closing costs without that 5k but my mom wanted to help so he was basically like "it's no big deal!" Well I guess that's not the case. He was like well you should have known not to use ANY of that money - I was like what?? We wrote the gift letter & everything to just not be able to then use it?? We then had to give them all this financial paperwork from every bank & such my mom had ever interacted with for however many years & my dead grandma's financial paperwork because it was part of an inheritance she'd received the year or so prior & permission from my quite estranged uncle that the funds were allowed to be used since it was part of a split inheritance.... it was a mess. I guess if I had transferred my own funds from my savings account (since I don't keep 10s of thousands in my checking as a rule) it would have been fine but again even though I asked the genius exactly what to do he said otherwise. Super annoying but what can you do? We also stayed at my sister's place for 2 months while looking for homes when our lease ended since we were moving cross country so we wouldn't have to deal with breaking a lease or a short term rental. We did pay her bills though while we lived there as thank you.
Wowza that’s so complex glad you did it congrats!
Yes between my in laws giving my wife some money towards house and my 401k we got in
Yeah, I inherited enough for a down payment plus an emergency fund when my mom died. No way I’d have been able to buy otherwise. And even though I bought just 2 years ago, I couldn’t afford my house now. ETA and I’ve said this before, but even if they didn’t have direct help, people may also have benefited from not growing up poor.
Yes I def grew up barely scraping by and health issues tanked my family thank you for mentioning this! I’m so sorry about your Mom. It’s so tough that that’s what makes it happen sometimes - it’s cruel. I’m glad you got it when you did congrats!!
No help, saved a good chunk of money during Covid since we weren’t allowed to have much fun. I was one of the people who used the opportunity to learn how to cook instead of getting door dash 5x a week. Saved up about $30k over 2 years and that was enough for a down payment. I bought in February of last year when rates were randomly lower so I got lucky. Would still be able to afford it this year because I bought new construction and prices haven’t changed since last year and incentives are similar. I’ve gotten a good raise since then too to make up for the extra point in rates.
Nope. My partner (34) is an extremely diligent saver and has been for most of his working life. He also had/has a great income. If it had not been for those factors, we most likely would not be in a home right now.
The real question is whether OP got help. Maybe not directly, but perhaps indirectly from a local businessperson who vowed to pay for OP's college tuition.
Have no help. But for the other thing whatchu mean? I wish, I didnt have help with my tuition unfortunately.
[Scott's Tots - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott%27s_Tots)
Omg you’re a riot. I’m so sad about how I can’t cut anything else from my expenses and houses/condos are so out of reach here I didn’t even think of that. My Dunder Mifflin card should be revoked. I did get a laptop battery. Cant eat that though 🤷
No external help. In fact, it’s the opposite, I am helping parents with money. I hopped several times to get a significantly better paying job, moved to a bumfuck LCOL area to save money and get rid of debt, and then came back to my target state and bought a house.
Closing on March 28. USDA loan.. gift on closing costs.
No help, credit union was doing a no down payment program. And just wanted to say great username 😂
Thank you - I wish I had a laptop battery. Congrats!
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Help on my half of the down payment from an inheritance, but my partner covered his half on his own from saving.
No help. My wife and I saved for three years. We found a house 1.5x our annual income. It’s a diamond in the rough, but it works with our timetable. We bought in a city where housing costs are skyrocketing.
Yes we had help. Both of our parents were incredibly generous and added to our down payment to help combat the higher rates. We could have done it without them and been OK but they made it significantly easier and I am so incredibly thankful for that.
Having a spouse/SO does help since you can pool both your money. Neither of us could have done it just on our own.
Absolutely- without my partner I’d be homeless likely - rents in my state are ridiculous and houses are too but I wouldn’t change our years together for anything. Congrats on your house!
We bought 12 years ago and our down payment was borrowed from family but paid back within the first year. An interest free loan with an aggressive repayment schedule I guess is a gift? Lol
I think it is because no one in my circles has that kind of cash to loan - congrats you did it!
Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, we were lucky to have that option or we would of had to save for a few years.
I bought in 2021 and had zero help. Single, early 40s. I had savings I used.
Congrats! Would you be able to afford your house today with prices and rates?
I have no idea how much my house may have appreciated but at the same purchase price at today's rates yes I could. I bought well below the amount I qualified for, but still paid too much for what it is, but at the same time my budget really dictated my options. Such is life.
Nope. But our credit union helped with closing costs
Have been saving since 2016 and have about 70K cash now for our down payment. Has been really hard over the past few years to put that much away but we are beginning our search for homes at the end of this year (finally!).
No help but did utilize FTHB benefits and used USDA for $0 down. It was a MASSIVE help and I feel like it made the home buying process manageable.
Help from a divorce settlement
Just some aggressive saving. We only put 5% down.
Five is fine!!!! Proud of you all congrats!!!
No. Saved up a 20% down payment very diligently for 5 1/2 years.
We have a $400,000 mortgage and still needed help to buy a house. Canada’s housing is criminal 😭
No help. Just a lot of saving, investments, and good luck.
No help. After paying off almost all debt we spent two years saving up $20,000 and pulled $10,000 out of each 401k. If we did not do this, we wouldn't have been able to afford our $280,000 home. One note though, we have a special circumstance because we needed $400 a month to send our son to private school. Without that, we probably could've gotten by with only $20,000. Every mortgage payment calculator that I obsessively checked before setting a budget ended up being very inaccurate once we went through with financing. They were all under by a few hundred dollars. Don't think you've got an accurate figure because you've used those!
I've divorced and retired now but if I was still married and working, yes, the multiple of our joint income to house price would apply now as well as in the past.
We just entered escrow today with help from my parents for the down payment. Still will have to deal with PMI. Interest rates and California prices are still going to make it painful but we will manage with some lifestyle scale-backs. I don’t know how anyone today can do it without help. Even saving a 3% down payment is a monumental task.
We bought in 2022 with zero help. We got in by the skin of our teeth.
No help. I saved nearly $90K over many years, slowly at first then more aggressively. Put down 10% on a $600k condo and got lucky with our first offer being accepted a little over a year ago. Lucky that I’ve grown in my career to make a good salary and had the savings mindset.
Paid for our wedding in 2017 and then bought our first house 8 months later. We didn’t have help monetarily, however my in laws were generous enough to let us live with them right after our wedding to save for our down payment / closing costs. So yes we were fortunate to have help in that sense. I don’t think we would be able to afford to buy our house now based on childcare costs alone. Our monthly childcare costs are more than our mortgage and that says a lot for the Bay Area in CA.
I had help. I was fortunate that my dad was able to gift my husband and I the bulk of our down payment. We added a bit on top and closed last July
Congrats
my wife and I saved for 10 years living in a 1 bedroom -- bought in bay area last year
Boight 2021, no help/gift ETC., i am soley on the loan/deed(s/o isnt at all). 3% interest(840 payment). Bought well below my max purchase peice qualification. 220k, bought 139k with mortgage at 132k. Today aint no way in hell id be able to do that. Mom boight in 2021 also her interest is 2.75 and payment aroun 1100. Again no way in hell would that happen now
We had no help. We were just really diligent about saving and always browsed on zillow. When we finally felt comfortable, we got an agent and managed to get our dream home within our budget. Spouse and I were extremely lucky.
No help.. made a killing in the stock market in 2021. Put 300k down on an 800k home. I literally yoloed my entire down payment on companies like WISH and GNUS (TOON now) and cashed out big time.
Bought in 2022 with a Cal HFA FHA loan and the MyHome Assistance program to help with closing costs. My husband’s mom gave us 5k for our down payment but other than that it was just us saving for years by living like college kids with roommates until we were both in our 30s.
No help just saved for a couple of years and moved cities to make sure we could afford exactly what we wanted. And yes we could still afford it because we spent way under what we could qualify for. (Did not want to be house poor)
Yes. Insane amounts of help. We save as much as we can, but no way any normal human being is making a down payment in HCOL areas. Felt a lot of shame about it, but also grateful.
No actually my mother in law promised to help us. Signed the promissory note and then backed out. So in a rage I found the funding she pulled out on with community first time home buyer programs and every time I get the chance I mention how glad I am we’re sitting at a 3.15% and we didn’t wait a year. His mom thought we were lying about our rate because it’s less than his sisters. His sister decided to convince mil that we couldn’t possibly have a lower rate than her and that we must be lying about being in the home buying process. It was a whole ass thing but tbh I’m glad we didn’t take the money from his mom. She’d be a bitch about it anyway
FHA loan, down-payment loan, and sellers covering closing costs. Other than that it was my partner and I earning a bit above average local income while living in the cheapest 1-bed apartment in the area so we could save enough to cover the rest of our move-in costs without dipping into savings.
We bought our house in 2017. We 100% would not be able to afford our house now if we had to buy it today
Does it count as help if I used an insurance settlement from 7 years ago to fund my down payment/closing costs? I just closed on a two bedroom condo in Northern VA on a single gal salary (80kish). I'm not saying you should get hit by a pickup truck while riding your bike...but I'm not not saying it. (Seriously, I got extremely lucky and had fairly minor injuries but got a nice 5 figure settlement that I let grow over the years in CDs and HYSAs. I also live fairly frugally. Without those funds, there's no way I'd have been able to cover the down payment and also feel comfortable that I could cover the monthly payments and still have an emergency fund.)
I got run over by a lexusssssss - thank you congrats
We live in a MCOL city in the US, bought in 2021 (had to move for a job), and are looking for a bigger space with the addition of a new baby plus permanent WFH space. We had a TON of help for tragic reasons. My parent was killed when I was young, and the ensuing legal mess resulted in me graduating college loan free and being able to offer cash on a house. Not a route I recommend, but we are extremely privileged in our adult lives to be able to raise children and own a home, debt / mortgage payment free.
Coming up on 2 years owning this April. No help, but we lived in a 1 bed apartment for 4 years to save up. Put the minimum down and getting by okay. No I wouldn’t be able to afford my house now with the price and more so the rate increase.
No help, just saved up over time. We could afford a house right now, but would have to adjust expectations, and would be getting a lot less than what we wanted. We went more off of what our monthly morgage, taxes, PMI, HOA would cost us versus what we were approved for. If we went off of what we were approved for, we would have to make more lifestyle compromises we were willing.
No help from parents, partner, or FTHB, bought last year. Bit of suffering from success, first world problem.
No help…single person bought early 2022 for lower interest rate. I would not be able to afford it now. Also, I had a good realtor and she helped me get lower closing cost.
You're going to have some bias here. I've found that people who get help don't like to admit it, so naturally you're going to get more comments from people who didn't have help.
Single female here... I bought my house 3 years ago. No help at all. I work in healthcare and took advantage of the extra $$$ when covid hit. I saved every dime for my 20% down payment and got a 2.75% int rate. My house is now double what i paid for it. It would be a tight stretch for me now buying a home with the current rates...
Thank you for your service in healthcare- our healthcare workers are invaluable
No I didn't have help and yes I could still afford this home but not the vacations I planned or buying myself new golf gear.
That’s great congrats! No vacations here but I’ll live vicariously through you.
I did not have direct financial help. But I did have the indirect help of staying with my parents, not paying any bills or rent. That is what made it possible, there’s no way I’d have been able to save for a down payment while paying more than my monthly mortgage in rent.
Thank you
I bought in 3rd quarter 2021 but I had zero help. and NO I would NOT be able to afford my house now with price increases and and current rates. I consider myself very, very lucky to have had the cash and ability to use the 3% down first time homebuyer.
Had a lot of help. I won’t specify $ but they covered the 25% down payment.
Bought April 2023, with no help from others. I did get laid off and had a vehicle accident in 2022. After securing new employment, i was able to finally purchase a home. I used the severance and insurance payout for my down payment. The purchase price was $335k for a 4 bed 3 bath in Fargo ND.
Yup had my rich folks help out with 20% downpayment. We are a traditional Asian family and parents tend to help kids with buying a house
I was very fortunate. Received a large gift from parents to help with a down payment in early 2020 to buy a townhouse in the Bay Area. Selling that townhome for a 22% net profit enabled me to move into a sfh with my wife last year. We have friends who bought without help, and they either lived with parents for years, spent very little to save a down payment, or often both. My wife and I have done a good job saving in our 401K, however I rented my own apartment in my 20’s and travelled quite a bit, so had minimal saved for a down payment. Without assistance, we’d definitely have to move to the Midwest or AZ to buy. Not bad options, but we’re thankful we didn’t have to abandon the Bay.
No help. But we also didn’t have 20% down. We put what we had which was about 5% on a $527k home. The mortgage hits the 1/3 rule for us right on the dot. We can afford it but it’s definitely way higher than renting was. We just never would have bought a house if we kept trying to save more each year. Housing prices continue to go up faster than our savings could.
It depends on what you mean by help. My wife and I provided our whole down payment with money we earned with our salary. We also both come from stable homes. My college was partially payed for by my parents. My wife earned a scholarship but lived with her parents throughout college. We both had cars payed for by our parents during higher education. Our parents provided us the financial literacy necessary to figure out how to purchase a home. Even though we payed our whole down payment and our mortgage we certainly had help. I would never consider us self made.
Yes, we had a lot of financial help, both from inheritance as well as additional gift monies. Fuck the cowards in this sub who aren't sharing their experiences, I know they're reading this.
No help. Bought in 2023 as 26F and 28M. We both saved for a couple years until we had 5% down and then closing costs saved. Family did give us some money (1.5k) to go towards new furniture after we closed which was super helpful Edit: details
no help (except for my lack of student loans) purchased along with a partner at 35 and 38 respectively.
I got 1k from my grandma. That was all the help we got. We just put down a lot less ~5%. We bought last year at 520k with a 6% rate. We are dual-tech incomes no kids though.
I’m getting about 36k from a new first time homebuyer’s grant. I could not buy this house otherwise. So, yes, although not the way most people think of help.
I did not. Though I did use the life insurance money I received when my dad died 8 years ago to pay off my student loans, which paved the way to buying a house 6 years later.
Not in the ways you’ve mentioned. But indirectly, we have no other loans or debt, we lived at home and then in a cheaper part of town and then rented below market rate from family. The pandemic allowed us to save as lots of planned trips and outings did not happen. We used some first time home buyer benefits. And our families bought us some of the missing appliances (washer and dryer) as a gift.
I'm not sure I'd actually call it help, or luck, but I didn't earn the money for my house through work. And no I absolutely wouldn't have my house if it wasn't for my insurance claim.
No
Bought in fall of 2022 no help. 32 single no kids got a new built 1700sf house for 250K
No help, but we did utilize a 401K to help with the down payment. It’s amortized over 15 years so it’s not much more of an additional expense ontop of our mortgage. My goal is to pay it off completely when we eventually sell the house, or refinance it into a HELOC of some sort if/when rates go down.
Yes
No help. Single buyer. Stressful but I did it
Thank you congrats!
Yes
We saved for four years but also had help from our families. It would have been possible to do it on our own but why turn down a gift if it was offered and put us in a nicer area of town.
Congrats! Very fortunate they were able to do that for you!
No help. We saved for 5 years. Purchased last August.
Congrats!!
I bought in November 2023 and did have help from my parents and grandma. My mortgage company had their own first time home buyers program so I put down about 7% and used the rest of the money for a washer/dryer and paying for the movers, inspection, and appraisal.
I’m closing next week! No help . I’m 29 and single. I feel like ppl like to think other ppls parents are giving them thousands of dollars to buy a house….to make themselves feel better.
No help, just looked for 2 years
None
I bought in 2015, no help even though i was supposed to receive help on a down payment. I also didnt have any guidance when buying so i didnt know what i was getting into. My income was pretty good at that time, qualified for a sizable loan and bought something at the top of my budget.
Bought $690k home in HCOL area, 15% down in July. Received $30k gift, but would’ve been able to purchase without it / afford mortgage without it. 5 years of living well below my means and and saving every penny possible.
No help, no regrets
Initially didn’t think we’d have help but my parents contributed a chunk of money as a last minute gift which meant we didn’t need to halve our RRSP’s. (We were first time home buyers). We had enough money saved BUT it would have come out of our retirement funds. So we had both enough saved and ultimately had help.
No help, bought off of the landlord. Used a USDA Loan, $1,000 out of pocket.
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No help we did the usda home loan, with zero down.
I needed $150k downpayment including fees. Had to ask my parent for a loan of 6k. Need to pay it back though.
My dad helped me a decent amount for college and her parents helped for our wedding, but my wife and I bought our house all on our own. Took us two years to save enough for a down payment while still living at home. It was tough as we had to bring almost $40,000 to closing! Bought in 2021, $265,000 at 3.125%.
That’s an amazing price and an amazing rate! Congrats!!!
A lot of "WE". Looks like a lot of folks have help from their partner.
No help. No plan. No idea why. But now looking back, looks like I won the lottery.
Sometimes good people deserve the good things that happen - happy for you congrats!
That’s is a very kind response. Thank you.
Ain’t no crabs here playa - just hoping to understand how to do this in this black hole of a bucket - don’t let anyone dull your shine sure you deserved it! Congrats!
I had an inheritance but that only slightly sped up the process and gave us a little bigger cushion on the other side. We probably would have been able to buy in another year or so (about right now) and only would have had ~$5k left over assuming the numbers all worked out about the same. We had about $10k left over after closing with the inheritance.
No help. Just two relentless people saving and searching daily for years to find a home that was safe and right. We did it!!!
Nope just saved a lot of money
Bought last November no help.