Getting ready to buy a home? Then you’ve probably heard that you need to save for a down payment. When it comes to figuring out how much your down payment should be, most people advise 20% of a home's purchase price. But when you want to buy in a hot real estate market — or a market with homes worth more than the average city in the US — 20 percent of a home’s purchase price can easily soar over $100,000. And most of us would agree that saving $100,000 or more in cash is not an easy feat. Below, we compare the benefits of getting a 10% down mortgage versus a 20% down mortgage.Yes, You Can Get a Mortgage with Less than 20 Percent DownThankfully, there’s some good news for hopeful homebuyers: the 20 percent rule isn’t hard and fast, and lenders will often underwrite your mortgage even with a smaller down payment. But there are a few catches. 20 percent is the gold standard, and lenders do prefer to see that you have that much available to put toward your purchase.There are several reason...
