How I Bought My First Home With No Money Down

True Story - First Time Home Buyer Buying a House with Little Money

As first time homebuyers my husband and I were a bit skeptical when we were told we could easily afford a new home with no money for a down payment. Our first thought was that we would suffer the consequences with a high interest rate or some other fine print nonsense that we wouldn't find out about until months after moving in. Despite our skepticism we comfortably bought a new house and seven months later are still finding the whole process to have been unbelievably simple and uncomplicated. There were just a few simple steps we took to ensure that we did the right thing before we signed ourselves away.

The first and most important step we took was deciding to find a good real estate broker that not only knew the facts about buying a home but was trustworthy. We got ours through a friend, but if you don't know anyone the best thing to do is shop around. The worst thing you could do is go to one real estate office and believe everything you are told, especially if they know you are a first time buyer and sense that you have no clue what you are talking about. Our first experience came about when our annual rent increase was about to occur and I spotted an advertisement in the local real estate book.

I had been dreaming for months of my new home, browsing through hundreds of ads in those little real estate magazines you pick up at the supermarket. Owning a home had seemed impossible since we couldn't seem to save enough money for a down payment. Yet I knew our high rent was equal to or even more than a mortgage payment. While looking through one of the magazines I stumbled across an ad that stated things like "absolutely no money down" and "anyone can own their own home". So I figured why not check it out? We called and scheduled an appointment with the organization for the following week.