Crye-Leike Insights

One of the biggest misconceptions of home buying? The 20% down payment. Heres how to buy with a lot less down. Buying your first home conjures up all kinds of warm and fuzzy emotions: pride, joy, contentment. But before you get to the good stuff, youve got to cobble together a down payment, a daunting sum if you follow the textbook advice to squirrel away 20% of a homes cost. Here are five creative ways to build your down-payment nest egg faster than you may have ever imagined. Crowdsource Your Dream Home You may have heard of people using sites like Kickstarter to fund creative projects like short films and concert tours. Well, who says you cant crowdsource your first home? Forget the traditional registry, the fine china, and the 16-speed blender. Use sites like Feather the Nest and Hatch My House to raise your down payment. Hatch My House says its helped Americans raise more than $2 million for down payments.   Ask the Seller to Help (Really!) When sellers want to a get a deal done quickly, they might be willing to assist buyers with the closing costs. Fewer closing costs = more money you can apply toward your deposit. Theyre called seller concessions, says Ray Rodriguez, regional mortgage sales manager for the New York metro area at TD Bank. Talk with your real estate agent. She might help you negotiate for something like 2% of the overall sales price in concessions to help with the closing costs. There are limits on concessions depending on the type of mortgage you get. For FHA mortgages, the cap is 6% of the sale price. For Fannie Mae-guaranteed loans, the caps vary between 3% and 9%, depending on the ratio between how much you put down and the amount you finance. Individual banks have varying caps on concessions. No matter where they net out, concessions must be part of the purchase contract. Look into Government Options The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, offers a number of homeownership programs, including assistance with down payment and closing costs. These are typically available for people who meet particular income or location requirements. HUD has a list of links by state that direct you to the appropriate page for information about your state. HUD offers help based on profession as well. If youre a law enforcement officer, firefighter, teacher, or EMT, you may be eligible under its Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program for a 50% discount on a houses HUD-appraised value in revitalization areas. Those areas are designated by Congress for homeownership opportunities. And if you qualify for an FHA-insured mortgage under this program, the down payment is only $100; you can even finance the closing costs. For veterans, the VA will guarantee part of a home loan through commercial lenders. Often, theres no down payment or private mortgage insurance required, and the program helps borrowers secure a competitive interest rate. Some cities also offer homeownership help. The city of Hartford has the HouseHartford Program that gives down payment assistance and closing cost assistance, says Matthew Carbray, a certified financial planner with Ridgeline Financial Partners and Carbray Staunton Financial Planners in Avon, Conn. The program partners with lenders, real estate attorneys, and homebuyer counseling agencies and has helped 1,200 low-income families. Check with Your Employer Employer Assisted Housing (EAH) programs help connect low- to moderate-income workers with down payment assistance through their employer. In Pennsylvania, if you work for a participating EAH employer, you can apply for a loan of up to $8,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance. The loan is interest-free and borrowers have 10 years to pay it back. Washington University in St. Louis offers forgivable loans to qualified employees who want to purchase housing in specific city neighborhoods. University employees receive the lesser of 5% of the purchase price or $6,000 toward down payment or closing costs. Ask the human resources or benefits personnel at your employer if the company is part of an EAH program. Take Advantage of Special Lender Programs Finally, many lenders offer programs to help people buy a home with a small down payment. I would say that the biggest misconception [of homebuying] is that you need 20% for the down payment of a house, says Rodriguez. There are a lot of programs out there that need a total of 3% or 3.5% down. FHA mortgages, for example, can require as little as 3.5%. But bear in mind that there are both upfront and monthly mortgage insurance payments. The mortgage insurance could add another $300 to your monthly mortgage payment, Rodriguez says. Some lender programs go even further. TD Bank, for example, offers a 3% down payment with no mortgage insurance program, and other banks may have similar offerings. Check with your regional bank, Rodriguez says. Maybe they have their own first-time buyer program. Not so daunting after all, is it? Theres actually a lot of help available to many first-time buyers who want to achieve their homeownership dreams. All you need to do is a little research and start peeking at those home listings! By: ERIK SHERMAN. Erik covers business, technology, finance, personal finance, and economics for such outlets as CBS MoneyWatch, Inc.com, Fortune.com, and Forbes.com. Hes the author or co-author of 10 books on a variety of subjects. Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.

Moving can be a hectic and expensive time. If possible, you can save money by moving yourself. A Self-Move means that you will acquire your own packing materials, and arrange for people to help you load and unload your belongings. Below is a list of items that you should consider when moving yourself.   Moving Truck - size depends on need You will need to know how to drive the truck that you rent. Some companies offer units with power steering and power brakes, others do not. An automatic transmission may or may not be available. Remember that these are real trucks, not modified cars. They handle differently than a car. They have large blind spots, and are top heavy so they must be driven slower and braking distances are longer. Also be aware of overhangs that do not normally pose problems to cars.   Towing a Vehicle When reserving a rental truck, be sure to indicate if you have a vehicle to be towed. Also indicate the make, year and model. This way the self-move dealer can reserve the proper type of towing item.   Furniture/Appliance Dollies & Furniture Pads - for leverage and protection Your rental dealer can supply you with tools to help make moving certain items easier. These include dollies, which you place heavy items upon to give you leverage; furniture pads for surface protection; and straps to tie down the load. Bungee cables are not recommended. Also hand trucks may be necessary to help move bulky and heavy items.   Fuel Like rental cars, if you bring the truck back at a lower gas level, the rental company will charge for the amount of gallons it takes for them to re-fuel. It is more cost effective for you to fill it up before you return it.   Supplies - boxes, tape, mattress bags, mirror boxes This is an additional expense of moving. As soon as you know you are moving, you may want to start accumulating packing materials from various sources to help save money. Otherwise rental facilities and package stores carry this type of material.   Reservations & Deposits Be sure to reserve the rental truck as soon as you know the date you are moving. This insures that you will have the truck available on the days that you need it. Most rental companies will require a deposit to secure the reservation.   Rental Insurance Protection Many times your homeowner or rental insurance may not protect your household goods while in transit. You should check with your current insurance agent. Also ask your self-move dealer what protection they can offer you for the rental period. When you pick up your truck, review the paperwork to see that the rental protection is included.   Remember that when you pick up your truck, the dealer will show you everything you need to know. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Be sure to keep receipts of all of your expenses, including the rental, gas, food and lodging. The receipts may be needed for your taxes and/or if you are working with a relocation company or a corporate move.

This week on Crye-Leike Insights we hear from Angie Vandenbergh, our Director of Web Technologies, about why you should be searching for homes on Crye-Leike.com. Why search for homes on Crye-Leike.com Crye-Leike participates in about 40 different MLS systems and displays all available properties from all companies and agents in our markets. This includes Crye-Leike listings and competitor's listings. Property photos and information is updated every 12 minutes. Crye-Leike.com includes all photos and open houses (some sites don't display all the media). Crye-Leike.com includes a sold search - find out your neighbor's selling price. About Angie Vandenbergh, Director of Web Technologies Angie has worked at Crye-Leike for 18 years. Angie is responsible for development, data, online and social media related services for Crye-Leike. You can visit herLinkedIn page atwww.linkedin.com/in/angievandenbergh/ Check in next week for moreCrye-Leike Insights.

This week on Crye-Leike Insights we turn the camera towards our customers. Listen to some of our past clients share their experiences working with Crye-Leike. Integrity "After we met our agent, we felt comfortable going with Crye-Leike because it was such a reputable brand." Today, Crye-Leike is the nation's 5th largest real estate company and the largest serving markets in Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and across the Mid-South. Crye-Leike has a network of more than 3,200+ licensed sales associates, 600+ staff members and over 120+ branch and franchise offices. Responsiveness "Our agent would send us listings whenever they came available. They were new houses that weren't on these websites, that we were able to take a look at before they were on the market." We respond quickly to customer needs. Passion to be Better "We are a full service company. People don't have to go to different places to get the kind of service that they are looking for... We're a one-stop shop, and that's exactly what consumers want and expect." To find a Crye-Leike agent near you, visitcrye-leike.com/real-estate-agents!