Wanting to buy a house in a couple years I began looking into whether or not low down payment options are still available. The reason being is the money is harder to get, but the homes are still so expensive you need a substantial amount of cash to do the traditional 20%. This is my observation only , so please meet with a qualified broker or lender , but there seems to be some hope. My findings are as follows;

1 – You use to need a good credit score to get the lowest interest rate , now you may need it to qualify for a lower down payment as well. Also FICO is changing its scoring model which may help people who have had minor slips in payments gain a higher credit score.

2 – FHA still offers low down payment programs , as low as 3% , through participating lenders and down payment assistance grants as well, find more information at fha.com

3 – Good Wells Fargo tool that shows the possibility of qaulifying for a loan with as little as 10% down.  Click here Wells Fargo Loan Tool .

Who’s excited about the tax rebate? Not me. I was thinking about it and on the outside it seems nice, but upon further investigation , its just adding insult to injury. I am looking at potentially receiving $1,200. Not bad. Consider this; I have a 4 cylinder car, with a 13 gal. / 14 gal. tank. It costs me $46 to fill @ $3.29 per gallon. By the time May / June rolls around they are talking $4 + so now it is going to cost me $56 every two weeks. Heating and Electric run me another $150 or so per month. Then another $100 a month to keep my car insured so I can get to my job. Plus , $50 a month so my kids can watch Hanna Montana.

 So I am up to $415 and I have not even bought food to feed myself or my kids. The average family probably spends $100 to $150 per week on groceries since those have gone up substantially as well. So we will say $400, brining us to $815 per month.

Then there is rent , student loans , credit card debt, and so forth. I am not sure if this is what they had in mind when they wanted to stimulate the economy. I am not running out to buy a T.V. or put a deposit down on a new car. All the check is going to do , assuming we still get one, is help not play beat the bank for one month. I hope there are others out there working hard , and in a position to use it to have some fun. I guess I will just have to live vicariously through them.