Across The Country, Renters Are Getting Crushed By Housing Costs

[jeff47]

42. If your credit is good enough, you might be able to get an 80/20

That's 80% "regular" mortgage, 20% line-of-credit or second mortgage.

The 20% one wil have a much higher interest rate, so you would want to pay that off as quickly as possible. If the payments on that 80/20 work out to be less than renting, or if the non-monetary reasons to buy are good enough, it would be a way to buy without saving a 10% down payment.

In addition, the 80% loan doesn't require private mortgage insurance like a 90% loan does, which reduces the payment on the 80% part. Though the higher rate on the 20% usually offsets that savings.

80/20's used to be easy to get. Then they became impossible to get a couple years ago. I have no idea how easy they are to get now.

And make sure you run the numbers - in your particular situation it could be a great option or a terrible option.