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6 Creative Ways to Boost Your Down Payment

Blog posted On April 24, 2025

The down payment, so-called the largest hurdle of homeownership, is typically one of the most sizeable investments someone can make in their lifetime, right alongside weddings, retirements, and college expenses. With numerous down payment assistance programs and affordable housing opportunities available, the idea that a potential homeowner has to drop 20% down on their future home is fading, with low-to-no down payment programs becoming more and more prevalent. With that being said, what ways can we share with you that may help bolster your down payment and get you to the homeownership finish line sooner?

How Your Starter Home Can Help You Purchase Your Dream Home

Blog posted On April 17, 2025

Does your dream home seem like a faraway vision, those 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and white picket fences flickering like a mirage in the distant setting sun? Instead of wiling away the next few years, skimping and saving while paying for someone else’s mortgage, why don’t you buy a more affordable starter home now? You can use the equity you build to pay for the down payment on your dream home in 2-5 years. This is a strategy that many savvy first-time home buyers use when encountering affordability barriers. We encourage you to tackle homeownership with efficiency and want to ditch this misconception that homeownership has to be this impossible dream and that you’re stuck living as a renter for a decade or longer!

6 Methods for Funding Your Home Purchase

Blog posted On April 10, 2025

Contemplating homeownership but running into affordability barriers? If you’re looking for supplemental ways to fund your future home purchase, we have a few suggestions. We’re here to help enhance the typical methods of mortgage financing. Down payment assistance programs, family gifts, employee benefits, and more could hold the key to your future as a homeowner. Ready to embark on your next great adventure?

How to Effectively Budget for Your First Home

Blog posted On February 28, 2025

Buying a home is an important decision, one of the biggest an adult can make. Everyone deserves a roof over their head, a happy house to come home to after a long day at work. We’re here to provide some handy tips and tricks for budgeting for your new mortgage, especially if you’re a first-time buyer. Every hopeful homeowner has to start somewhere, so why don’t we dive into some easy strategies, step-by-step, to get you started?

Love and Loans: How HomeFundIt™ Supports Your Homeownership Dreams

Blog posted On February 13, 2025

Love is in the air this week! To celebrate couples, we wanted to highlight HomeFundIt™, our down payment gifting platform. Often, prospective home buyers have used this program as a wedding registry, raising funds from their friends and family on their big day. Moving into a new home is one of the biggest steps for a couple, so we’re here to provide a program that can both boost your love story as well as your homeownership dreams.

A Bountiful Autumn: What to Expect with Seasonal Mortgage Trends

Blog posted On October 04, 2024

The end of summer heralded a shift in the real estate market. The recent Fed rate cut announcement caused ripples throughout the industry, cutting the benchmark interest rate by 0.5%. Home buyers and real estate professionals alike have been celebrating as this announcement marked the first rate reduction in four years. After a languid summer and a dragging housing market, this economic shift has aligned perfectly with the changing season. Autumn has now been injected with buying energy, and potential home buyers may finally feel ready to leap off the sidelines into the golden leaves of homeowning.

Down Payment Costs Rise by 15% Annually: Here’s How to Keep Yours Low

Blog posted On September 06, 2024

According to Redfin, home buyers are now putting down an average of $67,000, which marks a nearly 15% increase compared to a year ago. This put the typical home buyer’s down payment at a whopping 18.6% of the purchase price, the highest level in over ten years. With this recent surge, prospective homeowners, realtors, and lenders alike are all wondering what this means for the future. And how can we still succeed in the home buying market despite record highs?

HomeFundIt: An Easier Way to Fund Your Down Payment

Blog posted On June 30, 2022

Did you know that saving for a down payment is one of the biggest obstacles potential homeowners face? Many buyers who can afford a mortgage struggle to buy a home because of the upfront costs like a down payment. For some, saving for a down payment takes years – especially when home prices are high. With HomeFundIt™, home buyers can buy their home sooner with a larger down payment.

Government-Backed Mortgages Explained

Blog posted On November 18, 2021

The extensive list of different home loans can be overwhelming, especially for first-time buyers. FHA, USDA, VA – the acronyms can get confusing.  But they’re worth understanding because they could help you save thousands of dollars on your mortgage.

9 Loan Programs for First-Time Home Buyers

Blog posted On October 28, 2021

Saving for the down payment is one of the biggest hurdles for first-time home buyers. But with the help of low down payment loan programs and down payment assistance, you can be home sweet home in no time.

What is Down Payment Assistance and How Can it Help?

Blog posted On September 30, 2021

One of the biggest hurdles for first time home buyers is saving for a down payment. When you buy a home, you pay a lump sum of money upfront – known as the down payment. The amount you put down is generally up to you, depending on your credit score and other qualifying factors. On average, first-time home buyers make down payments of around 6% of the loan amount. For a typical starter home of $148,527, this would be $8,912. Saving nearly $9,000 isn’t easy for most first-time buyers. But there are several options that can help you reach that goal.