may not be impossible, but it's not easy. If your friends are finding that it's taking too long and if they desperately want to buy a house now, there are some avenues worth considering.
"It's not at all difficult to obtain a loan today with a ten percent down payment, but you'll probably have to pay for a private mortgage insurance, or PMI, policy in order to get one," Roy continued.
"Does that protect you in the event that something happens and you can't make your payments?" Tom asked.
"It offers protection," Roy explained, "but it doesn't protect you—you're still liable for making your payments. It protects your lender in the event that you default on the mortgage! In other words, you are paying for a policy to protect your lender, and it could add fifty or a hundred dollars or more per month to your payments, depending on your situation. Technically, you can get the policy canceled when your equity rises above twenty percent, but the burden is on you to make this happen.
"It is almost becoming the norm for young, first-time buyers to borrow money from their parents or other family members. If that's not possible, perhaps an FHA mortgage is worth looking at. They require a lot of paperwork and not everyone qualifies for them, but for those who do, the down payment is usually only five percent. Qualified veterans can apply for a VA mortgage—often a great deal, sometimes involving no down payment.
"Foreclosures offer another possibility. Usually the seller of a foreclosure or distressed property is eager enough to get rid of the place that he or she will accept a smaller down payment.
"Borrowing part of the money from the real-estate agent