5% Down Vs. 10% Down

It has always been an issue for home buyers to save their down payment. Many people, on advice from various people wait to save 10%, rather than moving into the home sooner with 5% as a down payment This is not always a good idea. Let me explain;

We have 2 young couples, the Jones' and the Smiths. They both have the same amount of money to spend on housing and saving ($1000/month). From that $1000, they are paying their rent of $750/month, and saving the other $250 for their down payment. In fact they're identical people.

The Jones' and the Smiths are both looking to buy a $100,000 property. As such, they will need $5000 as a down payment if they purchase at 5% down, or $10,000 if they wish to have 10% as a down payment.

To date, they have both saved $5000 with which to purchase a property. The Jones' have decided to buy now and accept that they only have 5% as a down payment The Smiths' have decided to wait until they can raise 10%; thus saving themselves some CMHC costs.

What the Smiths' aren't realizing is that while they wait, the cost of the property is increasing... thus incrasing the amount of money they need as a downpayment.

They've also not taken into account that the money they are paying in rent is being thrown away, while they could have been putting that against their mortgage.

Sure, saving the CMHC fees is a good idea. But is it necessarily the right way to go? Not always.

If it takes the Smiths an extra 2 years to save up the extra money, the property could have increased by as much as $15,000 in that time.... meaning that they'd need more of a down payment, as well as having a larger mortgage than if they'd bought earlier.

If you'd like to read this article in full, including graphs showing the difference between the Smith's and the Jones' then go to our website at www.workingtogether.ca and review the article titled "5% Down Vs. 10% Down - A Comparison". You'll get the idea; and possibly save yourself a lot of money!

About The Author

John Carle & Sharon Gregresh are Realtors with Royal LePage - ArTeam in St. Albert, AB. They pride themselves on providing more than just real estate sales and listings. Their clients benefit from a much larger spectrum or real estate services. Contact them any time at information@workingtogether.ca or through their website at www.workingtogether.ca They can be reached by phone at (780) 458-5595

Latest News


New Zealand Herald

US Rethinks Roles of Fannie, Freddie
Wall Street Journal - 10 hours ago
The main focus is on the government-backed buyers of home loans: Fannie Mae, created in 1938, and its younger cousin, Freddie Mac, formed in 1970. ...
Government plans new credit, mortgage programs O Jornal
Lenders Become Proactive New York Times
Mortgage relief gets stuck Cape Cod Times
Las Vegas Sun - TheStreet.com
all 2,141 news articles

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

General Growth gets 2-week reprieve on loans
Chicago Tribune, United States - 1 hour ago
The real estate investment trust said it and the syndicate of lenders "are continuing their discussions" on a longer-term extension to the loan, ...
GGP Gains Two-Week Extension on $900M Loans GlobeSt. com
General Growth gets 2-week extension on $900 million in loans Chicago Daily Herald
General Growth Properties gets loan extension Bizjournals.com
The Associated Press - Reuters
all 121 news articles

Wall Street Journal Blogs

Restoring the flow of credit to entrepreneurs
Los Angeles Times, CA - 10 hours ago
A Treasury Department program aims to make it easier for lenders to find buyers for the loans they make. By Cyndia Zwahlen The credit crunch looks like an ...
Forbes: Let the Small Business Administration work Austin American-Statesman
SBA Applauds Treasury Action to Bolster Secondary Market for Small ... MarketWatch
Feds hope to unfreeze SBA, consumer lending Bizjournals.com
Wisconsin State Journal - FOXBusiness
all 123 news articles

Emirates Business 24/7

Can the Federal Government Save the Student Loan Market?
findingDulcinea, New York - 19 minutes ago
by Anne Szustek The Federal Reserve recently announced a $200 billion lending facility for private student loan lenders. Is this the best way to make higher ...
The Fed boosted emergency loans to banks and firms The Associated Press
Fed Commercial Paper Holdings Rise to $295.1 Billion (Update2) Bloomberg
"Oops, We Meant $7 TRILLION!" What Hank and Ben Are Up to and How ... OpEdNews
The Cutting Edge - Examiner.com
all 452 news articles

New York Times

Turning Around the Idea of Student Loans
New York Times, United States - 11 hours ago
“This is a five-year loan, and that helps ensure a certain amount of longevity for this project.” Justin said he first became interested in poverty issues ...

Student debt levels portend rising loan default rates
Indianapolis Star, United States - 8 hours ago
They were aiming to win big so they could pay off their student loans. "If you don't try, you can't win," said Brown, a 26-year-old marketing consultant. ...

Hedge Fund Manager Hendry Bets on Deflation With UK War Loans
Bloomberg - 2 hours ago
The “Jolly Long Bond,” as Hendry calls the war loan, will be the most reactive to deflation because not having a maturity means it has long duration, ...

Loss of college loans lender may have little effect
Spartanburg Herald Journal (subscription), SC - 3 hours ago
The financial aid director for Spartanburg Community College stressed that these types of supplemental loans are separate from the Stafford Federal Student ...

Detroit's Big 3 Will Try Again To Get Federal Loans
NPR - 4 hours ago
They're going to try, again, to convince Congress to give them federal loans. They say they need the money to avoid an industry collapse. ...

Boston Globe

Problem-solver
Boston Globe, United States - 8 hours ago
Bair's plan to systematically modify 2.2 million loans for defaulting borrowers has drawn widespread support - except from the Bush White House. ...
Avoiding your own mortgage collapse The News Journal
Efforts are under way to head off foreclosure Philadelphia Inquirer
all 4 news articles

Resources