As a millennial, I have many friends who have not yet taken the plunge into home ownership. These friends have strong income and have set down roots in their communities. What's stopping them from looking for a house? This is what I hear:

"I don't have a 20% down payment so I can't get a conventional mortgage"

"Maybe next summer, then I'll have enough saved"

"I need to save 20% or the PMI would be too much"

Oh my friends! I don't know how this insidious percentage embedded itself into the subconscious of our generation. But I'm here to tell you, the magic percent is actually about 5% for conventional mortgages. For some programs, the percentage can be as low as 3%. There are many down payment assistance programs available too and as first time homebuyers, you'll have the most options to qualify. Check out our buyer tools for getting a pre-approval on our Buyers page. If you don't want to pull your credit, give Devina a call and she can pre-qualify you over the phone.

As for the PMI, it's typically between $50-$100 per $100K of purchase price each month. The actual rate is affected by your credit. It does sound steep when you say it like that. If you wait, you don't have to pay PMI true. But if you buy a house where the total payment is about equal to your rent, home ownership wins all day. You pay yourself a little each month in the form of principal and you lock in the home value so you can take advantage of the appreciation. When you go to sell your starter home in a few years, you may find yourself with a nice little nest egg! When you move out of your rental, all you get back is a security deposit (hopefully). Just give it a look, that's all I'm saying.