The key is to buy what you can afford. If you do not have enough for a down payment, there are still banks that will work with you. I stress banks and not the finance companies like Countrywide and Household. If you can not afford the mortgage payments, than that is another story and you would be best to avoid home ownership until you are in a better position. Do not fall for schemes that say you can buy a home with no money. At some point, even if you are able to build it yourself, you will have to have money. You will have to have money for some things even if you can get all the wood for free. Everything about owning a house cost money. Unlike renting, when something goes wrong and it always does, there is no one to pay for the repairs but you. Look into the best home you can honestly afford and buy that, you can always trade up as your level of income increases. Just be honest with yourself about how much you have and can afford. It is great to have a nice house but not so great of you lose it two years later because you went in over your head. Just be smart and do all your research upfront. That research in all honesty should not include DP. Check with your own bank first and they will often help you decide what you can afford and can even pre-approve you for a mortgage before you even start looking. Stay away from 40 years plus loans and get it for the least amount of years that you can afford. Sometimes $20 a month more a month can eliminate 10 years. Good luck and I hope you can get your first home, it is a great feeling!
Y not rent? Y do you have to buy? its like allout said, buy what you can afford. If you don't have the money you can't buy it. Simple. Buying a house with zero down will likely be more of a curse then anything. Its like asking murph (murphys law) to move into the spare bedroom. Disaster will shortly follow. Check out this site and listen to the radio show. It will give you some quick money insights about buying houses. http://www.daveramsey.com MAtt
I will have to agree about listening to Dave Ramsey. He knows what he's talking about. And it's really just common sense what he teaches. Don't buy things you can't buy with cash and don't use your credit cards. I think the one exception to that is a house, but you should have SOME money saved to put down on a house. Check him out, great guy to listen to....
Not sure where you live, but I recently bought a Duplex in Venice Beach/Santa Monica area of Los Angeles. The bank voided the standard 20% down, because they saw the income being produced from the rental unit (I live in the front unit) and knew that there would be money coming in. I bought the property with zero money down and only invested 10K, just cosmetic touches; new paint, new fence, etc....nothing major. Some banks will void the money down if they see income being produced and they are not concerened with you making the monthly payment.