•   email: [email protected]
Navigation Story House Real Estate Story House Real Estate
  • About Story House
    • The Story House Family
    • About Sasha
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Philanthropy
    • Press & Recognition
    • Client Profiles
    • Client Testimonials
    • Our Sold Homes
    • Your Next Chapter?
  • Sell a Home
    • How We Sell
    • Seller Profile
  • Buy a Home
    • Our 10 Step Process
    • Buyer Profile
  • Property Search
    • Our Listings
    • New to the Market
    • Neighborhoods
      • Albemarle
      • Charlottesville
      • Greene
      • Fluvanna
      • Louisa
      • Orange
      • Nelson
      • Madison
      • Staunton
      • Waynesboro
    • All Properties
    • Rental Properties
    • Land Search
    • Open Houses
  • About Charlottesville
    • Announcements
    • Neighborhoods
    • Upcoming Events
    • Maps
    • Rankings
    • Lifestyle
    • Community
    • Charlottesville News
  • Blog

Have You Fallen Prey to the Most Common Home Buying Myths?

Posted on October 9, 2018

Although the internet can be a great resource for a variety of information, a lot of that information is incorrect. One of the most important decisions in your life, home buying, tends to circulate a lot of misinformation. Most of that misinformation is in regards to how much of a down payment you need or what your credit score needs to be. Let’s go over the real facts about buying a home and knock those myths out, so they don’t hinder your ability to purchase!

CREDIT SCORES

Though it may come as a surprise, you don’t need a perfect credit score to purchase a home. Traditional bank lenders will work with credit scores as low as 640, but your agent can also get you connected with local lenders that accept credit scores as low as 580. Although there are other required stipulations to qualify for the loan, you don’t need a perfect score in the 700’s or 800’s to get approved for a mortgage.

 

DOWN PAYMENTS

You don’t have to sell an arm and a leg to be able to purchase your dream house. There is a huge misconception that you need to pay a minimum of 20% down to buy. That information is outdated. These days, there a large variety of loan programs that only need an average of 3-5% down. Based on your income or military status, you may even qualify for mortgage programs that require 0% down. Although you’ll expect to pay an additional 3% in closing costs, which is separate from the down payment, this is still significantly less than 20% of the purchase price. If you’re in a buyer’s market, you may even be able to negotiate for the closing costs to be covered by the sellers.

—

Be sure to connect with a local real estate agent to ensure you have the right facts. Don’t let online myths persuade you into thinking you can’t qualify or afford to buy a home. There are a variety of programs to help you get into your dream house. Since these vary by locality to locality, and state to state, it’s imperative to call your agent and let them fill you in on the facts.

Categories

  • Neighborhoods
  • Maps
    • Landmarks & Attractions
    • City of Charlottesville
    • Albemarle County
  • Rankings
  • Upcoming Events
  • Lifestyle
  • Community
    • Shopping
    • The University
    • Outdoors
    • Entertainment
    • Just For Kids
  • Our Favorite Things
  • Give Where You Live
  • Historic Charlottesville
  • Charlottesville News
  • Announcements

Contact Us

Subscribe to Newsletter
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Story House Real Estate
Story House Real Estate
2110 Ivy Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone: (434) 260-1435
  • About Story House
  • About Charlottesville
  • Home Search
  • Moving Concierge
  • Buying a Home
  • Sell a Home
  • Testimonials
  • Our Sold Homes
  • Contact