Real Estate Financing - Ten Ways

Do you remember when real estate financing meant you saved up enough to put 20% down on a house, and then you got a mortgage loan for the other 80%? Well, you can still do that, but there are many more options now. Here are ten of them.

1. Gifting programs. In some parts of the country, builders fund foundations that give you a portion of the downpayment, so you can get into a home with as little as 3% downpayment from your own pocket. FHA and other lenders have so far approved of or allowed this.

2. No-doc loans. These and "low-doc" loans, meaning no or low documentation requirements, are back, and you can find them through online banks. These are for those of you with bad credit but 20% to 30% to put down on a home. You don't even have to have a job.

3. FHA loans. The Farm Home Administration doesn't actually loan the money, but guarantees your loan for the bank, so they can loan up to 97% of the purchase price, depending on the particular FHA program.

4. VA loans. If you have been in the armed services, have a decent job, and can save two or three paychecks, you can probably get a home with a VA loan.

5. Land contract. Also called "contract for sale" and other names depending on the part of the country you are in, this just means that you make payments to the seller instead of a bank. It's up to you and them to negotiate downpayment amount, interest rate, and the term of the loan.

6. Seller-carried second mortgages. Some banks will allow you to have as little as 5% into a home purchase, but will then only loan you 80%. The seller can take payments on a second mortgage from you for the other 15%.

7. State housing programs. Almost all states have some sort of financing help in the form of a loan-guarantee program or outright loans for low-income buyers.

8. Family loans. It may not be out of charity that a brother or a friend lends you the money to buy a home. A 7% return might look awfully good if their money is sitting in the bank at 2%.

9. Manufacturer loans. Some manufactured-home companies are arranging financing with 5% or less down for their buyers. They must feel their money is secure, since a good modular on a piece of property is nothing like a mobile home on a rental lot.

10. Credit cards. This is a risky one, but if you have a low-interest credit card, you can use it to come up with the downpayment, especially if you can pay it off soon with a coming tax refund, for example. Banks generally won't allow this, but you can combine this with seller financing.

Are there more ways to approach real estate financing? You bet. This was just to get you thinking.

Steve Gillman has invested real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Real estate bust: Toledo wins at Big House - San Francisco Chronicle

Great Food, Good Drinks and Luxury Real Estate on Main Street - Eastside Business Journal

BIZ DATA: Boulder real estate foreclosures - Daily Camera

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/oct/12/Boulder-real-estate-foreclosures/cid=1257047711ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNEsHWQPMAZknUAGUva27pAU-t8NAABIZ DATA: Boulder breal estate/b foreclosures/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDaily Camera,nbsp;COnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b Boulder; Aurora Loan Services LLC; $1519142.90; $704000 334 E. Eighth Ave., Longmont; Front Range bReal Estate/b Partners LLC; $227838.20; $90500. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/oct/12/Boulder-Broomfield-county-business-calendar/cid=1257047711ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFXSNzfFtsrpy8TFkNyG4IRDm_izgBoulder, Broomfield county business calendar/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDaily Camera/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257047711hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real estate growth strategies in focus - Gulf Daily News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.ameinfo.com/171116.htmlcid=1257033209ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFImYyKdis20_CAroJsYbbHkfpDTgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=OVxW3Ww3hKMJimgurl=www.ameinfo.com/images/news/0/64970-1111111111111.jpg width=55 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2AME Info/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp%3FArticle%3D231633%26Sn%3DBNEW%26IssueID%3D31207cid=1257033209ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFrLfiC8Ke8DGbFMl9zMsNA92j37QbReal estate/b growth strategies in focus/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fGulf Daily News,nbsp;Bahrainnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1GROWTH strategies for the breal estate/b sector amid the global economic downturn will be discussed at a major conference in Bahrain next month. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.ameinfo.com/171116.htmlcid=1257033209ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFImYyKdis20_CAroJsYbbHkfpDTgStephen Lee is coming to Bahrain/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAME Info/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257033209hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Making fortunes from real estate investment - The Punch

Bushnell looks at life and real estate in the Village - eTaiwan News

Hypo Real Estate Denies Report It Withheld Data on Liquidity - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html%3Fid%3D22edb2da-54c8-4af7-9344-e33eb8a26f1ccid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNEHl1qyk5Eqafm-Ebj0R1OdKSQEMAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=JzoeQV1xHB0Jimgurl=a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/reuters/olusbus_iptc/2008-10-05t133503z_01_btre4931gx200_rtroptp_2_business-us-financial1.jpg%3Fsize%3Dl width=80 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2The Gazette (Montreal)/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3DaqQ6AbAsxYqs%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNF3W12khPpT_MnLJFbspfVi5Y7ZdQHypo bReal Estate/b Denies Report It Withheld Data on Liquidity/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Oliver Suess and Karin Matussek Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo bReal Estate/b Holding AG, the commercial property lender that needed a revised 50 billion-euro b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DdlzSEbBo2hocid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNHLcSYOPhq4Q9YsChBWhPj38LUNeQVideo: Wells Fargo#39;s bid for Wachovia/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReutersVideo/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/dlzSEbBo2ho/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/dlzSEbBo2hotype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-2fd=Rurl=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/07/business/EU-Germany-Hypo-Real-Estate.phpcid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNE3yBBprBn0bcdYTIiEHh4BZWgzHACEO of embattled Hypo bReal Estate/b to step down/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-3fd=Rurl=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200810061785.htmcid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNHAdY_KALn_A8O74Paz7PRjJeGi1AGerman Govt rescues Hypo bReal Estate/b in a Euro 50 bn package/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrHindu/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-4fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3DavupZJMdl7gQ%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFUNxClcgcV5ECfNlEwrEh6Wn2oawnobrBloomberg/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-5fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3Day6Rie7zHawQ%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNHq28-Qr4Bg0SDPPGZuucyNlktSpwnobrBloomberg/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1251970064hl=ennobrall 994 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real-estate agents, mortgage brokers hurting - Bolingbrook Sun

Real estate in Acadiana and Wall Street - The Daily Advertiser

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8i-0fd=Rurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122351316270117559.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNE8Egf3vPssrNH1GCw1Vr5WXYu48Aimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=50jUWnAPCS4Jimgurl=s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AT054_McHous_D_20081008190940.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Wall Street Journal/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081012/BUSINESS/810120335/1046cid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFlRJPoqEymnCrViUyGLv0mWr74BQbReal estate/b in Acadiana and Wall Street/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Daily Advertiser,nbsp;LAnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Fortunately, the Acadiana breal estate/b market is still strong because we did not have the speculation that was seen in other parts of the country. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DBAdIBCGcEo8cid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNGQmCW0oTuX9MnAPXtgN7h5RK6NjAVideo: Obama: #39;Taxpayers Shouldn#39;t Pick Up Tab#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/BAdIBCGcEo8/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/BAdIBCGcEo8type=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-2fd=Rurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122351316270117559.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNE8Egf3vPssrNH1GCw1Vr5WXYu48AMcCain Reshuffles Rescue Deal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWall Street Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-3fd=Rurl=http://www.clusterstock.com/2008/10/mccain-s-messy-mortgage-buyout-digging-holes-and-filling-them-incid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNE5cWVfBZkMXNBo8VtdEAuPUqDDeAMcCain#39;s Messy Mortgage Buyout: Digging Holes and Filling Them In/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrClusterstock/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-4fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DacLuJmJz0roc%26refer%3Dhomecid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNF79pYKI5AhQWcAn4X-3bYtx0TXignobrBloomberg/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-5fd=Rurl=http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2008/oct/12/troubled-home-loans-didnt-require-insurance/%3Fbusinesscid=1255319735ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNH9fcgKx_UGhlnN8Vs36fzb3T-ZLwnobrSt. Joseph News-Press/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255319735hl=ennobrall 1,145 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 10/12/08 - Luxist

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.luxist.com/2008/10/12/sunday-real-estate-round-up-10-12-08/cid=1256615524ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNFCPrfGwru2tTaIBDYSQrXNuNzMUQSunday bReal Estate/b Round-Up, 10/12/08/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLuxist,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1--More Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner breal estate/b rumors, this time it is said that they have put their home in Brentwood on the market for around $8 b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailyherald.com/story/%3Fid%3D241072cid=1256615524ei=SbXySJXkKYu8yATpkP3OBwusg=AFQjCNHgupjpySe73OD0P3DyEzSP0WN46QDC, estate listed for $49 million/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrChicago Daily Herald/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256615524hl=ennobrall 3 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

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