I want to buy a home....but I don't have a down payment. Good news, you may not have to.

 For most, owning a home is far more desirable than being a renter.  However, there are obstacles that seem to make it either not a possibility for you, or keep the dream of your own home far in the future. 


One of the largest is a down payment.  Gone are the days of conventional loans with little documentation and no down payment.  ( and this might be a good thing)  However, for owner occupied homes, even FHA loans require about 3.5% down.  If you are buying a median priced home in our county ( Pierce County WA) you would be needing to come up with almost $8500.00, and that is if are not talking about covering your own closing costs, which could be close to the same amount.




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Many would be home owners just don't know where they will come up with that much money.

If you would make a good home owner,  ( you want to live in one place for at least a few years, you are willing to maintain your home, you have the income to cover mortgage payments and a few unexpected expenses) and you would like to purchase, but your have not figured out how to overcome the down payment issue yet....there is hope!

Good news is, there are still ways to purchase with zero down.  One of these methods is to get a USDA loan.  Now I know you are likely used to seeing USDA in association with this......   But believe me, the USDA does much more than regulate meat.  USDA also has a loan program where you can qualify for zero down.  You do not have to be low income.  You do not have to have, worked for the USDA or any other organization.  The trick is you have to purchase as home that is located with in chosen areas that are approved for USDA loans.  Since USDA stands or United States Department of Agriculture, you may assume that this would be for the purchase of farm land....or at least a home in a very rural setting.  Actually however, this is not true.  I actually sold a condominium town home in downtown Gig Harbor under this loan program a while ago.  Currently I am helping clients find the home they want under the program as well, and let me assure you they are not shopping in rural areas.  

If you want to find out more about this program and be referred to a lender who can help you with a USDA loan, please call me and I will help you get started on finding a great lender who can help you get qualified for this type of loan.  If you want to know how to know if a property is eligible, I will be happy to help with that too.  If you know someone who would benefit from this information, again, please contact me or pass on my information and I will be glad to help.

Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma 253-212-1252

First time ( and not so first time) home owner series, What exactly is titlte insurance?

If you have bought a home or had a friend or family member buy a home, you likely have heard of title insurance.  However, even experienced home buyers and sellers often do not understand what exactly it is.

Knowing what it's for has become even more important now that, as of August 2015, regulations here in Washington as changing so that it is not REQUIRED that you have title insurance in order to close.  So....some may want to save money and not purchase it.  This however, could be even more financially dangerous than driving with out any insurance.

Here is a link to a video with a brief explanation of what title insurance is.  What IS title insurance?

Want to know more about all the steps to selling or buying a home?  Call me for a free consultation, I'd love to help!

Anna Matsunaga

Just want to just browse area homes on a site that updates data in real time?  Click here!

First time home buyer series. How much earnest money do I need?

So you've decided to buy a house.  You know what earnest money is, so your next question is, how much do I need?

There is no set answer.  The reality is if a seller would agree your earnest money could be nothing at all of $1.  However, few sellers are going to feel comfortable taking their home off of the market if you don't have any skin in the game so, what should you offer?

Your Realtor may have suggestions on the customs in your exact area if you are in a different state than I practice.  Here in Washington it is fairly common to make earnest money be 1% of the purchase price of the home.  So the amount will depend on the price of the home you are buying.  a $100K home would be $1000 in earnest money with this formula.  For a $250K home would be $2500 would required.  Does this mean you must follow this rule?  Does it mean you should never offer more or less?

No.  This is just one way to do it.  Again earnest money is what ever you agree to ( and area able to) give and what the seller will accept.  I have written offers with as little as $100 in earnest money.  Problem is it's hard for a seller to think you are serious if you are only willing to risk less than you likely  spend on a trip to the grocery store.  My opinion $500 is your bare minimum.   I have had many offers go through where this was the earnest money amount.  Most sellers are more comfortable with at least $1000.  I urge my clients to give at least that much unless there is no way that they can.  In most cases however, you might want to save for a bit if you are having a hard time coming up with $1000.

Are there times where you should offer more earnest money?  Yes.  For one thing if you can come up with it and you make an offer and the seller counters asking for more earnest money and you want the house then it may be a good idea, depending on the other terms of the offer.  ( of course if you are my client I will help you walk through how this should be handled)  Another time to offer higher earnest money is when you know you have a pretty good chance that you are competing with another offer.  Perhaps the only thing that makes your offer stronger is the earnest money and if you are in a position to offer more then it would be a smart move.

From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma
253 212 1252

First time home buyer questions-What is earnest money?

If you are a first time home buyer the whole process of buying a house is....well rather intimidating and complicated.  Heck, I've been a Realtor(r) for a decade and I still have to say it's rather complicated.  That is why my clients need me.

One of the things that can be overwhelming for a first time buyer is the simple fact that there are many terms that they don't understand.  So If you are thinking about buying a home, pull up chair, in the next few posts I am going to define terms so you are clear about the process and what it means to you.

Today's topic, Earnest Money.

First off what is it?  Earnest Money is just that, money that you put up to show you are earnest.  You really do want this home and you are willing to risk that money if you were to decide not to buy the home you are making an offer on.  Does this mean that the money is just gone?  NO.  This means that unless you have legal excuse you do not get this money back if you decide not to buy the house.

So what reasons could you have to not buy the house and still get your money back?  That will depend upon how your offer is written.  Some common things that make it so that you still get your money back even if you don't buy are: The house fails inspection, The neighborhood does not pass a neighborhood review, or financing fails.  There are plenty of other possibilities and the 3 proceeding are likely the most common.  These are call Contingencies.  This means that you buying the home is contingent upon these things working out.  ( ie the house passes inspection, your financing goes through and so on)  Any good offer for a first time buyer will have contingencies of some sort to protect you and your earnest money.

Next post will answer the question- how much earnest money do I need?


From Anna Matsunaga, Team Momentum, Keller Williams Tacoma

253 212 1252