Jose Montenegro: Too high?
Nicole Montenegro: It needs to be a little lower.
JM: How about there?
NM: Yeah, that looks nice.
Michael Holigan: Jose and Nicole Montenegro always pictured buying their own home. But they waited until the time was right.
JM: We've been wanting a house for a while. We just couldn't afford one yet. So, it, it was just a matter of saving up the money for the down payment.
MH: The Montenegro's got a conventional loan requiring a least 5% down. They might have been able to get into their new home sooner if they'd gotten a loan designed specifically for first time homebuyers. Low to moderate income buyers can get a conventional loan for only 3% down. This kind of mortgage is made through the Community Home Buyers program. A really popular choice for new homebuyers is the FHA loan. It typically requires a down payment of only 3%, and that can be a gift. Another option - a local grant. Some communities give homebuyers several thousand dollars towards their down payments and closing costs. One catch is that you can normally not sell the home, though, for five to seven years. If you do sell sooner, you normally have to repay the grant money. A second catch is all communities don't offer grants. And if you don't mind living a few miles out of town, you can finance the entire cost of your house with something called an RDA loan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Administration will finance 80% of your loan and a mortgage company finances the rest. If it's a new home, the builder can pick up the closing costs. To qualify you must earn less than 80% of your area's median income. And here's some really great news, most of these programs are available not only for first time homebuyers, but anyone who hasn't owned a home in at least three years. No matter which program you end up on, owning your own home is truly a gratifying experience.
NM: It's nice that we have our own house to take care of and decorate.
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Episode 52 1997 - 98 Season
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