@SneakerPro same here man close to 20K in equity already
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@Fozzy Badfeet imo 20% down is a thing of the past for first time home buyers in a lot of markets (350K-700K starter homes) UNLESS your being gifted most of the 20% which I know a lot of people are. They like to leave this fact out lol.
Go FHA 3.5% down and even some Convention loans are as low as 3.5% down, but most require at least 5% down.
FHA- Government backed sub prime loan you pay a Premium Mortgage Insurance (PMI) for the life of the loan (.85% of the total loan per month).
Conventional - Standard prime loan you pay Mortgage Insurance (MI) until your Loan to Value (LTV) hits 78% , the MI depends on your credit score.
Be aware that your mortgage scores are much lower than your credit and auto scores. My mortgage scores were 30 points lower than my credit card scores.
You can purchase your mortgage FICO scores at myFico.com when you are close to buying. $20 per bureau or $60 for all 3, best to get all 3 because you need to know your middle score.