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Low interest rates and home prices have always attracted many young first time home buyers. Especially now, after the recent housing market crash, people who are looking to buy a home also have the option of buying foreclosed and distressed properties, which can still be bought for much cheaper than regular homes. But the housing market crash has also caused people to be more reticent when it comes to buying a home. First time home buyers are being especially careful before making such a large purchase, who may not be as stable financially or as sure as to how long they will be living in one location.
Home ownership when you are in your twenties, if you can afford it, can also be very beneficial in the long run. You will avoid wasting money on renting a place with no potential for equity and will also have much longer to pay off your mortgage before your retirement years. You will also build equity in your home when home prices are low, an advantage that you won’t get if you are renting. However, many young home buyers are afraid that they can’t qualify for a mortgage loan, or at least one that won’t have a very high cost. Being a twenty-something home buyer is the same as buying a home at any age. The most important factors will be your credit score, your income, and the size of your down payment. The actual problem that you might encounter is that you might be a bit young to have a perfect credit score, a large income, or enough money saved up to make a large down payment, but that can happen at any age. In this article, we will take a closer look at each of these three factors and how they can affect young home buyers.
Your Credit Score
A young person will probably be worried that he or she didn’t have enough time to build a good credit score, and the lenders will automatically reject their mortgage loan application. In reality, your credit score will probably be better than you think, and easy to boost. You are in your twenties, so you shouldn’t have any large debt or dark spots on your credit report. Also, if you don’t have credit, you can establish it fairly quickly, in a couple of years. Just having a credit card that you pay on time can help your credit score reach the “perfect” range very easily.
Because you are young and maybe haven’t found a stable job, you may have some unpaid bills that you think will affect your credit score. The most important thing is to pay them as soon as possible, but, unless they are referred to collection, they won’t affect your credit score in any way. You will probably have to pay a late fee if you are late on a credit card payment, but as long as you make the payment within 30 days, your credit score won’t suffer.
Your Income
Lenders have to make sure that your income is large enough to accommodate your monthly mortgage payment, which also includes the obligatory homeowners insurance and property taxes. Lenders usually require that your monthly mortgage payment is less than 30 percent of your monthly income. Also, the total money that you owe each month, including debt such as student loans, should not be higher than 43 percent, or even less for some lenders.
Lenders will also require that you have a stable job, meaning that you have held the same job in the same organization for at least two years. Self-employed home buyers will have to provide tax returns and other records for the past two years in order to qualify for a mortgage.
Your Down Payment
Your credit score will affect how much you will have to put down when buying a home. Typically, if you have a very good credit score, you will only have to make a 10 percent down payment. But you should also keep in mind that, if you put less than 20 percent down, you will have to pay a Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which will make your mortgage loan more expensive overall.
An alternative can be a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan, which require a much lower down payment, sometimes as little as 3.5 percent. FHA loans require a larger insurance payment, but also have lower interest rates, making them a good alternative to conventional loans. Active or retired military personnel can apply for a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage loan, which requires no down payment. People who wish to live in a rural area can apply for a mortgage loan backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has many benefits over a conventional loan, but a longer waiting period.
Buying a home in your twenties is not harder than buying a home at any age, but it may be harder to qualify for a mortgage. Because you are just starting out in life, usually fresh out of college and with some debt, you might find it more difficult to come up with the large down payment or have a good enough income. But if you can do it, buying a home when you are twenty-something will be more beneficial than waiting until you are in your thirties or forties.