how much money did you put down at contract?

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

$10,000

how much money did you put down at contract?

Are you looking for an amount or a percentage? Unless the buyer is a FHA buyer putting 3.5% down total, I think many, though not all, sellers push for a minimum of 5% of the contract price in escrow at signing.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

We did an FHA loan and put down the minimum 3.5%.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

We put down 5%

how much money did you put down at contract?

We did a conventional loan with 5% down.

how much money did you put down at contract?

5k at contract. Another 8 or so at closing.

how much money did you put down at contract?

10 percent when in contract and an additional 15 percent at closing

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

It depends on the buyer's preference and what is negotiated with the seller (and the seller's attorney). Of course, the buyer wants to put down the least amount possible on contract and the seller wants the buyer to put down as much as possible... It's the only thing the buyer has at risk and it's incentive to adhere to the contract. Like everything else, it's negotiable.

I find that the norm is to split your total down payment in half, and to put half at contract, half at closing. So if you were going to put down 10% and mortgage 90%, you would put down 5% on contract and the remaining 5% cash at closing.

If the down payment is more sizeable, sellers will often push for 10% down. So if a buyer is going to put down 20% down, many times they will write an offer with 5% down on contract and the remainder at closing. I find that usually doesn't fly with the seller... they push for 10% down at contract.

With my FHA buyers who are putting the minimum 3.5% down, they will often put down the entire 3.5% down at contract to strengthen the terms of their offer a bit. Also, I find that many seller's attorneys like to see at least $10K down, and depending on the price of the home, 1.75% or less won't always reach that threshold.

It's a good question to discuss with your real estate agent and your attorney before you go to make an offer. And you may change how much you are willing to put down depending on the house and the circumstances, to make your offer more competitive if need be, you may want to offer to put more down. But I like to have all of the terms of an offer set -- not just the price being offered - before I present the offer. To be clear about down payment, time line for contract and closing, and any contingencies, saves everyone a lot of headache and makes for a smoother transaction.

ETA - I personally split my down payment in half when I bought my house - put half of it down at contract, half at closing.

Message edited 2/12/2013 9:05:15 PM.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

10%

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

$10k

It was not a percentage.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

$10K. They asked for more but we negotiated down. There really is no reason for more than that. Its a show of good faith, not a down payment.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

10% at contract and 10% at closing

how much money did you put down at contract?

I never knew you didn't have to give you full down payment. We gave ours in full without issue. My Sister did the same. Our lawyer is a family friend so I wonder why he didn't have us give less?!

how much money did you put down at contract?

20%! We saved a ton while living at home.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

$180,000...but we sold our other house

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

10%. 1/2 at contract the other 1/2 at closing.

Message edited 2/13/2013 11:48:17 AM.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

20% ( co op)

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

20% for a conventional mortgage. They wanted 10% at contract, but we only gave them 5%. 15% at closing.

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

how much money did you put down at contract?

$15K at contract and the balance of the 20% downpayment at closing. (Seller wanted more at contract, our attorney wanted less - $10K- so the $15K was a compromise)

Re: how much money did you put down at contract?

our down payment was 21%. Seller asked for 10% down on contract, we negotiated that down to 5% because it was still a very substantial amount. They agreed without a battle.

how much money did you put down at contract?

At contract 10% of total purchase price. At closing paid the balance of DP which was about another 15% of purchase price.