Down Payment on a Condo?

First let me say, DH and I are not ready to buy a home.

However we have no idea how to get started in that field. We do not want to mention it to our families because we don't want to have the pressure to buy from them, or in a certain area near them.

I need to know, how much is a good down payment for a condo? We are looking at condo's in the range of 240k to 275k listed prices.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

i believe the rule of thumb is 20%... on house or condo...

(Plus you will need closing costs as well)

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Closing costs are usually 3% - %5 of purchase price. I don't know if it's any different for a condo.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

I don't think any banks are approving loans with less than 20% down. I don't think it makes a difference between condo or house.

My DH and I just eeked in, our down payment is lower than 20%. Our mortgage was underwritten last week and they told us that if we had applied now, we wouldn't be able to get it.

Closing costs will be another 3-5% of the sale price. You may be able to negotiate with the seller for a concession.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Wow. This a lot of great information. Thank you for posting ladies! I really have no idea of the process so we need to get going!

Thanks again!

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

I bought in Nov with 10% down (house)..20% is best no PMI..the closing costs would depend on the bank I paid very little with my bank.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

I think in this market, you should be able to get the sellers to pay your closing cost (unless its a forclosure or short sale which are more difficult).

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Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Posted by kimbalina

Posted by nov04libride

Posted by RocPin

I think in this market, you should be able to get the sellers to pay your closing cost (unless its a forclosure or short sale which are more difficult).

I haven't heard of anyone getting that on LI...If it's priced right (our condo is on the market, and is priced to sell), I think many sellers wouldn't agree to that. People make broad statements like you should be able to get it for x under asking...The house we bought was priced well, and we are paying asking.

One note--the closing costs are 3-5% of the loan amount, not the purchase price. When we bought our condo I think the closing costs were $8000.

Ok, thanks!!
We are totally unprepared it seems!!

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Oops, I meant loan price! My coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

Our sellers are paying a portion of our closing costs and we are buying on LI. I don't think it would hurt to ask. Qualified buyers are in very short supply right now.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

I still believe even in this market you can buy with less than 20% there are other options if you only have a small down payment you may be able to qualify for a FHA loan see info below:

http://banking.about.com/od/mortgages/a/FHALoans.htm

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

yes you can put less down depending on your combined income of last year. We are approved for a low income housing loan (sounds nice to be labeled as such but hey whatever) and its low interest rate.

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Message edited 8/20/2009 9:14:31 PM.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

yes i know with a co-op the entire "community" board must approve sale (this is what I have been told). They might see a 3% dp as not having the ability to afford it. So that can be tricky but in this day in age and the types of loans they ahve that are fixed but still low interest you have a big shot if you fall in that income range.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

When we were looking for a new apartment in our town we were told it was 20% down - same % for either Condo or Co-op.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

I would say 10% on a condo is good enough

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Thank you for all the replies!!

Dh and I are getting our taxexs done this weekend.. and then plan on discussing some housing options and what we need to do this year.


I really appreciate everyones post.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

We just bought a house, and knew next to nothing about the process. I actually went out and bought Home Buying for Dummies, and it was a great resource...lots of great info and answered a lot of questions I had.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Hi there.
We just closed on a condo and everything is pretty much the same as buying a house except i believe there was an extra fee involved for buying a condo or co op as vs a house.

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?

Re: Down Payment on a Condo?