Down payment on pre owned homes
 

Hate to bother all you folks, but wondering if the pre owned market in The Villages is the same as the "outside world" in that the down payment is something that is up to the buyer and seller to agree on.

I ask, because I read all the time about the down payment on the new homes being so strict !

Thanks for any response !

Use Your Real Estate Professional
 

Like any part of purchasing a new (to you) home, the down payment is negotiable. Just work with your real estate professional to get to something "reasonable". Let no one tell you that there are hard and fast rules on the down payment that apply across the board - there aren't. Certain lenders may have requirements you must meet in order to use them and many are similar but everything is negotiable, to some extent.

Most mortgage lenders require a 20% minimum down payment to get a decent rate. About the only option there is to get the seller to take a second mortgage for a portion of the downpayment. Some may be willing to do that. That option would only be possible in the pre-owned market, not new.

I think Rag's is referring to the amount to 'hold' the property not the cash balance to pay at closing (the 20% you mentioned). When I've purchased any property I try to put as little 'hold' money as possible since there are legal obligations that accrue with that process. And yes from what I can read 'pre-owned' operates much differently than new in TV.

Is that what you were thinking Rags?

I know new sales don't like VA loans.
Does the family hate Vets????

Rags, what are we talking about here down payment on the mortgage or deposit to hold the property?? Two seperate issues.

KNC....I suspect TV is not against VA loans,
 

but rather they would express that they prefer one to use Citizen's Bank (now I wonder why that is???).
When I came with pre approved financing from Bank One, they tried time and again to convince me things would go much better with Citizen's. My answer was if Citizen's could meet the same rate as Bank One I would be glad to use them....they were over a full point higher....and would not budge.
Even the closing agents tried to give me advice that from their experience, closings using Citizen's tend to go much smoother....which was nothing but pure unadulterated BS.
At the closing they complimented Bank One for having everything complete the first time.
When all gets said and done...as long as the funds are coming from a legitimate source, TV has no say where one gets their money to purchase a home.

I personally think their attitude/encouragement toward financing and the use of Citizen's is a conflict of interest...yes it is a separate company even though owned by TV and no doubt lawyered to the nth degree.

BTK

I agree. We used a different financing institution, and everything went like a charm. We also saved about 1% in finance charges/mortgage rate.

"I personally think their attitude/encouragement toward financing and the use of Citizen's is a conflict of interest...yes it is a separate company even though owned by TV and no doubt lawyered to the nth degree."

Now THAT is an interesting tid-bit of information for a wannabe. Thanks.

I have heard the agents with Prop of TV's get a higher commission rate for selling a new home versus pre-owned. I wonder if they get a little extra if the buyer gets the loan from Citizen's? Have never heard this as fact and I am not complaining...just wondering out loud.

As to the VA issue, it may be that Citizens First doesn't qualify to do VA loans. VA loans really do require a specialist who does almost nothing but these type of loans. The other factors may be that VA loans are much more paper stringent, have set rules about closing fees and interest rates, frequently have closing issues (and we know how TV is on closing on time) and give less money to the lender.

As to the original question, the simple answer is for a down payment, it depends on your lender; for the holding amount, it depends on your seller. Both are negotiable on a pre-owned.

Sensible, as always, Red!

Thank you one and all for the information.....we really appreciate it !!!