Buying a home is likely the biggest purchase you'll make in your lifetime. There's a reason why people joke that they feel "house poor" when they leave the closing table. Too often the burden of the down payment leaves homebuyers' cash reserves empty.
And, new data shows that can be a recipe for financial stress.
Homebuyer surveys report a big gap between perception and reality when it comes to down payments. And considering that saving for a down payment is the number one challenge for new buyers, it's probably time to brush up on your facts.
In fact, a new
Fannie Mae consumer survey
found little has changed in consumer knowledge from 2015 to 2018. Most buyers don't know what's required for a down payment and only 23% are aware of low down payment programs that could help them buy a home sooner.
In the personal loan market, which is now dominated by online lenders that haven't been around long enough to have experienced a downturn, much of the lending has been in the name of credit card consolidation. The dirty secret of the industry is that, by giving customers a lower interest rate to pay down existing card balances, the loans are often less likely to get someone out of debt permanently, instead enabling the next spending spree.
