Definition of "Down Payment"

In general, a Down payment is a one-time payment a buyer makes to diminish the risks of the seller of expensive goods like a car, or a house. In Real Estate, the home buyer makes a down payment right off the bat and, then, honors the mortgage loan in monthly installments.

Down payments in Real Estate are usually calculated by observing the difference between the value of the property and the mortgage loan amount, and, then, expressed in dollars or as a percentage of the full value.

For example: if a house is valued at $100,000 and the loan is for $80,000; the down payment is $20,000 or 20%. In America, that value is usually between 3.5 to 20%.

But this definition is dependant on a lot of factors, like credit score and, sometimes, debt-to-income ratio. The higher the down payment, the lower the premiums (the amount of money you pay for each monthly installment) because the less the risk the seller/lender has of losing money should you default.

Real Estate Tips:

You can become an expert in one shot or through several installments... be our guest; accessing our glossary terms and finding a local real estate agent via our agent directory is 100% free!

Comments for Down Payment

ALAN PE BENITO ALAN PE BENITO said:

How to buy a property without downpayment?

Apr 03, 2019  09:20:56

 
Real Estate Agent

When you are looking for a mortgage with no down payment, it means that you expect the lender to cover the entire purchase, so the loan-to-value ratio is 100%. It also means that your credit risk is huge and our real estate agents will tell you that it's very hard to buy real estate with no money down. There are only three 0 down home loans available in the US. Veterans, active duty service members, National Guard members and reservists may qualify for a VA loan. Another option would be the USDA loans for rural areas. And the third one - the Navy Federal Credit Union 100% Financing. You should know that there are conventional mortgages that allow only a down payment of 3%, so an LTV of 97% but private mortgage insurance (PMI) is required for a few years. FHA loans allow very low down payments of only 3.5% if you have a good credit score. Maybe you should try to save some money for a few years to have more options at hand. 

Apr 04, 2019  06:25:25
 
 
image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Mortgage Terms

An agreement by the lender not to exercise the legal right to foreclose in exchange for an agreement by the borrower to a payment plan that will cure the borrowers delinquency. ...

Protection for a borrower against the danger that rates will rise between the time the borrower applies for a loan and the time the loan closes. Rate protection can take the form of a ...

A lenders requirements regarding how information about income and assets must be provided by the applicant and how it will be used by the lender. The following categories have evolved in ...

Also called variable or flexible rate mortgage, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) is a mortgage where the interest rate is not constant, but changes over time by the mortgage lender. ...

The sum of all interest payments to date or over the life of the loan. This is not a good measure of the cost of credit to the borrower because it does not include upfront cash payments and ...

Fees collected by a loan officer from a borrower that are lower than the target fees specified by the lender or mortgage broker who employs the loan officer. An underage is the opposite ...

The interest rate used to calculate the mortgage payment. The interest rate and the payment rate are often the same, but they need not be. They must be the same if the payment is fully ...

A letter from a lender verifying that the price and other terms of a loan have been locked. Borrowers who lock through a mortgage broker should always demand to see the lock commitment ...

The amount the borrower promises to repay, as set forth in the loan contract. The loan amount may exceed the original amount requested by the borrower if he or she elects to include ...

Popular Mortgage Questions