Potential home buyers overestimating credit & down payment needed to buy

October 23, 2017

65% of  respondents to a recent Wells Fargo survey feel homeownership is the American Dream, an accomplishment to be proud of and something they aspire to. 72% of them feel now is a good time to buy. But the survey also showed that consumers have misconceptions about credit & downpayments as related to buying a home, causing confusion and/or holds them back from moving towards homeownership.

Credit 

2/3 of those surveyed believed a very good credit score is needed to purchase a home and 45% of those people  considered that score to be 780.  In general, 780 is considered excellent. Most credit scores fall between 600 and 750 according to experian,  so talk to your lender before discounting yourself based on score alone. While good credit is important, it is not the sole criteria lenders use when considering a buyer’s financial picture. Many lenders also take into account credit history, income, assets and debt to income ratio and more.

 

Downpayment

36% of respondents believed a 20% downpayment was always required. 20% down is a great start and gets you the better interest rate, however, newer low downpayment programs have become available which make getting into a home much easier. Some education is required, but if getting into a home is your goal, these low downpayment programs are certainly something to ask your lender about.

 

Professionals can help clear things up

While many potential homebuyers may prefer to do their research online before contacting a professional, the case may be that they have misconceptions about both credit and downpayment. Professionals can give expert advice for your personal situation. If homebuying is on your horizon and you have questions, please get in touch with a First Weber agent. You may be qualified and not even know it!

 

Where to search?

You can find Wisconsin real estate listings easily on websites and apps these days, but how do you know if the data on those properties is accurate?  Have you ever inquired about a property that you were interested in only to find it was not available, even though there it is, right there on your screen?  Frustrating! National websites like Trulia and Zillow get data feeds from real estate brokers such as ourselves who choose to provide extra listing exposure, but the updating of data on their sites is out of our control. There’s no way of knowing how often they run those updates and the listing data can be stale and inaccurate.

 

Local sites are easily updated and up to date

For the most accurate listing data on homes for sale in Wisconsin, it is best to start with a local real estate website or locally produced app that has control over their own updates.  For example, firstweber.com and our free real estate apps are updated several times a day through hourly local feeds from MLS systems across Wisconsin. Changes and updates are faster and controlled locally.  The same holds true for all our agent websites. Up. To. Date. That equals better real estate results for the person searching for real estate for sale in Wisconsin.

NOTE: New versions of our app are available. You’ll love the excellent search experience!

Download updated iPhone/iPad app

Download updated Android app

 

First Weber sells real estate throughout Wisconsin: Metro Milwaukee and Southeastern WI, South Central Wisconsin/Greater Madison, Southwest WI, Central Wisconsin, Northeast Wisconsin, Western WI, parts of MN, Michigan’s U.P. and Wisconsin’s great Northwoods. You can start searching for Wisconsin real estate and Wisconsin real estate agents at firstweber.com

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