Kit

I imagine that there is a small yet passionate group of Ben 10 fans who are torn apart by this news.

I worked at banks for most of my career and was engaged to the lead mortgage lender, and together we hosted quarterly free events for our community to show people how to get into homeownership. I suspect you're lying in bad faith to try to scare people out of homeownership and push the agenda that Millennials and Gen Z can't own a home. I encourage anyone reading this to do their own research and contact their bank's mortgage team to determine if its feasible for them.

Over half of millennials are already homeowners, and I'd love to see that number go up.

Just gonna drop this here. https://www.psypost.org/psychopathy-and-sadism-drive-preference-for-loud-vehicles-study-suggests/

Spot on for me in the Midwest. My range and AC are electric, heating is a boiler. So it's super cheap in Winter and rough in Summer.

PMI would be $1200 in your example, not $2500.

In what reality is PMI close to a rent payment? It doesn't seem like you know what you're talking about.

I think you're dramatically overestimating how much it will add to a mortgage to use this strategy. For example, let's look at a $250,000 home - the average for my area.

If you put 20% down, your payment will be $1242/mo plus Property Taxes. Certainly cheaper than rent, but most folks don't have $50,000 sitting around.

So let's say you put $0 down and roll $9000 closing costs into your mortgage. Your monthly payment will be $1,843 of which only $214 is PMI. Still cheaper than the average rent in my area.

Even if you're buying a $1mil home with this strategy, the PMI would only be $850/mo. Where are you getting that PMI would be close to a mortgage payment?? You seem to be regurgitating bad faith advice that keeps people scared of homeownership when the reality is that it's an excellent move for many folks.

Reach out to your bank. If they have nothing, call your local credit unions.

I went thru USDA for my first home and they had similar constraints. Talk with your bank's mortgage lender. It's possible that an FHA loan would do you better.

In the US, if you're a first time homebuyer you can buy a home with zero cash in hand. You can roll closing costs into the mortgage and have no down-payment. You'll pay more out of pocket for a few years but in many areas it's still cheaper than rent - and rent just keeps going up while a mortgage stays the same. Many states also have free programs where you can take a class and they'll give you a grant towards buying a home.

Credit unions tend to have the best rates. Get into a credit union even if it's just a secondary account that you toss $5 into each paycheck.

Also, there are programs through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for first time homebuyers that prioritizes them over investors. This is the easiest way to get into homeownership but the houses are usually fixer uppers.

There will always be someone making more than you. The only person you should be competing against is yourself, to reach your goals in life. If your goals are to become a doctor, then go back to school and do it.

Don't sleep on the potato soft taco.

Pittsburgh is making great strides in this. They've been tearing down parking garages and building condos, forcing everyone to take public transportation. The light rail is even totally free, making it easy for everyone to get there.