I am getting tired of hearing finance "gurus" telling us that nobody can buy a house right now unless you have 20% down and perfect credit. My wife and I are closing this Friday on our first home with 100% financing and credit scores below 700. The process was not difficult and we have not had any hassle from our lender. In case you are thinking this is a small-time local lender, it happens to be JP Morgan Chase that is financing our home. Now, in certain cities where the values are dropping horribly, it may be difficult to do this. I wouldn't blame any bank for not wanting to offer 100% financing under those conditions, but I think that many parts of the country are not feeling the crunch. However, the markets are definitely feeling it. Enough about that, though.

My account was up 2.48% today and my practice portfolio was up 0.91% for a total increase of 1.163% since the beginning of March. Not too shabby. I will have a lot of changes to my practice portfolio this week. I have 12 new stocks ready to go in at the end of the week, so 12 are being moved off of the list.  

I've had two friends that bought houses within the last 6 months when it was "impossible" to buy a house.  Neither one had 20% to put down either.  Like WallStreetKi said, it depends on the area and lender.  On the other hand, my Mother's house has been on the market for 9 months now, and not a single bid.  (Nice place if anyone wants to move: waterfront, dead-end street in a small town in South Eastern CT).  :)

Congrats on closing!  I've been a home owner for just over a year now, and have never been happier.  Good luck!

They are using the old underwriting method - you have to prove you have a resonable chance of making the mortgage payment and taxes and insurance, also that will leave enought to pay the rest of your bills.

My son closed this month and they even wanted a copy of his college records. Maybe to make sure he was qualified for the job he held?   Or maybe just to make the binder look impressive.