Mind = Blown. I would've thought more people would be closer to 20%. I have coworkers who had darn near 0%-3% down on theirs, accepting PMI in their lives, and obviously that turned out well for them given that their house value went up $50k-150k in the last few years. I thought they were a minority.



Maybe I shouldn't wait to save up $90k for a $450k house after all when $27k does the job lol.

Not surprising at all

Not surprising at all, most people literally don't have savings.

Don't wait to save for a down payment when prices increase faster than your savings potential. Take on the debt at low interest and gain equity instead. This environment punishes anyone who doesn't utilize leverage

Im not suprised

phuck paying rent instead of a morgage

I bought my duplex 5% down ($400k TV)

spent another ~$20k on renovations

I reckon value is up nearly $200k over the past 3 years

stop waiting around like a ******* a pull the trigger already

The first house I bought I didn’t have chit so I don’t think we put anything down. Put $100k down on the house we bought 2 years ago because we had equity in the one we sold.

We are building and put 25% down. FHA is only 3%, good luck having a seller not throw your offer in the fireplace in this market with FHA.

6 figure home equity crew checking in

feels good

What is crazy is that in some countries it is not normal to get a home loan or take on large amounts of debt. It is more normal there that renting is the most affordable long-term solution and saving a lot is typical. High savings and having zero large debts means that everyone enjoys a higher pay and higher standard of living.

In the US, there is no problem with being a rich man in a poor country. In fact, the owning class would prefer to be miles above 99% of people in terms of standard of living. While the average person can only save up 10k for a home, probably even less for a 40k car, taking on huge debts with very small deposits, the owning class just collects all these ridiculous lifetime payments from millions of people.

I believe the reason for this is because the average American wants to live or appear to live as close as possible to the lifestyle of the owning class. Have the best possible house your debt can buy without owning it, have the best possible car without actually having it. It's like a facade on a bare wood frame, ready to collapse at any moment if the paychecks stopped flowing.

I may be the odd one out for striving to accept a simple life and save more than half my income, but it allows you to very rapidly build capital and avoid the debt trap entirely. If only 1% of Americans are not approaching money in the typical way, then of course they are going to stand out as unusual. That is fine by me.

brb save a $3k in PMI annually to miss $30k in equity value gains instead just think of the bigger picture brahs

That's a reasonable assessment but the issue you don't SPECIFICALLY address what you/people outside of the US do with the money they are saving by not going into enormous debt? Simple responses such as "investing" are bare bones and usually not accurate. Most people do NOT invest, especially beyond the bare minimum 401K/IRA. So if all you are doing is putting money in your bank account instead of into a physical/usable asset (home, car, business, etc...) then the argument could be made that YOU are doing it wrong even if your aspirations are more noble than the "average American"

You can save even more than 20%, you can even buy it all in cash or get a government subsidy with no deposit. Additionally, you can invest in lands outside the suburbs that provide income and pay for themselves or even profit.

Also, the saving does not end if you take on a large debt. You should be able to save even more with a lower monthly payment. I think it is best to look at the long term rather than current economic trends. All these options can seem overwhelming to many, so they just choose to follow the typical path with maybe some variations.

Yet everyday there are people here complaining that the average American life is in decline and everything is going down the toilet. It's because people can't let go of the past and have idealized the mid-20th century American life. This century is far more complex and challenging, if we do not adapt then we will be left behind, clinging to visions of the past.

I can't even imagine a life without internet, I was born into it. Not sure why I would want a 20th century life.

My aspirations are not more noble, I am just not striving to live a mid-20th century lifestyle, something that everyone here and elsewhere says has faded away.

Investing covers any profitable venture.

In those countries, successful first world countries outside the US, they are just saving the money in their bank account. That allows their banks to save more and lend more to domestic businesses, growing the economy. Then again, their banks and businesses are not screwing over the people with large profit margins. Mostly because they were bombed to hell during WWII and had to rebuild.

There is no "doing it right" or "doing it wrong" when it comes to this. There is only "doing what you are told" and "making your own judgments". Both options carry their own risks and benefits.

Lol this is the misc bro. Miscers buy rental properties and a new AMG every year with cash when they’re not busy banging models.

Not surprising when most houses are 200k+ Not a lot of people have that much cash laying around.

Luckily for me I used my VA loan.

Fuk The House in the Butt?