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When buying a home, you might need to use some of your investments like stocks, bonds, or mutual funds to help cover the costs. This can include your down payment (the initial payment when you buy a home), closing costs (fees and expenses you pay to finalize the mortgage), and…
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This section is about using money from outside the United States and its territories to buy a home. If you’re thinking of using such funds for your down payment, closing costs, or financial reserves, this guideline explains what you need to do. When you use money from another country to…
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When you’re buying a home, you might need money for the down payment. Sometimes, people save for this in a special way, by putting their money together with others. This is called a “community savings account” or “pooled savings.” If you’ve been saving money this way, you can use it…
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Individual Development Accounts, also known as IDAs, are special savings accounts. These accounts are for people who are saving money to buy a home. What makes them special is that certain nonprofit agencies will add money to these accounts to match what the homebuyer saves, under specific conditions. There are…
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When you’re buying a home and need a mortgage, the lender looks at your financial situation to decide if you can afford the loan. This includes checking your bank accounts to see if you have enough money for the down payment, closing costs, and emergency funds after you buy the…
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When you apply for a mortgage, the lender needs to check you have enough money for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves (extra cash that you might need after buying the home). They can check this in several ways: 1. **Request for Verification of Deposit (Form 1006):** This is…
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When you’re buying a home, you might think about using virtual currency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, to help pay for some of the costs. Virtual currency is digital money that doesn’t have a physical form like coins or bills. You can use virtual currency to help pay for your down…
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This guideline talks about special deals or bonuses that a lender might offer to someone taking out a mortgage. These bonuses can be given directly by the lender or through someone else. Sometimes, when you’re getting a mortgage, the lender might offer you an extra perk. This could be in…
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Interested Party Contributions (IPCs) are funds given by people or entities that have an interest in the home sale. These funds help cover costs that usually fall on the buyer. However, IPCs cannot be used for the buyer’s down payment, financial reserves, or minimum contribution requirements. Fannie Mae defines IPCs…
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This guide explains the rules about the money you need to have saved after you buy a home, known as minimum reserve requirements. These rules make sure you have enough saved to cover your mortgage payments for a few months. We’ll cover what counts as these savings, what doesn’t, how…