Down Payments

Q: Are there still mortgages available for little or no down payment?
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Q: Why can’t this scenario work? I find a house that has been appraised at $200,000, the owner sets the price at $200,000. Why can’t I get a loan for that amount, why must I have a down payment of, say 10%; $20,000 is such a small fraction of the total amount. Wouldn’t the lender or the seller make more money with this 100% loan?
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Q: I am newly married and would like to buy a home now, especially with the real estate prices going up as fast as they have, but I have been told I need to have a 10 to 20% downpayment. This would take us years to save. Is there any other answer?
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Q: My wife and I just found out that we have a PMI, that was because we put a small down payment and we understand that. My question is, how can we get rid of the PMI? Should we get rid of it since we have made our mortgage payments on time for the past two years?
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Q: I want to help my daughter and her husband buy a home, but I don’t want to cash in any of my securities and I do not keep as much as I would need in a standard checking or savings. I have heard that other assets can sometimes be pledged. Would this work in my situation?
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Q: I frequently hear that mortgage rules have tightened so much that we need at least a 20% down payment in order to buy. Is this true?
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