Is $5000 needed to purchase a home?

Any time you go into a business deal a good rule of thumb is,”Always cover your butt.” No matter how careful you are, people can and will scam you anyway they can. Be suspicious of EVERYTHING!! Take nothing for granted. Sign nothing unless you know for sure what it is. Don’t give any details except what is pertinant to the issues at hand. Your information is exactly that. YOURS! If this lender needs any more info than you are comfortable in giving than scout out someone else. Alarm bells are going off for a reason. On the money side, of course the bigger the down payment the less the mortgage. I think first timers only require 5% down if I’m correct but again double check. A reputable mortgage broker will find you the best mortgage for your situation and income level. Have your lawyer help you. It may cost more up front but it could save you thousands in the long run. Good Luck.

I’m not too familiar with this market. Because of the massive amounts of scams you should first do a couple of things. What is the name of your lender and where is it located. Did you receive a solicitation via e-mail? Call or check the Better Business Bureau’s website (http://www.bbb.org/). More importantly if you’ve given your “lender” ANY personal information even a date of birth check with the BBB on what you should do. Generally speaking, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. The BBB will be more than happy to help you find a legitimate lender. I know what it’s like to be dealing with these ‘scam artists’ as I’ve had my bank account information stolen before. It’s always better to err on the safe side. Good luck and let us know how things go. :-) -S

Yes, that does sound crazy to me as well. The point of them (generally) making sure that you have the reserve amount is to be sure that if you experience some financial trouble, you have some cash on hand.

However, I’m not an expert in real estate, and for something as important as a home purchase, especially in today’s real estate market, I’d highly recommend getting a few different opinions before moving forward on the deal.

Good luck.

This is common, so common infact people will lease you their money so that it looks like you have enough cash reserves to make your mortgage, if something comes up.

They just want proof that you can pay.

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