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Greetings! This is not Fantasy Land. This is where dream and day unite. This is where you come when you have given yourself permission to accept that you can own your own home.

Yes, you’ve scoured your neighborhood and, as luck would have it (for those who take action are favored by the gods of good luck), you’ve found some great places to live. So, you started by putting a number of homes on your shortlist, and now you’ve narrowed the selection down to your three most favorite. And now…now the question is: will you actually be able to afford one of them?

Well, you wouldn’t be thinking about this is you were independently wealthy and could buy the home outright. So, you’re going to need to take a mortgage out, and that means you’re going to need a down payment, and that means…you need to HAVE a down payment from some source. Now, you’re tired of waiting to have your own home, and you do have a really great buy here, and no great buy lasts forever. You really need to find that down payment.

Now, you know that you want to be able to pay at least 20% of the total price of the house as your down payment. This is home loan industry standard. You show a good commitment to the house and home ownership, and the lender is confident enough to give you a better interest rate as a result. Yes, it’s a win-win situation.

But…what if you haven’t been saving your pennies for this moment? You’ve had lots of responsibilities, or the sudden desire for the dream home came out of the blue, or you (like so many people) really never thought about it in advance. After all, people don’t plan to fail: they fail to plan.

But…there are a number of ways out of this predicament. No, giving up on that house of your dreams is NOT one of those ways out!

Let’s take a look…

You Can Tap Into Your 401(k)

Yes, you’re allowed to take money out of your 401(k) for a situation like…buying a house. Now, you’ll need to pay that money back over a number of years, and you’ll have to pay interest, too. The good news is that this isn’t considered another debt against you by lenders. Unfortunately, you had better stay with your current employer until the loan from the retirement account is fully repaid, or else you must pay it all up within 90 days of the day you leave your current employer or face the wrath of the government regulators. Yikes!

You Could Ask for the Help of Non-Profit Organizations

There are non-profit organizations that have programs for people with low (or even moderate) incomes which are designed to help people buy their own home. These programs work in various ways depending on the organization.

There are non-profits which have volunteers who rebuild old houses and then get deals for extremely low (or no) down payments for those who would buy the renovated house. There are similar programs that help borrowers who are willing to put in “sweat equity”–they have to help build their own house and/or build other houses, too.

But, there are times when you just need to wait. If you are in a situation where you need or desire to have that 20%-or-more cash down payment, here are a couple of other ways to turn:

Investing in Mutual Funds

These are relatively safe, yet can give you excellent returns on your money all the same. Set money aside each month, invest in a good mutual fund found with a financial advisor’s help, and then in several years use the returns to put a down payment on a home of your own.

Controlling Your Budget

Most people spend money that they really don’t need to or even shouldn’t. If you can find the way to save an additional $100 to $200 per month or more, every month, for several years, you could come back and look at putting a good down payment on a home again. Start by writing down every penny–EVERY penny–that goes out of your wallet or account. Leave not a penny unaccounted for. You can find ways to spend less and save more and still have a good life!

But, if your heart really is set on buying your own house NOW, you could always:

Get Advice from Your Realtor

You Realtor has contacts with people who know how to find the best loans for people who qualify for them. For instance, FHA loans require less than a 5% down payment but can still get you a good interest rate. You might qualify.

If you want a home of your own, you need to make things happen.

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