Renters who want to be homeowners consider the biggest challenge to grabbing that rung on the American Dream ladder is coming up with the money for the down payment. That renters down payment challenge assessment from the Zillow Aspirations Report shows that 70 percent of respondents cited coming up with the down payment more difficult than debt (50 percent), qualifying (50 percent) or employment concerns (40 percent).
Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell encouraged renters who want to be homeowners to work with a good financial adviser to create and keep a budget, adding that “it’s important to set realistic goals and realize it may take a few years.”
Renters in Las Vegas and elsewhere in Nevada might also consider the state’s Home Is Possible program. That offers Nevada residents down payment assistance up to 5 percent when criteria is met. The requirements are not onerous — income under $95,500, agreement to live in the home and a requirement to take a home ownership class, among others. (See homeispossiblenv.org or contact the author, below.)
There also are special programs for military and veterans, public safety officers and teachers. The latter can get up to $10,000 to buy a home in Nevada.
See also: Both buyers and renters like newer homes
Rising rents and the prospect of higher mortgage rates might be keeping some families in rentals.
“It’s extremely difficult to save when you’re paying record-high rents,” Gudell said,
Still, almost three fourths of renters said being a homeowner increases community status, and two-thirds considered that the core of the American dream.
All those stories about millennials opting out of home ownership didn’t show up in this report; they agreed with those statements more than any other group.
Also, more than a third of them expected to buy a house in three to five years and only 2 percent said the never would.
Free consumer’s guide on buying a new Las Vegas home
Want a FREE advance copy of Hal DeKeyser’s upcoming book on how to buy a new home in Las Vegas? It walks buyers through all the steps in the process, from figuring out what kind of home you want to finding financing, shopping the models, monitoring construction to what you do in the first year. It’s a helpful guide even for those who have done this before. To get one, simply email Hal.DeKeyser@gmail.com with “I want the book” in the subject line. (No obligation.)
