Housing questions.
For anyone who's bought a house... how much did you end up putting down, as a percentage? I was fortunate enough to have my grandmother put together a trust fund for my sister and me back when we were kids, that had been appreciating since then, and while the sum (which is substantial and currently sitting in my savings account) would no doubt be a big part of a down payment... well, it feels like if I want to make a 20% down payment on a house and avoid the whole mortgage insurance issue I've still got a long way to go. Even with trying to put aside $250+ into savings each month, and being willing to liquidate company stock from ESPP and my current other stock holdings (which, given the market, have bounced all over the place), it feels like it would be multiple years before I could come close to the 20% mark for purchase.
Any words of advice on house-buying, too? Given how the market seems to have blown up in the face of many these past few years, I'm feeling extremely cautious. (And avoiding variable-rate mortgages is just step 1.)
*shrug* I just feel like I'm getting old and seeing chances of achieving anything drift away. Then again, I've been getting that sense for years now. *wry grin*
Any words of advice on house-buying, too? Given how the market seems to have blown up in the face of many these past few years, I'm feeling extremely cautious. (And avoiding variable-rate mortgages is just step 1.)
*shrug* I just feel like I'm getting old and seeing chances of achieving anything drift away. Then again, I've been getting that sense for years now. *wry grin*