12/15/2025
Posted By Brittany Utter - Keller Williams Lincoln
Should you wait until you have 20% down or just get into your first home sooner? 🤔
Here’s the deal…
A couple I recently worked with was looking at homes around $400,000.
At first, they thought they needed to save forever to hit that 20% mark — until we crunched the numbers together.
With 3% down, the upfront cost was around $12,000, and their monthly payment came out to roughly $3,400.
With 20% down, they’d need closer to $80,000 upfront — but it lowered the monthly payment to about $2,600.
Both options make sense… it just depends on your comfort zone and timeline.
Because here’s the truth: waiting for the “perfect” down payment could mean missing out on years of equity growth.
The average first-time buyer only puts down around 7–9%, and that’s perfectly okay.
The real question isn’t how much to put down — it’s when do you want to start investing in your own home instead of paying someone else’s mortgage?
Want to see how today’s rates and programs could help you buy smarter in Grand Island?
💬 Comment “AFFORD” and I’ll send you an invite to my 10-minute Strategy Session where I’ll walk you through how to buy smart, avoid costly mistakes, and find out what price range truly fits your budget.
— Brittany Utter, Real estate agent proudly serving Lincoln and surrounding suburbs! 😊