TIL a 3% down payment got me a house when everyone said I needed 20%

Richard Jones · 2026-03-25T16:15:10.21548+00:00

My loan officer in Phoenix showed me an FHA loan option, and I closed on a $275k condo last month. Has anyone else found a way around the big down payment advice?

the_hayden5mo ago

Wait, you got a condo in Phoenix for under 300k? That's the part that's blowing my mind right now. I was just looking at places out there and everything decent seemed way higher. The down payment thing is one story, but finding a price like that is the real shocker.

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taraanderson5mo ago

So much for that old rule about saving for years. Guess the real secret was just finding a loan officer who actually knows their stuff. My parents are still going on about their 20% down payment from 1985. Who's laughing now from their new condo, right?

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sam_thomas5mo ago

But what about the mortgage insurance, doesn't that make it way more expensive?

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