The down payment question keeps a lot of potential buyers up at night, especially when they're looking at home prices in Fort Mill, Waxhaw, and other Charlotte metro areas. Let me break downyour options so you can make a smart decision. The old advice was 20% down to avoid private mortgage insurance, but that's $80K-100K+ on typical homes in Ballantyne or Weddington. Most first-time buyers don't have that kind of cash sitting around, and honestly, you don't need it. FHA loans require just 3.5% down, and many conventional loans now offer 3% down options

On a $400K house in Indian Land, that's $12K-14K instead of $80K – a huge difference. The trade-off is you'll pay mortgage insurance, which adds $200-400+ to your monthly payment depending on the loan amount and your credit score. But here's the thing – you can request to remove PMI once you have 20% equity, either through payments or appreciation. In growing markets like Marvin and Fort Mill, your home might appreciate enough to drop PMI within a few years. My practical advice? Save what you can, but don't wait for the "perfect" 20% if it means delaying homeownership for years

Every month you're renting is money you're not building equity. If you can comfortably afford the payment with PMI and have some emergency funds left over, consider buying with 5-10% down. You can always make extra principal payments later to build equity faster. The key is getting into homeownership in areas like Pineville where you can start building wealth, even if the monthly payment is a bit higher initially.