Ep. 30 – The Secret, Easiest Down Payment Assistance Program EVER! – Thanksgiving Day Special 

If you are looking to invest in your very first home, then this information can be useful. Figuring out how to get enough for a down payment is probably the biggest question first-time homebuyers have and probably is the question with the wrongest answers. Today, host, David Sidoni, helps us tackle this age-old problem with a simple solution. First, he dispels the myths about how much you need and then offers some solid, age-old advice that can be translated to anyone looking to buy in the “new” real estate market. Don’t think you’ve heard the answer, because you may be acting on old information.

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The Secret, Easiest Down Payment Assistance Program EVER! – Thanksgiving Day Special

First Time Home Buyer’s Down Payment Assistance Program – How To Get The Money You Need For A Down Payment On Your First Home

In honor of Thanksgiving 2019, I want to tell you how during your time off, during the turkey day break, you can discover the big secret of the easiest down payment assistance program ever. Consider this an early Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa gift from me to you. Thank you so much everyone for reading. This has been fun for me, getting to serve and to educate first-time buyers. I’m so happy that I found this little corner of the market for this little corner of my career. Sure, it takes twice as much work and pays a lot less than most other realtors, but I’m happy. I love this. I am passionate about it and you, first-time buyers, are getting screwed and that’s not right. Some of you know early in 2019, after thirteen years in the business, I quit the usual path of a real estate agent.

Educating And Not Ignoring First Time Buyers

If you’re new to the show, here’s my story. I quit to focus on a big problem, you, the first-time buyer. Not you actually being the problem. The problem is that there was not jack diddly out there to educate, to inform, to empower you and to help you plan. There is nothing from realtors. Why? Nobody thinks that helping you plan or being a guide to you on the biggest decision of your life, they don’t think that’s a good use of their time. It’s not the fastest way for realtors to become a baller and I decided to help you be a baller. This comes because of my time working in real estate, but also my real life. I rented in my twenties. I lost over $300,000 or $350,000 and it would have cost me very little to get myself a house. All I would’ve had to do to make that $300,000, $350,000 is keep on playing my rent on the first of the month, like I did the entire time that I was a renter. There is nothing different.
If you’re sitting there thinking, “Smarty-pants, why didn’t you do that in your twenties if you’re so smart?” It’s because I learned. I didn’t know back then. I didn’t have a show to help me. No one had a podcast. No one even had the internet. I’m that old and deal with it. That’s the point. In my twenties, there was no internet. If you want to get this info from someone who’s been in real estate for ten minutes or like a year and a half, that’s cool. Go for it. The goofy old guy who’s been doing this and thinking about this since before the internet, I got years on me. My bald head and gray hairs are here to help you become a baller.
Years later, I’ve looked around and the sad part is I saw it, the real estate industry is in no way advertising to you trying to help you with basic info and guidance. The entire industry is hell-bent on getting sellers. No one wants to work with you, lowly buyers. You’re not enough return on their investment. As far as the information out there, Google first time home buyers, you won’t see your realtor anywhere. That’s why I’m here to fix it with some Thanksgiving goodness for you. This is my mission and my passion project because you are ignored. If it’s not my show or my Facebook page and my YouTube channel, it’s usually junk or choosing someone to try to sell you something. It’s someone trying to help somebody invest in a home.

Myth Busting Down Payment Schemes

Nobody wants to talk to you about what you want to know about, and I’ve got your topic Down Payment Assistance. Let me dispel the myth. If you’re a new audience and you haven’t read any of the other episodes and you have not known about this, this is the big myth. First of all, you do not need 20% down to buy a house. I got an audience who hit me up on the website, DavidSidoni.com and I emailed him right back. He was like, “My whole life I thought I had to save 20% so I didn’t even think about it and I started reading your blog, I found out that I don’t need 20%.” It’s the truth.
In fact, if you’re an average person who rents and you’re trying to save 20% down while you’re renting, instead of using 3.5% or 3% down to buy a house, no matter even if the housing market is tanking, the math still shows that if you wait to try to save to 20% instead of buying it 3% or 3.5%. Even if the market’s totally dropping off, you are going to be losing money. Read episode 29, it talks about the recession that will be coming and I’ve got math facts, details to explain what I just told you. Three percent waiting for 20% is a losing equation no matter how you slice it. If you need assistance and you’re reading for this down payment assistance, make sure that you understand that it’s for the 3.5% to 3.5% down, plus your closing costs, not the full 20%. Since this is for Veteran’s Day, vets and active military, how about 0% down sound? You get 0% down. Thank you for your service. Now, your country offers you the greatest gift you could ever get and we’d like to make sure we tell you about it here on Veterans Day. A zero-down loan with no PMI. If you don’t know what that is, go back and read episode 26, which is part six of the How to Financially Prepare to Buy a Home and learn about that monthly fee. Take that information and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine because you don’t have to pay it. Who cares? There is no PMI for veterans. Realize you’ve got a great thing from your government and I personally think they’re not doing a good enough job in making sure that everybody understands it.
For the rest of us, for us civilians, once you’ve realized that 3% to 3.5% down payment is all you need, plus your closing costs. If you need those exact numbers, there are plenty of helpful breakdowns in previous episodes including episode 28. I literally give you the exact numbers you can buy with your exact rent that you pay and how much it costs at the down payment. By exact, in a general sense depending on where you are in your own particular individual situation, but it’s pretty close. What if you listened and you need to find a way to get to that magic number to buy a house? First, go back and read part seven of the How to Financially Prepare to Buy a Home seven-part series. In that, you’re going to get some more good news.

Down Payment Assistance

Let’s talk about the down payment assistance. Why are we talking about this that’s dropping right before Thanksgiving? This time of year is your best shot at getting a $5,000 or $10,000 or $20,000 down payment assistance because it’s sitting right there at the table with you. No, not a government down payment assistance program. It’s your relatives. If you read this, you know that although I can be a bit of goofball, I’m going to back this up with straight facts and data so hang with me. Others of you might be pissed off at me because you’re a survivor and maybe you don’t even have a family support group. Maybe you’re doing Thanksgiving with your friends or just as broke as you are or maybe your family is broken. You’re going to be sitting there with them, but you can’t ask them for $1, let alone $10,000. I’ve got tips and data for you.
[bctt tweet=”The greatest down payment assistance program ever is sitting at your turkey table.” username=””]
For those of you who don’t have that beautiful, wonderful situation to be grateful for, to be able to talk to your family about down payment assistance, let me give you, who don’t have family that can help you out, a few tips. For those of you without a family or a supportive family with money or a broke family, first of all, you are not alone. There are no worries. You can do this. I’m going to escrow with a girl from Compton who’s buying a $700,000 cool house in Los Angeles and she did it all on her own. She’s contributing a ton for reals. You can do this. Don’t fret. Remember, if you’re reading this and you don’t have financial support from anybody else, great. That’s why you’re here. You are my hero. You are a doer. I would bet 100 times faster on you than somebody who was given a gift. Here’s what we can do because I’m betting on you. The first thing you can do is slow your role in the upcoming holiday season and give yourself a fatter bank account instead of giving your friends some junk and crap that they don’t need. Let’s take a chill pill on that. Make it a gift season of experiences that you can share with your friends.
I understand that your friends and your experiences are important. Take them on a night to go see the Christmas lights, tree lighting, a cheesy mall choir. There’s a ton of those happening. Christmas shows all the time. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or a nursing home. Give back over the holiday season. That feels great. Bringing other people along, that’s way better than another gift card. Go caroling. Make gingerbread houses together. You can use Graham crackers. I and my family do it all the time. Second, tell your friends that the gift that you want for Christmas or Kwanzaa or Hanukkah or whatever is the gift of down payment. Tell them you don’t need those gift cards or those cute little handcrafted things that they found at the flea market. Tell them you want their help for you in your down payment assistance fund and make that however you want to.
Third, go back and read the How to Financially Prepare To Buy a Home parts 1 through 7 and get on this. Give that gift to yourself. There isn’t nobody but you. Like everything else you’ve done in your life, get on it and read. This was easier than the big bad world makes you think that it is. It’s not that scary. Finally, no matter where you are in the process, go to DavidSidoni.com and email me. Let’s get you the proper guide. The longer you do this on your own, the more time and money that you waste and the longer that you actually can get there on your feet on your own and won’t that feel bitching. Let’s get you a pro in your area that cares about you.
We’ve done it for over 60 people. We’ve got a whole bunch of closings and there are people out there, other agents who believe in your mission. They believe in you as I do. If you’re reading to this and you haven’t reached out and you don’t have a guide, pause it. Go to my website and email me now. Tell me where you’re at, what you want to do and let’s find you someone to help you on this journey. It’s your life. The sooner you get on this, the sooner you don’t fall into the loser trap that I did and I was coddled and still, no one ever helped me and no one ever told me I should plan. I lost $300,000 to $350,000 and I still paid my rent on time every month.

Use Your Own Personal Math

If your family are math people, use your own personal math. Show them your rent over the next 1, 2 or 3 years versus buying. If they say the market’s going to drop, first, agree with them. If they tell you the market’s going to drop, if they tell you recession is coming, agree with them, then go back and read episode 29 and read all the numbers where I talk about the upcoming recession. Still, it’s smarter to purchase than to wait for most people out there. You can also go back and read the episode on House Hacking with Roommates. Maybe they might not be willing to put down a big chunk of money, but maybe there’ll be in a cosigner position with you, which will help you get a higher approval. With that rent money, you can use some of it to pay off the loan, because you’re going to have a higher loan with the cosigner. You can use some of it to pay back their loans. You can tell them, “Look at me. I’m a tycoon. I’m a real estate investor.”
[bctt tweet=”Buying your first home is the foundation of your overall wealth.” username=””]
Tell them that you think eventually real estate investing is something that you’d like to do in your life to help secure your financial future. Most people get excited about that because the fact is billionaires in the United States of America the average have 30% of their diversification of assets in real estate. If you got to go big, if your family’s dramatic like mine, show them you’re serious. Sell your car right before Thanksgiving and then tell them, “My $300 car payment.” That equals $40,000 to $50,000 worth of a home that I can afford in my loan approval. I sold my car and I bought a beat-up used ride so I could get myself more purchasing power when the bank is looking at my debt-income ratio for a stronger investment in my future.
Would you like to participate and help invest in something that has been this thought out and this sacrificed for? Make sure your words go up at the end, they’ll let them know it’s a question. Open a savings account and bring deposit slips. Tell them all you want for Christmas contributions for it. Tell them that they bought you something, return it. Show them that you’re serious. Start a GoFundMe for your relatives and then make a video explaining what you’re doing and then unveil the video at the Thanksgiving table. Wait until they have wine. That’s something that I think would help. Get serious.
If you want to, go to my website and find the episode where some information that we’ve talked about make sense. Highlight the sections with the data on it and then put it in a cool binder and drop it right on the plates. I don’t know what you need to do. I don’t know your family, but I can give you suggestions from the minimal to the maximum crazy. These are things that you can do. If you’re really fortunate and your parents are planning on leaving you some inheritance, have a frank discussion with them about that. Wait until lots of wine has been consumed, but talk to them and explain to them.
This is something that a lot of my clients and I have actually worked on and it’s been the right move for their family. That asset, they’re eventually going to give to you anyway. If you’re lucky enough to be a person who’s going to get something when your parents get older. Instead of that money sitting in a stock market or a bond account or another savings asset, why not invest that in a home? This asset is going to be the foundation of your financial future. It’s going to gain appreciation, guaranteed. It’s a safe investment based on 200 years of data. It’s going to provide you an immediate tax shelter for you and your family, as well as an asset that you can actually enjoy. What are those assets doing that are sitting in bank accounts, in stocks or bonds or whatever else they’re in?

Giving Importance To Your Credit Card

Finally, the best way to suck up to your parents at any time is by giving importance to your credit. The mortgage interest tax deduction is the greatest invention ever. Credit specialists think that the greatest invention ever to help you with your credit score is the authorized user. The authorized user is the most underutilized, yet most efficient and fastest way to gain points in your credit score. Here’s how it works, mom, dad, aunt, uncle and grandma. Someone adds you to their existing credit card. All they do is call the credit card and say, “I’d like to add David Sidoni to this credit card that I’ve had since 1977.” What does that do for you? One, it gives you tons of history, which is 15% sometimes of your credit score.
If you’re 27 years old, you’ve maybe got a credit that you maybe started in college or maybe starting you were eighteen. Imagine adding another twenty years onto that. Now, your history explodes. Number two, your available credit and make sure that you assure mom and dad that you’re never going to touch it. Do what I did, have your mom and dad call in, have them sent it to their address, cut it up and never talk about it again. Let them know you can’t do anything with it. Have mom and dad throw the card out. It’s going to have absolutely no effect on their credit. They will not believe that. If they do, congratulations on having cool progressive parents or accountants or people in the financial industry. You got to be ready and be ready to back it up. Find information for my show. Find information on the internet, bring it with you. It will not affect their credit. If your credit goes in the tank, your credit has nothing to do with it.

The Worth Of Talking To First Time Buyers

If I have a credit card and all my authorized users go bankrupt, it doesn’t have anything to do with me and my credit. It’s not connected in that way. Finally, the last pieces with an authorized user, you want to do Visa or MasterCard, something that carries in available credit. You don’t want to do American Express or even Discovers, it’s not so great. I definitely don’t want to do Best Buy or something silly like that. The older the card, that’s better. Remember, it’s 15% of your credit score pie. There’s your Thanksgiving information. If they doubt where you got this information tell them about me. I’m transparent. Tell them that my mission and my mission statement is global. I want to change the way an entire greedy and slightly corrupt real estate industry treats the first-time home buyer. Not only in the process of buying the home, but in the planning process and then ultimately in the execution of buying the home. We’re going to do that all together one buyer at a time with pumpkin pie.
[bctt tweet=”Investing in a home can be more profitable than investing in a stock market or bond account.” username=””]
How are we doing it? I’m humbled that you read. If you’ve helped out especially at this time around Thanksgiving, I would like to say thank you. The way that you can continue to add and get other people to find this information is by sharing. I do need your help to share because most show out there in real estate, they’re built for other people in real estate or people investing in real estate. Lots of rich guys talking to other rich guys with all kinds of in financial and growth strategies. They grow their show by getting other people on the show who want to sell stuff. This show wants to sell stuff. They all sit together and stroke each other and make themselves all excited. That’s how they grow their audience. Here’s the problem. I’m only talking to you first time home buyers. I don’t care about all those other people out there. Nobody else thinks the first-time buyers are worth it. Nobody else has anything that they want to sell to you. It’s just me.
We got to go old school, we got to go grassroots, word of mouth, shares, reviews and you telling your friends about the education that you’re getting. This stuff isn’t in college and it should be. You’re not going to accrue any student debt reading to this, but it is going to help you figure out how to buy a house while you have all that student debt. Maybe they should have taught you that in college instead of giving you all that debt. This is real life schooling, helping people get their ultimate dreams and beyond. Buying your first house is indeed a huge dream, but it’s a dream that you can achieve. It’s the foundation of your wealth overall. Share it, make it an early Christmas gift to all your friends. Tell them all about it. Text it to them with a little emoji of a present and tell them that this is all they’re getting for Christmas because you’re saving your money to buy a house and now you learned that you can do this, that it’s a possibility.
You saved money and you shared the show. If you need a Unicorn agent in your area to start your plan, you’ve got to start right now. Time is your best ally. You don’t go down this road without a map. You’re only going to waste gas and time and probably end up in some really skanky and scary rest stop. Don’t do this on your own. Reach out to me on DavidSidoni.com. Fill out the contact form. I had two people hit me up and I got them in touch with the Unicorn. They’re on their way. We’ll find out. Maybe they buy in a year, maybe they buy in two years. Maybe they buy it in two months. Whatever it is, they’re on the more efficient and correct path. This whole project for me started about several months ago and it’s getting to a point that I am truly humbled. I would like to thank each and every one of you all out there.
If you’re reading this, thank you for taking the time. I started this to help people, hopefully thinking I would help some of the people in my own area. It turns out that there’s a lot of you out there and that my little theory wasn’t wrong. I thank those of you who reviewed, those of you who have written in, who have called in, who sent text, who have hit me up with your instant messages and your DMs. There are too many people out there to thank for making this possible. My family, the people who run my show and my webpage. All the mentors in my past who have helped me. Most importantly, I like to thank the people in my life that made me realize that real estate isn’t about making money. Careers are not about making money. Careers are about helping people.
I thank each and every one of you who have taken this one little man turned this into what’s the beginning of a mini-empire. This is Thanksgiving 2019 and you might be reading this in 2022 because that’s the way it works. By then, who knows? I have my own radio show and a TV show. Unicorn Network will be a live streaming place that you can call in to, send in a video testimonial. Thank you to those of you who were here at the beginning. We are starting a revolution. If you want more information, first I encourage you to go back and read to this stuff over and over again. Some of this information gets pretty technical because I don’t like a boring show. I like things to move quick and I want you to get all the information and it’s important. Other than that, you can join the How to Buy a Home Facebook page. We’ve had a lot of neat people that have joined on that page. Check me out on Instagram. That’s another great way to get lots of great content. It’s also a good way to reach me. It’s @DavidSidoni on Instagram.
You could check out the David Sidoni YouTube page. Hopefully, we’re going to going to ramp that up a little bit, get you some more videos and of course, always explore the website, DavidSidoni.com. Thank you to you for reading this, for dealing with me. I know some of you are probably using this as motivation on the treadmill because you’re like, “Shut up, you dork,” so you’re running faster. That’s great. I hope I’m helping but thank you. I really mean it. This was something I was doing for fun and it turns out that I’m something that I know has a purpose and you’re going to make me stay up late until 4:00 in the morning and get these shows done because you deserve it. You can do this.

Important Links:

• Episode 29 – Previous episode
• Episode 26 – Previous episode
• Episode 28 – Previous episode
• Part seven – Previous episode
• Episode 22 – Previous episode
• How to Buy a Home – Facebook
• @DavidSidoni – Instagram
• David Sidoni – YouTube

This podcast was started for YOU, to demystify things for first time home buyers, and help crush the confusion. After helping first timers for over 13 years, I knew there wasn’t t a lot of clear, tangible, useable information out there on the internet, so I started this podcast. Help me spread the word to other people just like you, dying for answers. Tell your friends, family, and perhaps that random neighbor you REALLY want to move out about How to Buy a Home! A really easy way is to hit the share button and text it to your friends. Go for it, help someone out. And if you’re not already a regular listener, subscribe and get constant updates on the market. If you are a regular and learned something, help me help others – give the show a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, or write a review on Spotify. Let’s change the way the real estate industry treats you first time buyers, one buyer at a time, starting with you – and make sure your favorite people don’t get screwed by going into this HUGE step blind and confused. Viva la Unicorn Revolution!
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