How much downpayment do I need to buy a house in CT w/ bad credit? I will be a first time buyer.?

This past year was a tough financial year for my husband and I, he was in and out of the hospital with no medical insurance and my previous job was paying me very late and we were paying things late and at times not paying them because there was no money. Now, we just moved in with my parents, and where paying things on time and we are both trying to rebuild our credit + save money for a down payment. Where both young in our early twenties so we are planning to live with my parents for about 3 years so that can give us time for our credit to grow and have a big downpayment (we are great savers!) I was told from a realtor that I need 10% of the house value as a downpayment so the lender wouldn檛 really be hard on the judging while gives us a loan is that true? How much downpymt will we need? Our house budget is no more than $200k but with this market im not sure what we will be able to get at that price in 3 years from now. My credit score is in the 450's. Please advise! Thank you.How much downpayment do I need to buy a house in CT w/ bad credit? I will be a first time buyer.?
Before you start worrying so much about saving for down payment, I would get a copy of your credit report to be sure you don't have a bunch of past dues or collections lingering. These items will thwart your efforts to re-establish your credit. You can get it free (one from each bureau) once per year at http://www.annualcreditreport.com



Once you have everything current, keep it current for at least 2 years. The last 24 months is the most important for the credit scoring models. On time payment is the number one factor in the model. Yes, you want to save some money but paying down debt might help to elevate your scores. Do not close accounts if you can help it. Pay down lines of credit but keep them open and active.



As far as what down payment you will need, no one has a crystal ball. Today, with reasonable credit you could qualify for an FHA loan with as little as 3% down. The seller could even provide the down payment through Ameridream or another non-profit. They can also provide assistance with closing costs and pre-paid items. In escence, you could get 100% financing.



The key is going to be cleaning up the mess and then keeping a clean payment history for at least the next 2 years.How much downpayment do I need to buy a house in CT w/ bad credit? I will be a first time buyer.?
Well first your credit score will need to improve by 200 points to even think about getting a mortgage, so you need to have continual on time payments for the next 3 years in hopes that lenders will look past the old late payments you made. 10% will be about right ($20,000), if your score gets over 680 you wouldn't need quite so much, maybe 5% ($10,000). The more down payment you have the better your interest rate will be and the less mortgage insurance you'll have to pay each month. Just remember that the current market is so volatile that there's no way of knowing what will happen next month in terms of loan requirements let alone 3 years from now. So my advice is based on the current situation, it may get worse or better.