re: 20% down on a house…is it dumb?

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There are loans available where you can avoid PMI without 20% down. Not that you would know obviously.

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I do not. Will you please help us out and let us know instead of just condescendingly talking down to us? I will really appreciate the help.

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So I'll say this. I put 20% down on a house last August, and since that time my trading account has gotten date-raped by the stock market. Hindsight is always 20/20, but keep in mind investing your money isn't always guaranteed return. For me personally, I was better off investing in my house than risking it in stocks.

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“Since August” is no way to evaluate long term investments like homes or stocks. Way too short of a timeframe on either.

Don't pay PMI biggest waste of money ever. Why pay for insurance for the mortgage company in case you can't pay your mortgage? I did something called a piggyback loan which is 5% down an 2 concurrent loans one for 80% and other for 15%. If you have great credit it should be an option for you. The mortgage companies won't tell you about it but if you tell them you will go to a different company they will miraculously find that option.

Usually say get the PMI off of there, but there are specific circumstances where it might make sense for the individual not to pay the 20% down. No blanket decision as this is very dependent on a number of personal variables.

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So you paid more than what PMI would be with a second

Then you need to refi them together and reamortize your loan

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Wow must be nice to act like you know what you're talking about when you don't. The money that would've went to PMI goes directly to paying principal and interest. Not sure how you get it would be higher. The interest rate on both loans are exactly the same. I've already refinanced and grouped it to one loan and it wasn't an issue. The loans are from the same mortgage company. Just because you pay or paid PMI because you didn't do your research doesn't mean you should hate on it. Piggyback loan is for someone who wants to put 5% or 10% down and not pay pay PMI until they get 20% paid. Homeowners get zero benefit of paying PMI. Congratulations on paying PMI buddy!

Everything you wrote was tard. You did exactly what i said you would do

Congrats on thinking you won with your sceanrio

The prices are escalating faster than most other investments.

I wouldn’t say it’s dumb and I understand it keeps you from paying PMI and if you know you’re gonna stay in the house long term and you can afford the 20% at closing, it will pay for itself over time.
But I don’t think it’s a one answer fits everybody kind of question. To me it depends on do you really have the 20% and still have extra money for other expenses and unexpected expenditures.
But if you feel pretty sure you’ll only be there 5, 7, 10 years, you have to consider is it worth the extra 15% cash flow disruption. Let’s say it’s a $200,000 home loan, if you put down 5% that’s $10,000, 20% is $40,000. If you say PMI is $100 a month, that’s $1200 a year or $6000 for 5 years. And let’s say for whatever reason you decide to sell and move in 5 years, would your financial situation fit you better for the next five years having tied up $40,000 or having used $16,000 while still having the other $24,000 in the bank or available to use other ways.
I’ve had realtors in North Louisiana tell me the average home owner swaps ownership in less than 8 years. There are alot of circumstances that prevent some people from having 20% for a down payment but that doesn’t mean they don’t still need a home and it doesn’t mean they’ve done anything bad or wrong, it just means they aren’t in a financial position to afford 20% down when they’re circumstances require 5% at the time.
So just saying, oh by all means pay 20% down, may not be the best answer for every home buyer. I’d say consider what you think your next 5 years may be like financially and decide if 20% down will restrict your other financial needs, maybe it’s worth paying an extra $100 a month to have the flexibility that the 15% you didn’t put down could provide you.

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The days of throwing a dart and hitting a stock or mutual fund that would go up 20-40% are gone.

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What? If someone would have bought a house 5 to 10 years ago and dumped that money into an index fund they'd be doing great.

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I don’t know a single person that hasn’t put down 20%. And, what are you doing with the leveraged money? The days of throwing a dart and hitting a stock or mutual fund that would go up 20-40% are gone.

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