One of the toughest part of trying to buy your first home is finding the funds for a down payment and closing costs. So, I thought it made sense to talk a little bit here about some of the options that are available to help you do that.

First of all, you should know that there are mortgage programs out there that will allow you to finance the entire purchase with no down payment at all. The availability of these programs to you will depend on your credit scores and the lender you choose. But I'd also like to make the point that perhaps people who have no money for either a down payment or closing costs should wait before buying a home. Once you buy that home and don't have a dime to your name, what happens if you have a large, unexpected expenditure? What happens if you unexpectedly lose your job? Life can change suddenly and it can make sense to wait to take on a mortgage commitment until you have some reserves for emergencies.

If you're fortunate enough to have family in a comfortable financial situation, many loan programs allow them to provide you with a gift of cash to help. There are IRS limitations as to the amount they can give you.  And you'll need to disclose to your lender that you're getting the gift. Or, your family may be able to give you a loan to help with the down payment. Again, this will need to be disclosed to the lender. And the amount they can loan you will vary depending on the lender and the loan program.

If you've been working for some time you may have a 401K that you can borrow money from for the purchase of your first home. There are obviously consequences to taking money set aside for your retirement and using that to purchase a home. And you should seriously weigh the pros and cons before doing this.

But I'd also like to suggest a very old fashioned idea, saving money until you have a down payment. Saving money is out of fashion these days! We live in a very materialistic culture that is constantly sending us messages to buy, buy, buy!  But taking a counter-culture approach to this can be very financially rewarding! After all, study after study suggests that all of our stuff is not making us any happier. In fact, the freedom to quit a job you absolutely hate is much more likely to make you happy than that Plasma TV! And there are some organizations that now exist to help you design a life with more financial freedom.

One of those is The Center for a New American Dream. They've got a bumper sticker that says "More Fun, Less Stuff!" I think that could a great motto as you work to build your down payment! Check out their web site for lots of information on how you can find ways to enjoy life more and spend less! http://www.newdream.org  Their newsletter features the slogan "Live Conciously. Buy Wisely. Make A Difference." It's not a message that you're going to hear much from all those credit card companies and retailers hoping to capture your money!

Another great web site for helping you have more with less money is http://www.freecycle.org  Here you can ask local individuals if they have things you need that they'd be willing to part with at no cost. Or, you can get rid of your excess stuff so you don't need as big a house!

However, you go about finding the money to buy your first home, I am a firm believer that buying a home is one of the smartest financial moves you can make! Feel free to share your ideas here on other ways to find that money!

As a buyer, you're entitled to a Good Faith Estimate from your lender. By law the lender must deliver this to you within three days of getting a copy of the ratified contract.

So, first of all, make sure your agent gets the contract to the lender as soon as possible once it's ratified! Then, make sure you hold your lender accountable for providing the Good Faith Estimate and getting it to you in a timely fashion!

This estimate, while it is an "estimate", should be very accurate. What should absolutely be written in stone on this are the lenders fees. Barring you're agreeing to a different program later on in the process, these fees should be absolutely accurate.

The GFE should go with you to settlement. In fact, you and your agent should compare it to your HUD1 as soon as that document is available. (The availability of HUD1s will have to be a whole 'nother blog!)

If the lenders fees do not agree with what you were given on the GFE stop and talk to the lender and make sure this gets fixed immediately. Do not sign the HUD1 without making sure those numbers are accurate!