It seems that at least once per week someone prominent who should know better will go on TV and say that you need a 20% down payment to buy a home. That is total crap. FHA loans with 3.5% down payment are still available and I see loan officers offering Conventional loans with 5%, 10% and 15% down every day too. If you happen to be a qualifying Veteran or live in a rural area, you may even qualify for a 0% down loan.
The other thing I hear at least once a week from these “experts” is that you need cash to buy a damaged foreclosure home. In many, many cases you can use an FHA 203(k) program to finance up to $35,000 in repairs and still only put down 3.5%. There are other programs that allow you to finance far higher amounts, albeit with higher down payment requirements.
While there are many difficulties still in our housing market today, it is not as bad as some people make it out to be!