I have people asking me all the time…”how can someone buy a home with no money down.” It seems to be the ellusive investor’s dream. But there is hope. There are several ways to get into a home with no money down:

1. Rent to own/lease option to purchase; start as a renter while you save money for the down payment or build purchase credit and then buy the home you’re renting.

2. Seller finance; find a seller who needs to sell but doesn’t necessarily need their cash right away.

3. Short term seller finance purchase and equity refinance; you can start with a short-term seller finance but you will refinance the property using and equity in the property as the down payment.

4. Investing partner; find someone who has cash to invest and use their money for the down payment. You’ll need to make some financial arrangement, usually monthly payments, to repay the investor and set a time limit on how long you plan to use their money.

5. FHA purchase. This isn’t completely a no money down but they still allow grant money for the down payment.

I’m assuming that you have decent credit (at least 600 fico scores or better) and have a steady job. The down payment is the easy part but you need to be in a position to finance the property at some point. Keep the FHA loan in mind…in is pretty handy right now.