I Bought My House With a $1 Down Payment

I bought a house in February 2021 with a 3.2% fixed 30-year mortgage. The price of the house was $835,000. I put $1 down on the mortgage. Before property taxes and insurance, I pay $3,400 a month. I’m 42 and have worked at the same company for nine years.

I got the $1 down mortgage because, in part, my credit score is 830. Less than 5% of Americans score at or above that number. The average U.S. credit score in America is 717. My annual income is $390,000, and after taxes and donations, it is about $270,000.

According to industry forecasts, the chance I will default on any of my loans is close to zero to get my credit score. In addition to the mortgage, I must have a pristine payment record across all my other debts. In 20 years, I have not missed an on-time car or credit card payment.

I have three credit cards: one from Amex, one from Chase, and one from United Airlines. I pay them off less than a month before they are due. The average interest rate on these is 21%. With my payment pattern, this has never affected me. That is because I have not paid interest on a single loan in nine years; I spend $120,000 using the cards each year.

I have a Ford F-150, for which I got a 0% APR for 36 months. I did not make a down payment on the pickup. My monthly payment is $1,376.The truck’s model year is 2023.

My savings and investments total $1.65 million, and I earn a 2% yield on them. The value of these investments has increased by 8.2% over the past two years, primarily due to increases in the stock market. The money is kept in an IRA.

My father, who is 82, gives me a $20,000 gift a year. Because of federal gift laws, this is tax-free for me.

My house was built in 2014 and has not had any major repairs. It sits in a 100-year FEMA flood plan in central Michigan, which means the chances of a flood hitting it are basically zero.

My wife takes care of my two children, who are 8 and 11 years old. They go to public schools, so my cost to educate them is $5,500 in yearly property taxes.

My mortgage is from Citizens Bank, where I have kept my checking and savings accounts for 14 years. I also keep $325,000 of my investments there. I have had the same banker for six of the nine years.

It took me four days to get the $1 down mortgage approved.

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