Media Gaslights Consumers on Housing Down Payments

• Author: Jeffrey Simmons
• Posted: 2024-09-18

The idea of placing a down payment on something you cannot afford and will have to pay down over time is a cornerstone of a debt-based payment. In other words, the more you put down on something to start, the less you will have to pay off over time. This means that you will get to experience lower monthly payments, less interest, and you will ultimately be able to pay the item off sooner. This is pretty standard for everything, whether you're putting a payment down on clothes with a store's lay-away program, or if you're buying a car or a home. The more you can afford for a down payment, the better your overall terms are going to be. However, according to some mainstream news sources that have released similar articles this week, putting a down payment on a home may be a "mistake." Traditionally speaking, a 20% down payment on a home meant that your mortgage payments would be lower, with lower interest rates, but some mainstream sources are now warning people against making this type of down payment.

To be clear, these series of articles are assuming that you will be borrowing this money to put down on a home. To that end, it is correct that this isn't the best move to make. If you're borrowing money, just to borrow more money, you're going to find yourself overextended the first time an interest rate spikes, or you don't receive a full paycheck, etc. This is just asking for trouble. But it's the way these articles are presented that's the problem. Their headlines seem as if they're trying to gaslight people into not making down payments. One reads, "Putting 20% Down on a Mortgage May Be a Mistake," and you have to read very deep into the article to see that they're speaking about borrowing money in order to get a mortgage. If you were just passing that article by and reading the headline, or the first few paragraphs, you would likely come away thinking that placing a down payment on a home is somehow the wrong thing to do. This, of course, would just be nonsense. When it comes to putting a down payment on a home, this is one of the best things you can do for yourself financially, outside of buying the home outright. And since too few people can buy a home outright, a down payment is the next best thing.

It's true that the majority of Americans hate how this system works, and practically everyone wishes that housing prices were cheaper. However, the system in America is the status quo, and it's going to continue working like that. Insofar as this is the best Americans have, a down payment of at least 20% is a great way to ensure that you stay out of debt and don't get underwater with your mortgage. Do not fall for the media trying to gaslight you into believing you shouldn't be placing a down payment on a home.

Less Debt is a Good Thing!

It's really no mystery why only around 15% of Americans polled claim to trust mainstream media sources. While there might be thousands of mainstream sources in America, they're all owned by the same six multi-billion-dollar corporations, and so you can imagine where their interests lie. While it might be speculation, the smart money is on the fact that the news media is working in conjunction with massive mortgage lenders so that they can charge you a lot more for your monthly payments while locking you into steeper interest rates. In a debt-based system like a mortgage, a down payment is a good thing because it means less debt. If your home is $200,000, for instance, a 20% down payment here is $40,000. This means the loan you'll have to repay is only $160,000, not $200,000, and so you'll have a kinder payment structure and less interest to deal with. It stands to reason that huge corporations want you indebted for the full $200,000, or whatever the total cost of your home is. Just keep in mind that you do not have to pay that much.

Coming up with a down payment for a home is the best way to get out of having to be indebted to a mortgage lender for your entire life. The more money you can come up with as a down payment, the better your deal is ultimately going to be.