Can a credit card be used at closing for part of the down payment?

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August 19 2009 - Benton
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Answers (7)

Profile picture for Pasadenan
The trick is not "using" the card credit for the down payment; you can obtain cash with those cash advance checks they keep giving you, and then pay the cash, without tracking where the cash came from...
the trick is getting a loan "approved" if you plan to use credit for the downpayment.  In order to qualify for the loan, they want to know all your outstanding debt, and all your bank balances, as well as your income and other assets.  Unless you do a no-documentation loan, I don't see how you would hide not having a down payment, or hidding a credit card debt equal to your down payment.
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August 19 2009
Profile picture for jal74
I asked that question on #1 Tiffany when I was looking at my home purchase a while back.  I even went so far as to have the discussion with Amex in which i would actually prepay amex and use the card for the downpayment for the rewards points.

A knowledgable person at amex showed me where in the fine print where the rewards program disqualified such purchases.  This person said most rewards programs have specific exclusions for these types of uses.  The most common is car purchases as this was fairly abused when rewards programs first came out in the 1980's.

Hope this helps
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August 19 2009

Personal Unsecured Loans
"Generally, personal unsecured loans are not an acceptable source of funds for the down payment,
closing costs, or reserves.

Examples of unsecured borrowed funds include signature loans, lines ofcredit on credit cards, and overdraft protection on checking accounts."

Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-19
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August 19 2009
Profile picture for TiffanyBond
I guess I can think of *two* situations in which I would find this maybe ok....

1) say it's a triple miles month, AND you are using a charge card (or paid in full each month credit card), AND the escrow will accept a credit card (not taking a cash advance), AND the seller is willing to pay the fee (but is being economically inefficient and is unwilling to simply credit you the same amount of money) AND you have the money in the bank to pay off the bill when it comes. Then you could get a month of free interest and a trip somewhere.

2) You get one of those balance transfer checks (I haven't seen one like this in a few years) for 1.9 or 2.9% interest for the life of the transfer with low or no fee to use the check and there is no stipulation on how you may use the check.But the odds of one of these two is slim.
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August 19 2009
Profile picture for Lady Chattel
OY VEY!!   This is the poster question for what is wrong with this country.
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August 19 2009
Profile picture for TiffanyBond
It is possible, but under any circumstance I can think of a very bad idea.
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August 19 2009
Profile picture for lvexpert
Hello - The only way you could use a credit card for part of the down payment is to take a cash withdrawal.  But this will change your debt to income ratio and may cause you problems when qualifying for a loan.

There are down payment assistance programs out there that provide both grants and repayable down payment loans.  Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.
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August 19 2009
 

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