Where should you invest a down payment for a mortgage?

Where should you invest a down payment for a mortgage

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Purchasing a home is one of the most exciting things a family can do, but such a long-term commitment requires a long-term savings plan and a reasonably strict budget. It takes some discipline and patience for you to reach this goal, especially when you consider the significant amount of money you'll have to come up with as a down payment.

When it comes to the amount for a down payment, the typical lender prefers about 20% of the total purchase price for your property. Anything less than 20% will make it more difficult for you to obtain the loan, or at the very least you'll have to pay higher fees. This could include higher interest rates over the life of the loan, higher processing fees from the mortgage company, and a requirement that you purchase private mortgage insurance.

When you consider the amount of money involved, it's obvious you will need to save money for some time before you will be able to afford a down payment. Unless you're independently wealthy, you'll probably have to follow a consistent savings plan from month to month so you can reach your down payment goals. But how should you invest this money? Should you use a simple savings account, or should you take a higher risk and go for higher returns?

It really depends on what length of time we're talking about. If you're investing this money for the long-term, you can afford to be a little bolder and choose investments that are more volatile but that also tend to be higher earners. On the other hand, if you need to access this money for a down payment within the next five years, you may want to consider a more stable approach.

Look at the stock market, for example. In the 1990s things were going great, and you could have been getting returns of 10%, 15% or 20% per year on your investment. On the other hand, if you placed your savings into the stock market during the mid-2000s, your money could have been wiped out during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.

Assuming you wish to buy a new home within the next five years, we would highly recommend a safer approach such as a money market mutual fund account. This kind of account will safeguard your principal (which is the original amount of money invested), and it will provide some interest along the way even though this interest rate tends to fluctuate.

Although the interest rates may not be very attractive at times depending on economic conditions and monetary policy, a money market funds account should at least beat a traditional savings account at your local bank.

The Vanguard's Prime Money Market Account is one option you should consider when looking for a place to park your down payment money in the short term. At the time of this writing, this particular company only requires $3000 to open an account. Another option is to use an online company with few branches like Etrade. The low number of branches helps reduce overhead and increase interest rates.

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