According to a recent survey from Fannie Mae, a huge percentage of Americans are overestimating what it takes to secure a mortgage—and those misconceptions about mortgage qualifications could be holding people back from purchasing their dream home.
Fannie Mae’s survey aimed at exploring how well consumers understand the basic requirements for obtaining a mortgage. And what they found were a lot of misconceptions. For example, the average consumer believes you need a 10% down payment and a credit score of 650 to secure a mortgage—when, in reality, you only need a down payment of 3% and a credit score of 580 to qualify. Most consumers (a whopping 77%) aren’t even aware that low down payment mortgage programs exist.