Instead, like buying a house with a small down payment, you pay a fraction of the contract's value yourself and borrow the rest.

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If they can't make the 3 percent down payment, they could pay less, but pay bigger premiums than others.

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Only paying the minimum is the same as running in place, which is exactly how the banks like it, so do what you can to either pay more or get your minimum payment down.

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For example, the FHA loan program uses more lenient credit criteria than traditional mortgages, requires only a 3.5% down payment, and has the seller pay most of the closing costs.

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Still, while RIM may have eliminated the risk of a bigger payment down the road, its willingness to pay could open the company up to more patent-infringement suits.

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We used the equity from our old house to pay off three small auto loans and to make a 35% down payment on our new house.

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If you go to a lender that doesn't sell mortgages to Fannie Mae, the waiting period may be less, but you will undoubtedly pay above-market interest rates and be asked for a larger down payment.

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Well, a big part of it was the decision to downsize so they could pay off those three auto loans and put up a big, fat 35% down payment.

FORBES: An Extreme Early Mortgage Payoff Story

Instead of saving for retirement or a home down payment, they will struggle for years, even decades, to pay off what they borrowed for school, and that's if they can even begin to pay the money back.

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Many of the borrowers who could not pay off their debt have already defaulted, while others have diligently paid down their balances and used other forms of payment to avoid the high interest rate penalties.

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