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Hey bees!
DH and I hope to purchase a home in the semi-near (couple years from now) future and I wanted to get some perspective from the Bees who are already homeowners (if you're willing to share). I know a lot of these things are going to vary depending on where in the country you live but I just want to get a general idea.
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
What was your monthly payment?
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
We bought our house almost a year ago! Answers to your questions:
we put 52,000 down...aka 25% of the loan.
I think we closed on 198,000. Located in a suburb outside of Richmond, Virginia. Known for its great schools. 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and located on 1/2 acre of land.
Our monthly payment is $975.
The down payment was a gift from his parents. They had a river house, sold it and with the money from that purchased their own new home and gave us the rest. Very, very nice. Wouldn't of been able to do it without them.
(Edit) The home is only 10 years old, and is 1500 feet if that helps any.
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
we put down 3%- it was a FHA loan so i think those are usually 3%
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
the accepted offer was 51,300 and it sold as is... it was a forclosure and in pretty rough shape... ie... water leaks everywhere, needed a new roof, needed new windows... etc. we live in fort wayne indiana. its a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom 1000sq ft ranch on 1/4 acre with a 1 car attached garage and a large detached shed... we are hoping to use our equity sometime in the next 5 years to add on a master bedroom and another bathroom :)
What was your monthly payment? our monthly payment is $379 which includes taxes and everything. we also got a 30yr fixed rate mortgage... although i want to refinance to a 15 yr bc the payments are only about 50 dollars more a month. :)
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
i am a waitress and a full time student and we bought the house on my income alone bc fi was layed off at the time. i had to save for a about 4 months for the down payment, furniture we needed, repairs... etc. (i was living with my parents so it was easy) and fi pitched in half for the down payment. our closing costs were paid by the seller as we asked in the contract.
H! So fun that you're thinking of buying soon, I am SO happy we bought when we did and I love our house. To answer your questions:
- We put about 4% down on our house. We got an FHA loan which requires you have at least 3.5%. We had enough to put 15% down, but decided to use part of the money to furnish a few rooms and part of it to keep in savings as a safety net. We were comfortable with the payments putting 4% down and if we convert to a traditional loan within 3 years we won't have to pay some of the associated fees. (Although we probably will just stick with FHA).
- Our offer process was a little different because we bought a spec house from a home builder... which means it was a brand new house in a brand new development, but we did not commission it to be built. The builder just went ahead and built some houses without a buyer because the tax credit was going to be expiring earlier this year and they wanted to have some houses that would be able to be bought and close before the deadline. So because of that, the house just kind of cost what it cost... there wasn't a negotiation about it. I did try to negotiate and got about $1000 off, but really that isn't the usual case for spec houses. Our house is a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath in a good school district in Columbus Ohio and we paid about 200k for it. (Note: this was an incredible deal... when we were looking at existing homes a comparable house would have cost about 230K).
- Our monthly payment is $1300, which is about what the two of us were paying in rent each month anyways. That includes homeowner's insurance and taxes as well.
- FI had been working about 3.5 years and i'd been working 1.5 years, but honestly the only way we were able to afford the down payment was because of a bonus I got for closing a case at work. Also remember, you can negotiate to have the seller cover closing costs which will save you a few thousand dollars.
Good luck on your hunt! I have a few posts up on my blog about our experience buying a house and kind of a how-to for it all (because I found it SUPER confusing when we were going through it). You can find it in my January archives through my profile or PM me for a link if you're interested.
We had planned on putting down 15% but since we both had great credit scores the bank advised us to put down 10% and our payment amount would be the same as we were planning with the 15% because they gave us a lower interest rate.
Our house is a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath 1500 sq ft ranch on a 1/2 acre. We basically paid $360k for the worst house in the best neighborhood. We have since put around 40k into it (the structure is perfect but it needed cosmetic updates.) After losing bids on 5 homes that we offered asking price or more we walked into to this house and offered asking price. In our area anything under $450k that went on the market and wasn't falling down sold in a bidding war. Noone is selling and 1st time home buyers need a place to live.
I believe our mortgage is around $1,700 it's a 30yr fixed. The reason I say I think is because our PMI, taxes, and home insurance are all escrowed.
We both lived at home for 2 yrs during our engagement and saved for the down payment and associated costs as well as remodels, furniture, part of the wedding, honeymoon, etc.
Good luck on your house hunt!
I think I live in the wrong party of the country after reading some of the other answers lol
We bought our house two years ago after we had been together for three years (and had lived together for two).
We put 10% down.
We had the house built, so there was no offer process...we just paid what the price was. Our builder is one of The Guy's clients and he ended up paying for most of our upgrades as a gift to us, which was incredible (we had planned to pay for them ourselves and had saved enough, but he surprised us). I believe we came in around $310k.
Our house has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and is about 2000 sq. ft.
Our monthly payment is $1300 (we chose to pay on an accelerated basis).
Oh, and we're in southwestern Ontario, about two hours east of Detroit and two hours west of Toronto in a city with a populations of about 400,000.
Before we bought, The Guy had been working for three years and I had been working for two.
My first house doesnt really count because my dad loaned me the money and I paid him back (with interest) But I got it for about 7% off the list price.
My 2nd house I had 20% from the sale of house #1 to put down. The house was originally listed for over 100k more then I bought it for because it was being sold and then got forclosed when the owners couldnt sell it. Originally listed at 272k with home owners 214k at forclosure I bought it for 161k with 1k cash back for fix ups
My closing costs were about 2k FH's good friends are all brokers. The appraisal was around $200 (another friend but you can't do that anymore) And the inspection was $800 worst waste of money ever! The inspector not a home inspection in general! When you find a house you love find someone who works for a small company or themself you will get 1000000 times better inspection then someone who works for a big company.
Its in Maine 3 bed 1 bath with 1 car attatched & 2 car detatched garage. My payment at 6% is $781
As for offering price it depends on a lot, if its a forclosure you can offer a lot more depending how long its been for sale. If its a home owner you have no idea what they will accept because you dont know how much they owe. I think for a home owner anything over 10k less then asking price they could get mad and just say no with no counter offer.
We put down $90,000 on our house which is about 25% percent of the mortgage (absolutely not necessary, but it was equity from our previous home.) We bought it for $379,000.
We actually live in Canada (Alberta) so it's probably not helping with stats!
Our home is a 6 bedroom, 3.5 bathromm at 2700 sq ft (including developed basement.)
Monthly payments are about $1500 (paying $750 every two weeks is allowing us to pay off our mortage about 5 years sooners than if we did it twice a month)
We are buying a house in west Houston and as far as I know this is what things should turn out to be (we close tomorrow!)
It is listed at 232k. 3 BR/2 Bath. 2466 sq. feet for the house and 10,950 sq. feet for the lot. Our problem is that although we both just started really great jobs, we don't have much money for a down payment or closing costs (aaahhh... post-wedding finances).
So... we offered the full selling price but requested that the sellers contribute 5k towards closing costs.
It is in a great location and although it's ~30 years old, has been completely renovated and is move-in ready (all new stainless steel apps and working spa). Plus, similar houses in the neighborhood got offers within a week, so we kind of had to jump on it and make a good offer if we wanted it!
We did FHA so I think it's around 3% for the down.
Our monthly payment will be ~1800, and because we didn't do a large down payment, we have to get mortgage insurance.
We paid for the appraisal, and they appraised it at 235k, so I guess that means we are ahead already... but these days you never know ; )
A note of advice though, when you do get to this point, I would suggest making sure you have more than adequate savings for your down and the closing costs, as there were a lot of random costs and fees that snuck up on us! (appraisal... inspection... splitting repair costs suggested by inspection... etc....)
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
We paid 5% down. This is the minimum you can pay in Canada. We would have liked to do more, but we needed money to furnish the place!!
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
We did the same thing as Corgitales, we bought new, so there wasn't much wiggle room. We paid $273,500. We live in Ottawa, Canada, and our house is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, with the partially finished basement it's about 1800 sq. feet.
What was your monthly payment?
We pay around $1400/month, including property taxes. We have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage.
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
We hadn't even been working full-time for a year when we bought. We both graduated university in 2009 and bought in the fall of the same year. FI is really into investments and he made a bunch and that is how we paid our downpayment!!
We bought our house earlier this year and put 10% down.
From reading everyone else's replies I guess I live in an expensive city (Seattle), because we paid $600,000 (it was listed at $650,000) for our 3 bedroom/2 bathroom home. It is 1900 square feet not including the basement, and it's on a corner lot with a huge back yard (for city standards, at least).
Our monthly payment is about $3,750 for a 30 year fixed.
Good luck on saving and searching for the perfect home! It's such an exciting experience!
@Roxy: I was thinking the same thing! lol
@stephanie63087: I grew up in Fort Wayne and my parents still live there! You can definitely get a lot more for your money in Fort Wayne than in most parts of the country. Good luck on your home additions!
@AnneTossy: You home sounds a lot like what we'd be hoping to find when we truely start looking. About $200-250K, 3BR, 2-3 bath. Now its just savings for that down payment! What a generous gift from your ILs!
@CorgiTales: Wow! What a deal! And on a brand new home at that. I can only hope DH and I might get so lucky. We'll be in a similar situation though that with what we're loking to spend, our monthly payment including insurance and taxes will be really similar to what we pay in rent now. Can't wait to actually build equity instead of throwing away rent money!
@roxy821: What area of the country do you live in? I'd cringe if it took $360K to break into home ownership - souns like a very pricey area. I'm impressed you guys had enough that you could have put down 15%!
@DecemberBride: That just made me really glad that I don't live in Seattle! Wow! And I thought that roxy821 lived in an expensive area!
@Ryansgirl: I have an Aunt and Uncle that live in Calgary. Maybe I should move there - sounds like you guys got a great price on that house (at least compared to what I've seen in the States).
I'm surprised how many people bought brand new homes for their first home! I figured that in order to keep things affordable, DH and I would have to look at pre-existing (not necessarily old, but not brand new either) homes.
We live in the northern suburbs outside of Boston. You probably couldn't own a trailor for half the prices that people are buying houses for in other parts of the country. I did have a friend who was able to buy a house for $250k but it is the worst possible area.
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
We put down 20%, which was just over $50,000.
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
We bought at the height of the housing bubble (d’oh!), and the house is in amazing condition, so we basically paid the asking price. I think maybe $5k less than the asking price. It’s in Portland, Maine. It’s a condo (house renovated into 2 condos), and we have 2 stories, 3 bed/1.5 bath, a huge spare room (like twice the size of our bedroom – we use it as a study/office), new stainless steel appliances and granite in the kitchen, a stained glass window, etc. and half the basement. We also have a detached 1 car garage. We have a balcony, but no yard. I think its just over 1200 square feet.
What was your monthly payment?
Our mortgage is almost $1600/month, that includes taxes and insurance, HOA fees and water (no other utilities). With utilities (gas, cable, electricity, etc.) we pay over $2,000/month.
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
We were only able to afford to put 20% down because of generous gifts from our parents – otherwise, it would have been more like 5-10% we could have put down.
Advice for homebuyers is like a huge passion of mine.. Ive actually considered writing a book!
The thing you should be most concerned about is the monthly payment. This payment is much larger than just the loan. There is interest, PMI (if you don't put enough down) and property taxes.
When I was living in an apartment I was spending 850 a month on rent and parking. I was buying a house with my then boyfriend (now husband) who was considering going back to school... which meant that I needed to be able to afford the house by myself. I knew that 850 was my goal. I could afford 850 a month.
I bought a very affordable house, with a mortgage payment of about 625 a month. With property taxes it is about 850 a month. I put 12% down and was with a bank that did not charge PMI if you put down at least 10%.
There will be other additional expense you can not budget for. In the first winter we needed to replace our furnace (3200.00). There are other home improvements required, things that happen (gas leak to the tune of 600 dollars) broken washing machine to the tune of 200 dollars... these are expenses that you can't predict, but will happen.
First do NOT drain your savings to put down a down payment. Try to put down enough so that you do not need to pay PMI (which is essentially additional intrest on the percentage of money that you borrow over 80% at most banks), but leave yourself a slush fund.
Second, do NOT overextend yourself on a monthly basis. Remeber you will have additional utility bills like water, sewer, trash, recycling, and possibly additional income taxes if you work and live in different cities. Do not count on both of you maintaining your existing salaries just to pay the bills... things happen.
Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more in depth about it... I did a LOT of research when I was purchasing my home, and we are doing okay with the recession, my salary reduced to 80% and my husband is unemployed. We aren't great, but we are okay.
-We actually didnt have to put any down because FI is in the military and we got a VA loan. They told him he was transferring about 8 months before the trasfer date so he didnt have much time to save much. We looked into renting but it would have just been a waste of money here.
-we paid $109,600 for our home in July 2010. It's located in Baytown, TX about 30 minutes east of Houston and is only 6 years old. It's a 3 bedroom/2 bath/1500 sqy foot house and super cute :)
- Our monthly payment is $920 which seems expensive bc we got our home for such a good price, but we didnt put a down payment.
- Now that we've bought this house we will be trying to save ALOT from this point on because we may be moving again in 3 years :( womp womp... buying a house is such a pain in the ass i reallyyy dont want to have to again in a few years!
I put down 3 or 3.5% (its FHA, so that's the requirement). Depending on the type of loan you get/your credit determines the down payment percentage. I think its a conventional loan that is 20 or 25%.
The accepted offer was $119k, but it was changed to $121k but the seller helped with the closing costs, so it turned out to be $116k I think. It really confused me at the end because we changed our offer to $121k after the $119k was accepted. Not sure how that worked, but it made the house cheaper for us. 2bd/1ba.
Monthly payment is $830. We plan on making higher payments than the due amount because it can cut 10 or more years off the loan just by paying $50-$100/month more. Or something like that.
My mom gifted it to us, but it would have taken me probaly about 6 months to save for the down payment/closing costs. I wanted the $8k tax credit & we were in the last month of it, which is why my mom gave it to me. I should say that it would've taken 6 months, but also paying for a wedding & such probably would've made it closer to a year. Just depended on if financial things came up (which they usually do).
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
We put down about 12,000 (5% of our mortgage). Our mortgage is about 2250 a month for our 1205 sq ft home (3 beds 1 bath). That doesnt include gas, water, oil, electric etc. We Live on LI. The accepted offer was 243K
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
I worked full-time in my career for a little over a year, but we were able to live with my FH's parents we didnt pay rent, groceries, utilities. Its pretty much the only way to get on your feet here. We are so thankful they allowed us to do it.
My only regret we should have know what we were getting into, we spent the following year after we bought the house gutting it. Had we know we were going to do this we probably would have bought a foreclosed home for less with other things we wanted... i would also put more than 5% down, high monthly payments are stressful sometimes. We make more than enough to cover them but they still suck!
I am only responding to lend another example of Seattle. We purchased our home outright (100% down).
Seattle,
listed for $600,000. Bought for $600,001. (don't ask).
2000 sq feet
Upscale in town neighborhood (~2 miles from downtown)
normal city lot
brick, built in the 1920s
bathrooms fully remodeled, house in excellent condition.
We bought in 2007
@JessicaL: Where I live, most one bedroom apt's are much more than your monthly mortgage! LOL I'm so jealous!
Our townhouse is worth $210,000 and my husband bought it only months before we met and started dating 3 yrs ago. He only put 5% down (has to pay PMI) and our monthly mortage is $1700. (Not including our HOA which is $150 per month)
We are saving now to buy a single-family home. In our area, a nice 4 br/ 2 1/2 ba will be at least $320,000. Our budget max will be $340,000. We are going to stay put for awhile to make sure we have the 20% down, so as not to pay PMI.
I just find is absolutely fascinating how the house prices vary so much from state to state. I know it's all relative, but we would give anything for a $150,000 house here. You can't even get a one bedroom house here for less than $200,000. Some of the prices listed above are just so interesting. :)
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase? N/A
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms? $70k A suburb of Atlanta, GA, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath, built in 2007, I offered full price because I didn't want to lose it.
What was your monthly payment? N/A
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.? It was paid for with an inheritence.
We put about 40% down. We are literally in the process as we speak. I am not comfortable giving actual amounts. It is a 5 bedroom/2.5 bathroom 3000+sq foot house in Long Island NY. My FI has been saving for 8 years and our monthly payment not including taxes will be less than what our rent was in NYC.
@Mrs.KMM: We put 20% down in the Intermountain region. We offered 15,000 less than asking and they countered with 10,000 less. We accepted.
Because of the 20% down we didn't need PMI (insurance) and got a great conventional loan rate. 2400 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, small backyard + garage. Victorian built in 1904 and on the Historic Registry. Our loan is at 4.75%.
We also have a house in Seattle, half the bedrooms, half the bathrooms, half the square footage and the exact same price. My interest rate there is 3.125%!
It's good to live in Salt Lake City!
I'm not a home owner but after reading all these I'm seriously considering moving away from LA one day. A 3 bedroom condo in our area goes for $600,000 + . After 12 years of working I'm still not even thinking of home ownership. Our rent is $2730 but we have such an awesome apartment in a highrise with an ocean view...I just can't accept the idea of paying close to $4,000 in mortgage and HOA fees and living somewhere I like less than that.
@Mrs.KMM: I live just outside of Calgary :) If you've never been, it's definitely worth a visit!! The mountains are just stunning! And who knows, you might just love it and want to move here!
I hope I get these figures right! We built so it was a little different process but totally worth it.
We had a 5 acre lot that we purchased from DH family that the bank used towards our down payment as well as 15k that we had wanted to put down. We had a price range in mind for the home we wanted to stay in and the went with that number which was 175,000.
However, we closed our loan on 160,000 bc we paid out of pocket for some expenses and upgrades and our builder gave us some deals. We have a 30 yr fixed at 5%. Our home is actually appraised at $230,000 bc of the house, the upgrades and the land. We have 2300 sq ft and when our basement is finished it will add another 1000 sq ft. 4 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths. We live in a country suburb outside of Columbus, Ohio. Our mortgage payment is $1100/mth with escrow included in that but we pay $1800 bc we pay extra every mth to have it paid off in 10 yrs.
In all honestly, we signed the contract the weekend we got engaged and this was all a whirlwind for me. I never dreamed this would happen but DH for 26 years old at the time had things in order. It was his money we used for the down payment and purchase bc he had money in stocks and bonds for many years and was always a saver. We also put all our money towards this instead of a big wedding bc this meant more to us than a day of celebration.
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
About 18% We wanted to have 20% so we could get a conventional loan, but were shooting for the 8k tax credit. We don't regret it, but definitely don't recommend an FHA loan. The PMI is so freaking stupid!
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
We offered asking price, 154,900 in return for 1/2 closing costs, roof fixing, and mast. bath. exhaust fan replacement. O'fallon, MO 3 bed, 2.5 bath
What was your monthly payment?
Monthly payment is $1024.25 Would be under 1k if we didn't have PMI
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
FI has been working and saving for a house since 16. Only full time for about 1.5 years, no debt whatsoever
We put down 20% on our house, and the accepted offer was $332,000, seller paid closing costs and bought us part of a new roof. It's a 3 bed/2 bath, 1300 square foot house in West Seattle. Our monthly payment is $1700, plus money for taxes and insurance and stuff. Our downpayment was a loan from my folks.
We put down 20%, which was a little over $62,000 - hubs saved for 5 years, I 'saved' for 3 (but we also paid for our wedding in the meantime). We paid asking price and bought about 4 months ago - we live outside of Boston. 10 rooms/3 beds/1.5bath. Our monthly mortgage payment is about $1800 (which includes taxes).
@Mrs.KMM: We just moved out of the Boston area because home prices are just insane.
We put down the FHA minimum of 3.5% and our final sales price was $175,000. Our monthly payments are around $1400 a month which is almost exactly what our rent was in Boston every month.
I love love love owning a home :) And its only been a few months!
We live in North Florida.
I saved about 10% (5% down was required) for our $193,500 home. It was built in 1983 and needed a lot of cosmetic updating but was in a wonderful location and neighborhood. It is a 3/3 with very large bedrooms and a great room. Total about 1800 sq ft plus a 450 sq ft enclosed sun room.
I had worked about a year before buying the house. They want you to be able to show three years of work in the same "line of work" for the loan application. I told them I had worked part time in that "line of work" while in college and they accepted that.
@DecemberBride: I feel the same way!! I haven't bought yet, but FI and I are looking to buy in downtown Vancouver (Canada) in the next few months. The 1 bedroom condos that we are looking at (~700 square feet) are hovering around $500,000. It's really stressing me out!
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase? About 45% (yes we are in the minority).
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms? Our offer was $183,500 in Colorado back in 2006. It has 3 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms.
What was your monthly payment? Monthly payment on a $100k loan at 6.25% is $615.72 (not including taxes or insurance).
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.? We used insurance money to purchase our home and were still in school.
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
3.5% FHA loan
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
Accepted at $15K less than listing; Hawaii; 3 bedrooms 1 1/2 bath (very expensive to buy single unit homes here)
What was your monthly payment?
$1900 inc FHA mortgage insurance, tax, home insurance (at 4.78% interest)
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
less than 2 years of active saving (and 8000 tucked in a Roth IRA)
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
We put down $30,000, which was about 20% of our loan.
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
We purchased a condo in downtown Nashville, TN, brand new, never lived in. 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo. Listed at $199,900, we paid $164,900 because we bought pretty much at the bottom of the market. Yay good timing!
What was your monthly payment?
Our monthly payment on a $135,000 loan is a little less than $900, but we also pay HOA dues since we're in a condo (which include some of our utilities, like gas, water, and internet) so in total we pay about $1100 a month. The only utility we have to pay out of pocket is electric, which is usually about $60. So our total home expenses come in under $1200 every month which is great for us. I got a $500/month raise recently when I started a PhD program, so we've increased our payment toward principal so that our loan amount will go down faster.
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
We had been working full time for a year, but my husband had been saving all through college. He had saved about 3 times what we needed for a down payment, I had saved about half of what we needed, so we used all my savings and part of his to get to a 20% down payment. Then we used the rest of his savings to set up retirement accounts and also reserved some for college funds for future kids. We paid all of the down payment and closing costs ourselves, and we felt really good about it. Also, because our down payment was 20% we don't have to pay PMI which is just extra money that doesn't go toward interest or principal.
We bought our first house in May of this year.
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
What was your monthly payment?
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
We live in Ontario Canada where there is something called 'first time home buyers policy' which means that as a first time home owner you are only required to put down 5% of the total cost of the mortgage. We chose to put down 20% (more than $15,000) rather than the typical 10% or minimum 5% as we wanted to avoid CMHC fees (which are avoided by putting down 20+% against the mortgage).
The accepted offer was $65,900, our mortgage was $67,000 (to cover closing costs & etc). We bought a 1294sq. ft, 2 story (more like 3 since it is a W/O basement) 2 bedroom, 1bath, starter 'century home' (over 75 years old) with a full, unfinished basement (which is SUPER rare in our area) on 3/4acres (three lots). The property backs onto a local trail system and faces undeveloped green space.
Our monthly payment is about 250$.
We worked for 2 summers doing piece work, (20k gross for 3 months of work), my partner then worked for another year full time before we purchased so the bank would be more willing to give us a mortgage, as they want to see a steady income. (we could have bought sooner but were waiting for a 'good deal' & invested our excess assets).
Properties in our area of similar sizes/amenities to what we bought run upwards of $120,000 - so that being said we were pumped to find this little gem, despite the work it needs.
We recently bought our first/forever home (sealed the deal in March and closed in mid-June). Ironicly, Fi and I were just discussing monthly expenses before I found this post!
How much (% wise) did you have for down payment on your first home purchase?
What was the accepted offer on the home? And where in the country was it located? Number of bedrooms/bathrooms?
What was your monthly payment?
How many years had you been working full-time before you'd saved enough for your down payment, closing costs, etc.?
As for unexpected expenses: the chimney had to be replaced, it was old and leaking. It looks like we'll need to replace the fridge since it accumulates a puddle of water every few days, and garden tools are more expensive than I thought. The price of paint is also ridiculously expensive here and we need to paint the exterior next spring. The house is still pretty bare and we intend to take our time filling it.
I have to add that I love our home and I adore our town! 
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