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Updated over 1 year ago on . Most recent reply
3% vs 5% Conventional Loan Options
Hi BiggerPockets, I'm trying to get a pre-approval to purchase my first home and getting quotes from several lenders for both 3% and 5% down options. The overall estimates are I'll be getting the same rate on either scenario but I'll pay about $55 (50%) more on PMI with 3% down but I'll be saving $5000+ in total money invested with this option.
Doing a quick calculation for 3% down:
- my monthly PITI is more because I owe more.
- I pay more PMI, at $55*12=$660 per year.
And if I was to put invest $5000 into something else, on average I could get probably ~10% growth which earns $500 a year which is much less than $660. This makes paying 5% much more attractive. Am I missing anything here? Is it in general better to just pay 5% instead of 3% for a conventional loan?
Would appreciate your advice. Attaching the quote here for better referencing.
![](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/uploaded_images/1694040556-Screenshot_2023-09-06_at_6.49.10_PM.png?twic=v1/output=image/quality=55/contain=800x800)