Why 20% Down Is the Wrong Starting Point for Many Southern Maryland Buyers
For Jenna Anderkovitch, one of the most consequential financing conversations happens before a Southern Maryland buyer starts narrowing down houses. Her typical buyers spend about $350,000 to $650,000, which means someone who assumes a 20% down payment is mandatory could believe they need $70,000 to $130,000 for the down payment alone. Add Anderkovitch’s general planning range of 2% to 5% for closing costs and prepaid expenses, and that assumption can make ownership appear much farther away than the buyer’s actual financing options may indicate.
Anderkovitch, a full-time real estate agent with Century 21 New Millennium — Cheryl Bare & The Home Pros, approaches that problem by moving financing discovery to the front of the process. She works throughout Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, including communities such as Waldorf, Maryland; Mechanicsville, Maryland; and Leonardtown, Maryland, where buyers may have access to conventional financing, government-backed loans and Maryland assistance programs depending on their qualifications and the property. Her objective is not to find the largest approval possible; it is to establish the buyer’s real cash requirements and comfortable monthly payment before those numbers begin dictating the wrong search.
The 20% Down Assumption Can Shrink the Search Before It Begins
“One thing I always tell buyers is don’t assume you need 20% down to buy a home,” Anderkovitch said. That advice matters in a business where she commonly works with first-time buyers, military households, relocating buyers and families trying to coordinate the sale of one home with the purchase of another.
A typical single-family purchase for her clients runs about $425,000 to $550,000 for a three- or four-bedroom home of roughly 1,800 to 2,500 square feet. At those prices, 20% equals $85,000 to $110,000, an amount that can dominate a buyer’s thinking even when the financing they eventually qualify for requires substantially less.
Anderkovitch instead treats the down payment as one variable among several. She regularly works with buyers using conventional financing, Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-backed purchase loans and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development financing, depending on borrower and property eligibility.
Those alternatives make the 20% assumption especially important to challenge. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says an eligible borrower using a VA-backed purchase loan can often buy without a down payment when the sales price does not exceed the appraised value. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program permits 100% financing for qualified borrowers purchasing eligible rural properties, while the Federal Housing Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, allows qualifying FHA borrowers to put as little as 3.5% down.
The availability of those programs does not mean every buyer qualifies or that the lowest possible down payment is automatically the best choice. For Anderkovitch, it means the buyer should reach that conclusion with a lender using actual numbers rather than eliminating homeownership because of a savings target that may not apply.
Financing Discovery Comes Before Property Discovery
Anderkovitch wants buyers to know their financing framework before a house gives them a reason to become emotionally attached. That is why she pushes the lender conversation forward rather than treating preapproval as paperwork to complete immediately before making an offer.
“I always recommend having buyers speak with a strong local lender early because sometimes they qualify for something they didn’t even know existed,” she said.
That discovery can affect more than the down payment. A lender can show the buyer how the loan structure, assistance, taxes, insurance and other costs interact, giving Anderkovitch a more useful boundary for the property search than a purchase-price maximum alone.
“Instead of focusing solely on purchase price, I encourage buyers to establish a comfortable monthly payment with their lender first,” Anderkovitch said. “We can then build the home search around that number.”
That sequencing is particularly important in the portion of Southern Maryland she serves because similarly priced properties can produce different ownership costs. A townhouse in Waldorf may carry association fees that an acreage property in Mechanicsville does not, while a waterfront or water-adjacent property in Calvert County can introduce insurance considerations that alter the monthly budget. Anderkovitch wants those costs evaluated while the buyer can still adjust the search rather than after the buyer has mentally committed to one address.
Financing access means identifying a loan, assistance and cost structure that can reduce the upfront barrier while keeping the resulting payment sustainable.
That definition captures the distinction in Anderkovitch’s approach. She is not simply looking for a program with the largest headline benefit; she is using financing information to decide which homes and locations deserve the buyer’s attention in the first place.
Maryland Assistance Can Rework the Upfront Number
For buyers who may need help covering the upfront expense, Anderkovitch encourages an early conversation about the Maryland Mortgage Program, offered through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The program currently includes the MMP 1st Time Advantage product line for eligible first-time buyers and the MMP Flex Loans line for eligible first-time and repeat buyers.
The distinction matters because the assistance is measurable. Current MMP 1st Time Advantage options include the 1st Time Advantage 6000, which provides a $6,000 loan for down payment and closing costs, as well as the 1st Time Advantage 3% Loan, 1st Time Advantage 4% Loan and 1st Time Advantage 5% Loan. Those percentage-based options provide down payment assistance equal to 3%, 4% or 5% of the first mortgage through a 0% deferred second lien.
The MMP Flex Loans line extends the discovery process beyond first-time buyers. The current Flex 6000 provides a $6,000 loan for down payment and closing costs, while the Flex 3% Loan provides assistance equal to 3% of the first mortgage through a 0% deferred second lien. Flex products are available to qualifying first-time and repeat homebuyers, subject to Maryland Mortgage Program and lender requirements.
Those figures become meaningful when placed next to the costs Anderkovitch asks buyers to anticipate. She generally tells clients to prepare for closing costs and prepaid expenses of roughly 2% to 5% of the purchase price, although the final amount depends on taxes, insurance, title charges, loan costs and the individual transaction. For a $425,000 home, that planning range equals about $8,500 to $21,250; for a $550,000 property, it rises to about $11,000 to $27,500.
That does not mean an assistance product will erase those costs dollar for dollar. It means a buyer facing a five-figure upfront requirement may have another source of funds to evaluate before deciding the transaction demands the entire amount from personal savings.
The Maryland Mortgage Program also allows eligible users of 1st Time Advantage 6000 and Flex 6000 to receive additional assistance through its Partner Match Program when they receive financial assistance from an approved partner. The state currently matches qualifying partner assistance up to $2,500, another reason Anderkovitch wants the financing conversation to happen while there is still time to identify available resources.
She remains careful about treating any assistance as guaranteed. Eligibility requirements, lender underwriting and available products can change, so her role is to get buyers asking the right questions early and put them in contact with lenders who can determine what is actually available for that household and transaction.
The Property Determines Which Financial Levers Matter
Finding an attractive financing option does not end Anderkovitch’s analysis because the next financial variable is the property itself. She repeatedly returns buyers to the individual house, its location and the competition surrounding it instead of assuming a financing or negotiation strategy that worked on another transaction will transfer unchanged.
“Southern Maryland is very property-specific,” Anderkovitch said. “One home may have been sitting for several weeks and have negotiating room, while another that is priced correctly can receive immediate interest.”
That difference can influence whether Anderkovitch considers asking the seller for assistance with allowable closing costs. A property that has accumulated market time may give her room to structure an offer that addresses some of the buyer’s upfront expense, while a newly listed home drawing immediate competition may require a different approach. She evaluates seller assistance against the condition and position of the specific property rather than presenting it to buyers as money they should expect to receive.
Location can also change the financial calculation within a relatively short drive. Anderkovitch tells buyers that traveling 20 minutes in Southern Maryland can change the price, acreage, commute and lifestyle available to them, which means a buyer whose initial target does not work financially may have more than one lever to pull. Adjusting location can produce more house or land for the same budget, while changing property type may create another route into the market.
That flexibility is visible in the areas she considers overlooked rather than “undervalued.” In parts of Charles and St. Mary’s counties, including Hughesville, Mechanicsville, Newburg and Indian Head, she sees opportunities for buyers willing to reconsider the geography of their search in exchange for more land, privacy or square footage. Financing determines what the buyer can responsibly spend, but Anderkovitch uses local knowledge to determine where that spending power can go farther.
Buying Power Still Has to Fit the Buyer
Anderkovitch’s strategy stops short of treating every newly discovered dollar of financing as permission to spend more. The point of finding a lower-down-payment loan, assistance or seller contribution is to create a workable path to ownership, not to push the buyer toward the highest possible purchase price.
That is why she returns to the monthly payment after the financing options become clear. Property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance, HOA fees and the costs associated with wells, septic systems or larger parcels can change what affordability looks like between properties across Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. A purchase that succeeds on settlement day but leaves the buyer uncomfortable every month would not satisfy the standard she is trying to set.
Her typical financed transaction takes about 30 to 45 days from contract to settlement, giving appraisal, underwriting, inspection and title work time to confirm whether the property and financing can come together as planned. During that period, Anderkovitch stays focused on the contract terms and risks rather than allowing the initial excitement of an accepted offer to become the only measure of success.
“Getting an offer accepted is important, but protecting the buyer and helping them make a decision they will still feel good about years later is even more important,” she said.
That principle is what connects Anderkovitch’s financing strategy to the rest of her work in Southern Maryland. She wants buyers to know that 20% down is not a universal entry fee, that assistance may exist beyond what they have saved and that a different loan or location can materially change the numbers.
The discovery has to happen before assumptions narrow the search. For Anderkovitch, a buyer who starts with a lender, establishes the right monthly payment, tests available assistance and then matches those numbers to the right Southern Maryland property has a clearer answer to the question that matters most: not simply how much house the buyer can purchase, but what it will actually take to get there.
Want to connect with Jenna? You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or LinkedIn, visit his personal website for more details, or send her an email directly.