Alternative to Jumbo Mortgage
Yes, banks still offer combo loans, but it is going to depend on the appraised value of your home. Typically lenders will allow you to finance up to 80% loan to value on the first mortgage (conforming loan amount) and 95% combined loan to value on a HELOC.   I would start by checking with your local credit union or bank branch. They have more competitive rates and can be more flexible with loan amount and appraised value guidelines. You should also be aware that there are banks that do business in the US that do not deal with Fannie Mae, and thus are not subject to the rules about conforming loans.  Here is an example of a well-known bank that lists two sets of rates, with the second being for loans of $750,000 or more (meaning the first covers everything up to that) https://home.ingdirect.com/orange-mortgage/rates
"No shit. That crazy, ruthless republican notion that your credit rating shouldn't take a hit because you defaulted on the restructured home loan that you got when you defaulted on the *last* deal. Few people shed a tear for the borrowers who defaulted on jumbo ARM loans, but when a government does it we're all supposed to sit here and say ""that's ok. Take a mulligan""." Epistemology is not an alternative to empiricism, it's the field to which it belongs. Empiricism is the basis of science, and the alternative to rationalism. This distinction is very old, and remains an open question.  If you're not going to actually take the time to read my arguments, and consider them honestly why bother responding?  This dialogue has ceased to be enjoyable. Good day. "Not only is this a marketing gimmick masquerading as an article, but the principle survey question it cites appears to be pretty stupid (I say ""appears to be"", rather than ""is"", because nowhere can I find the actual wording of the question).  Compare the following questions:  ""What would make you happier, a better boss, or a pay raise?""  ""What would make you happier, exchanging your current boss for the best boss you've ever had, or a 50% increase in pay?""  In the first case---the question apparently asked in the actual survey---the responder is left to interpret the relative sizes of the proposed improvements to their job. There's no reason to believe they're considering changes of commensurate size, and in fact there may be systematic bias toward a more significant envisioned improvement in their boss.  Frankly, I would expect this bias, since a person's attitude toward their boss is often colored by the dictator-subject nature of their relationship. Let's be honest, we are predisposed to dislike people who have authority over us. When survey respondents are envisioning a ""better"" boss, they may very well be thinking about a boss who doesn't exercise that authority. But that's not a very realistic alternative, since such a boss would not be effective from the company's standpoint.  In the second question, the respondent has more concrete alternatives to consider. Their alternative boss is at least now confined by realism: this alternative boss had to have at least existed. Furthermore, the pay rise is well-specified.  Finally, any survey question on this matter suffers from the cheap-talk nature of surveys. If actually faced with this choice in the real world, would people put their money where their mouth is? I would hazard to guess that, as long as the pay increase was of a reasonable size, more than a few people who indicated ""better boss"" would ultimately take ""pay raise"" given the actual choice." "short answer:  any long term financial planning (~10yrs+). e.g. mortgage and retirement planning.  long answer: inflation doesn't really matter in short time frames. on any given day, you might get a rent hike, or a raise, or the grocery store might have a sale.  inflation is really only relevant over the long term.  annual inflation is tiny (2~4%) compared to large unexpected expenses(5-10%).  however, over 10 years, even your ""large unexpected expenses"" will still average out to a small fraction of your spending (5~10%) compared to the impact of compounded inflation (30~40%). inflation is really critical when you are trying to plan for retirement, which you should start doing when you get your first job.  when making long-term projections, you need to consider not only your expected nominal rate of investment return (e.g. 7%) but also subtract the expected rate of inflation (e.g. 3%). alternatively, you can add the inflation rate to your projected spending (being sure to compound year-over-year). when projecting your income 10+ years out, you can use inflation to estimate your annual raises.  up to age 30, people tend to get raises that exceed inflation. thereafter, they tend to track inflation. if you ever decide to buy a house, you need to consider the impact of inflation when calculating the total cost over a 30-yr mortgage. generally, you can expect your house to appreciate over 30 years in line with inflation (possibly more in an urban area). so a simple mortgage projection needs to account for interest, inflation, maintenance, insurance and closing costs. you could also consider inflation for things like rent and income, but only over several years. generally, rent and income are such large amounts of money it is worth your time to research specific alternatives rather than just guessing what market rates are this year based on average inflation. while it is true that rent and wages go up in line with inflation in the long run, you can make a lot of money in the short run if you keep an eye on market rates every year. over 10-20 years your personal rate of inflation should be very close to the average rate when you consider all your spending (housing, food, energy, clothing, etc.)." they may be willing to issue mortgages with smaller deposits, but may take longer to make a decision That cannot be farther from the truth. If you are getting a mortgage on a smaller deposit, you will be paying a higher interest rate. Time to take a decision depends very much on your credit situation, earnings, spending and the amount of loan you want to avail of. advantages and disadvantages compared to banks today Nothing specifically that is obvious. You deposits are guaranteed by FSCS, which is primarily everybody's biggest concern. One thing I did observe was they generally have saving accounts which pay better than the big banks, but that is for one to compare and find out.  In ownership structure you own a part of the building society because you are a member by having an account(bank/mortgage) with them. Not the case with a big bank though unless you own any shares. You can make a case for the difference of the big bank's multiple business as compared to a building society. "You can make a contingent offer: ""I will buy this house if I sell my own.""  In a highly competitive environment, contingent offers tend to be ignored. (Another commentator described such a contingency clause as synonymous with ""Please Reject Me"".) You can get a bridge loan: you borrow money for a short term, at punishingly high interest.  If your house doesn't sell, you're fscked. You pay for two mortgages (or even buy the other house for cash).  If you can afford this, congratulations on, you know, being super-rich. Or you can do what I am doing: selling one house and then living at my mom's until I buy another one.  (You will have to stay at your own mom's house; my mom's house will be full, of course.) Edit: A commentator with the disturbingly Kafkaesque name of ""R."" made the not-unreasonable suggestion that you buy both and rent out one or the other.  Consider this possibility, but remember: On the other hand, if the stars align, you might not want to extricate yourself.  If the tenant is paying the mortgage and a little more, you have an appreciating asset, and one you can borrow against.  With a little work and a little judicious use of leverage, doing this over and over, you can accumulate a string of income-producing rental properties." "Plus one to Alexandre for pointing out this is possible.  It is also possible to run with scissors, and I would recommend neither.   Your money problems are very small and doing something so dramatic to solve them will probably put you in a worse financial decision.  Why would you put your home, at risk, to pay off such a small amount (less than 5K)?  The ""one payment"" or consolidation mantra, for a person like you, will often lead a person into reoccurring the same debt and having the consolidation loan.  You don't need one payment you need no payments. First off stop borrowing. Second increase your income by working more or selling stuff.  You might want to clean some houses, baby sit, or mow some lawns instead of the traditional job. Third decrease your spending.  Let your loved ones know it will be a lean Christmas this year.  Cut cable as you won't have time to watch TV anyway. If you do all that could you find $1000 per month?    I bet you could find more.  Doing all that and you will be done in 5 months and still own your home outright.   You are a great candidate to pay off your bills by the snowball method, or smallest to largest.  While it may not be, on paper, the most mathematically efficient it helps people with motivation and hope.  It sounds like you could use that.  List your bills smallest to largest and pay off the smallest first while paying minimums on the rest.   You can do it!" Two principles in comparing different scenarios:  1) keep the two scenarios as equal as possible in amount and timing of payments;  and 2) find the financial comparison at one particular point. So, your car loan, $10,000 for 35 months at 8% compounded monthly means you're paying $321.29 Suppose you make the switch and keep on paying the same, mortgage and $321.29 for the 35 months (see 1, above) Those extra payments, continued for 35 months at your mortgage rate of 5.59%, will pay off a mortgage of $10,354.10, which will more than pay off the $10,000 you added to the mortgage  In other words, making the switch will benefit you to the tune of 354.10 as of the day of the switch.  You could ask the mortgage company to give you the $10,000 and the $354.10, and all your payments and amortization would stay the same... (see 2 above) Of course, this is pretty much what Joe Taxpayer said...