Uuuhhhmmm... 10% down with not-so-good credit is probably going to equal not-approved. Before you even start looking at places online, long before you ever book a viewing on a place, you should head on down to a local Mortgage Broker. Without charging you a dime, they should set up an appointment to review all of your finances and will have a good idea of what options will be available to you given your credit score, debt ratio, income, etc. That way you will know without question if you're even prepared to start putting in offers on places. I'm thinking you may just be told you won't be able to do it right now and will need to wait a couple of years more before you can secure a mortgage while you clean up your credit and save a little more, but only someone with access to all of your financial records will be able to give you that info.

20% down is a "good" down payment. If you have 10% as a down payment, your mortgage payment will be higher and you'll have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). Also, if you have bad credit, your interest rate will be higher. Sometimes a mortgage lender will give a better rate if you put more down because you have a bigger stake in continuing to make payments. You could make an appointment with a mortgage banker and they would be able to help you sort through the advantages/costs of buying now or saving up more.

You should also see what you could actually buy for $80,000. Depending where you live, that might not buy much. You don't want to get into a money pit that needs everything fixed, nor do you want to get into something you'll never be able to sell later.

http://www.dca.ga.gov/housing/Homeowners...

You might find some good info on this link. Education and programs for people looking to purchase a home. Good luck!

Also, really heed Cupcake's advice of not getting into a "money pit" - something affordable, but old and probably needing repairs before long. I made that mistake with the first home I purchased and while I was doing fine with the payments, the upkeep, maintenance and repairs were more than I could handle on top of the mortgage, utilities, etc. Another piece of advice, since you're still quite young, be careful not to marry yourself to your home - you still want to be able to enjoy life and not have all your resources and time going towards your house.

sure. depends on the price. FHA requires 3.5% of your own money. Keep in mind that you will also need between 3 and 6% for closing costs. However, the seller and/or lender can pay this.

20% for a down payment, plus a few thousand for closing costs, would be a good down payment.

There's some possibility of an FHA loan with 3,5% down, if you qualify

20% down is the standard for conventional loans without PMI.

In my area, we have some crappy dirt for $80k and possibly some really really crappy old homes in terrible neighborhoods.

20% down is what you need unless you can get a FHA, VA or some other type of loan

Only buy if you are sure about neighborhood and the house has been inspected.