can sellers pay for your closing costs?

On conventional loans you'll need to have a 5% down payment to be approved. But you'll also have closing costs associated with the loan that you'll need to pay for at closing.

If you're looking to put out as little cash as possible a great way to accomplish this is to have the seller pay for your closing costs. Conventional loans allow the seller to pay up to 3% of the sales price towards your closing costs. You shouldn't need this much on homes over $200,000, but for homes in the $150,000 range you may need the 3% to cover all of the costs.

It's very straightforward to do and you'll write it into the offer when you put a contract on a home. I'd suggest using a fixed dollar amount on the contract as using a percentage will change if you are negotiating on the sales price. That way both sides know the exact number and can more cleanly negotiate.