Is It Smart To Buy A Home With Less Than 20% Down Payment? - Down payments to homes are usually required to be about 20%.  Anything less and you will have to pay for private mortgage insurance.  

Down Payment, mortgage insurance, FHA loan

Other than a gift from parents, and taking from cash reserves there are other ways of borrowing to pay for a down payment.  You can borrow from your retirement account, if you pay yourself interest.  

This money must be repaid in by a certain date, depending on the type of account.  You can also borrow from your life insurance policy under the same conditions.

If the down payment is a major hurdle for you, try applying for a FHA loan, which lowers the down payment to 3-5% of the home's value.