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Note to the teacher:
This simple quiz can be used to begin an in-class discussion on home buying. Students’ responses can give the teacher an idea of what they already know about owning a home, the cost of renting, and mortgage requirements. The answers provide points of departure about topics that students might find interesting and useful.

To begin the assessment, teachers should explain to students that they are going to make a statement about home buying or housing and that the students will have to determine if the statement is TRUE or FALSE. Teachers can also make this quiz specific to their students by adding true/false questions about the average cost of renting or owning in their town or city and by providing telephone numbers of local affordable-housing organizations.

The answers to the questions on home buying are from the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, 1995, and the Fannie Mae Foundation ESL curriculum, How to Buy a Home in the United States.

 

 
Tools for Teachers

Assessment: Home-Buying Quiz

Cathy Anderson, Adult Literacy Resource Institute, Boston, MA

1. You must have a credit history (credit cards or loans) to buy a home.

FALSE! If you have never had a credit card or taken out a loan you can demonstrate a nontraditional credit history by keeping a record of all of your rent and utility receipts. Look on page 12 of How to Buy a Home in the United States for an explanation of nontraditional credit.

2. You have to be rich to buy a home.

FALSE! A 1995 Fannie Mae survey found that 17 percent of first-time home buyers had an income of $30,000 a year or less. The average price of the homes they were buying was $130,100. (In some major cities like Boston, prices of homes have skyrocketed. However, it is still possible to find affordable homes outside the city.)

3. You must have a job to get a mortgage.

TRUE! You have to show a mortgage lender that you have a job history, and that you currently have a source of income. (This is explained on page 7 in How to Buy a Home in the United States.)

4. You must have money for a down payment.

TRUE! In some cities, you can get assistance with paying the down payment and/or the closing costs if you are a first-time home buyer. With assistance, you would pay 5 percent or 3 percent of the total cost of the house for your down payment. For that dream house costing $130,000, a 5 percent down payment would be $6,500. A 3 percent down payment would be $3,900. Call a local affordable housing organization to help you locate assistance.

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