First Time Home Buyer Looking for Advice

[Heidi Ristuccia]

Hello, 

A little background I am in my early 20's, work full time making roughly 64k a year. I currently rent for $2600 a month (split with my partner). This seems like a lot of money to be putting into someone elses pocket. I DO NOT have enough money saved for a down payment. My current lease is up November 1st, 2025. 

Anyways, here are my questions and the areas that I need advice on. 

1- Do I put $0 down on a house and get a property that I will own and just deal with the extra fees/higher interest rates?

2 - I am going to be moving out of my house in Nov, do I look for another rental that is possibly a little less money and just save as much as I can until I can afford a 20% down payment on a home?

3 - Should I see if I can get a lease with an option-to-buy.

Any advice you have would be helpful. I am tired of paying someone elses mortgage, but don't have enough money for 20% down or even 3.5% down. I have contacted a lender about a USDA loan or a FHA loan, she is looking into it and seeing about down payment assistance (which I would like to avoid).