When it comes time to buy a home, you may need to come up with some creative ways to boost affordability. Let's take a moment to explore a one of these options. The first order of business could be to sit down with your family to see what assistance they'd be happy to offer. You may find that a mother or grandfather would be more than happy to co-sign on a loan, or even offer you a loan at low, or zero, percent interest. You could also discuss a shared-appreciation or shared-equity arrangement. This is when a family member buys a portion of the prospective home, and then is able to share in its appreciative value when it is sold. When credit gets tough the tough get creative.