Sweat equity

A program that gives a buyer part or all of the money for a down payment in exchange for hours of labor helping to build the home.

Sweat equity allows you strike a deal with a homebuilder to exchange hours of hard labor for 5% to 10% of your down payment. Depending on your skill set, you can do a range of construction jobs such as sand and paint walls, nail down floorboards and fit bathroom tiles.

Lenders find sweat equity programs risky because buyers often don't follow through on the amount of work required.