enerally, you can use 100% of your contributions to your retirement accounts, and a fraction of your employer's contribution, for your down payment.

401k
With a 401k, you can usually use 100% of your personal contribution and about 50% of your employer's contribution for a down payment.

There are two basic ways to draw on your 401k:

Withdraw the money
If you choose to do this be aware that you have to pay a tax penalty, and that your participation in your company's 401k program may be suspended for as much as 1 year. Given this penalty, this is generally not a good idea.

Take a loan
You can use your 401k as collateral for a loan to buy a house. This loan can only be for up to 50% of the vested amount in your account.

You can only take out one loan on your account at a time, so if you are planning to borrow against it for your kids' college tuition, or need the security of having that money around in case of an emergency, don't use it now.

Also, know that if you change jobs and don't roll over the account, you may have to pay the loan back immediately, or it will be counted as a withdrawal and will be taxed.

Remember that if you borrow against your 401k, you will have to make payments on the loan, which decreases the amount cash that you have available for your mortgage payment.

IRAs
IRA accounts can be a little more complicated than 401k accounts. Many allow you to withdraw up to $10,000 to buy a first home, but it's often only after you have held the account for a few years.

Other retirement accounts
If you have another type of retirement account, be sure to check with the administrator to see if you can draw from it or borrow against it, and what the ramifications will be.

With most of these other retirement accounts, you will find that you won't be able to use them for your home purchase.

Examples:

• Keogh Plans
  
• Teacher Retirement Plans
  
• Public Employee Retirement Plans
  
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
  
• Employee Stock Option Plan