Since the no-down payment loan has gone the way of buggy whips, how are buyers getting together the large sums they now need to make a down payment?

In talking with financial experts and buyers, it looks like not many first-timers are going with conventional private lenders who require 20 percent down. With median sales prices in the Chicago area at $183,625 in February, buyers would need less than at this time last year, but they would still have to plunk down more than $36,000.

Instead, industry experts say, most buyers with little or no equity are opting for a patchwork of solutions that make it still possible to buy. Among them:

FHA, all the way. The Federal Housing Administration has a number of attractive programs, including requiring only 3.5 percent down. The FHA is making the lot of today's loans.

Raid the 401K. That was for your retirement, but currently it's not doing you much good. If you can get a lip-smacking good deal on a house, it may be more profitable than those stocks. Talk to your financial adviser first, though.

Be a vet. The Veterans Administration is still making no-down-payment loans. You have to be veteran to qualify. Rates are similar to the FHA and there is no minimum credit score. Even better, lenders cannot legally charge private mortgage insurance.

Work the market to your advantage. This works best when you are psychic, or just plain lucky, like Jennifer and Eric Schopfer, who live in the DeKalb area. Two years ago they knew they needed a bigger house, but Jennifer was still in nursing school and they were living on one income. They sold their existing home at the peak of the market and stashed the cash away while they rented. Now that she is out of school and working, they started shopping the huge discounts and foreclosures. Eventually they found a great four-bedroom home and are moving May 2.

Even in today's stricter lending market, the Schopfers were pre-approved for $40,000 more than they are spending.

But like many of today's more cautious buyers, Jennifer said, "We aren't stupid. We want to be able to live."

M&D Finance Co. That's what my husband and I called it. You might also call it the Bank of Mom & Dad or Grandma & Grandpa. M&D finance companies are offering at least two attractive options: You can give up your apartment and move back home into your old room, saving on rent until you have a down payment; you can get a loan or a gift by promising to call them every Sunday.

"Mom and dad are the biggest source of funds," says Jay Jacobson, branch manager of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in St. Charles. "And if you are going with FHA, the whole 3.5 percent [down payment] can be a gift from a viable lender like a relative. With conventional mortgage lending, 5 percent of the purchase price must come from the buyer's own funds."

Closing down. Sellers who are far less demanding than they used to be may be willing to negotiate to give back closing costs at the time of closing.

Kristie Diebold, soon to be of Batavia, had a little money set aside from the sale of a home she owned with her ex-husband. She was able to save a little more by moving into a rental owned by her parents. And after they found a permanent tenant, she and her daughter moved in with Grandma and Grandpa for a month.

The living arrangement worked out for both Diebold and her daughter, and for Diebold's parents, too. However, she is glad to be moving into her own place soon.

"Conventional loans weren't worth it," says Diebold, who found a single-family home for $240,000, almost $30,000 less than the sellers originally wanted. "You needed 20 percent. I wasn't able to do that, so going FHA at 3.5 percent was definitely the way to go."

Her mortgage broker, Jacobson, helped her figure out that by putting down more points she could get a final 30-year fixed rate of 4 percent. And by negotiating with the seller, she got them to pay 3 percent back at closing to help with those costs.

Wedding gifts. The Bridal Registry Program, a little known clause in the FHA guidelines, allows newlyweds to collect a down payment by setting up a registry at a any bank, which will track the source of each gift.

And while some might shy away from such an obvious gift giving "opportunity," think of it as registering at Macy's -- for part of a very large gift.

"If you put it in your invitation," Jacobson says, "to the family potentially, it says, I know you really want to buy us a toaster, but could you help us with this important thing -- a place to store the toaster forever?"