[HDPM]

Good thinking. A lot of people have done great buying houses for just a little down and then having prices skyrocket. If you can do this mortgage debt makes more sense obviously. But a lot of people haven't done as well. I know our first house didn't appreciate much. We came out OK, but I was surprised at how little equity we had after a 5% down payment and 5 years of payments, sometimes extra payments. I doubt our second house will appreciate a ton given the market we are in, but so what. A house is something to live in, and we aren't crippled by debt. Borrowing a ton for something that is more of a consumer purchase/lifestyle choice than a real investment doesn't make sense to me. If you can time your purchase and sale in a hot market and make a ton, well, then I am wrong. Your grandparents knew somethig when they put a bunch down and got it paid off.