insert teeth-gnashing here

[vsp]

Originally posted by Beestie
Quickly, some thoughts -

Your downpayment is too small - you really need to make at least a 10% dnpmt and couple that with an 80% first and a 10% 2nd. Never get a first of more than 80% since that automatically triggers PMI. Never, ever pay PMI (private mortgage insurance - it is a shameful racket). If you can't put up 10%, shop for something less expensive - commute and price are usually inversely proportional.

Agreed on 10% being desirable, but that pretty much eliminates me from any single-family housing for the next few years, barring Powerball or my showing up in some long-lost Uncle Fred's will. About 15% is more like it, as I'd need money for closing costs and related expenses.

For instance, on that 250K house I first mentioned, that's at least 30K in cash up front; that's just not happening. On a 120K townhouse, I could handle the 12K down payment (I have about 10K in the bank, with ~7.5K in mature bonds I could cash in; I'd take a tax hit later, but the money would be there now), but an extra 3-4K in closing costs would hurt badly. Anything cheaper than that would either be made out of cardboard, have crack vials in the front lawn or be located in South Dakota.