I'm gonna get hate for this, doesn't mean it's incorrect: Property is a liability. Why? If you don't pay on it (mortgage to the bank, taxes to the city/county/state), it's taken from you. That means if hard times come, all the money you've put into it can be wiped out. Ask the folks who tried to sell in 2009 if their property made or lost them money (I lost about $50k myself, bought for $280 sold for $230). this doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, just be Educated. Warren Buffet has stated that buying his house was probably the worst financial decision he's made, but it had payoffs in other places (quality of life). It's worth understanding that this current up-trend is most likely the upswing correction from 2008~9 (and not a bubble that's about to burst). Buying now or later is a personal decision. Some think the market is ripe for a crash, some think it's going to do nothing but go up, others think it'll be somewhere in the middle (I'm there ~ expect a fair number of banked owned, but they'll come at a trickle as the courts of overwhelmed and slow down, plus there are plenty of active buyers looking). I'd suggest looking for the Right property for you and being prepared to move when it shows up (have a home inspect located, a mortgage broker/bank/credit union lined up, etc... looking for these After you've found a property adds needless stress). How to handle the money depends 100% on the lender. I'm very much against 30 year fixed as they just never seem to be the smartest option. My last loan was a 10:1 ARM that had a 15 year payoff time. The total loan payback on that was HALF of a 30 year fixed, same loan amount. So *ASK* about different options, understand them. Small banks and credit unions will usually have the most flexible loans (the ARM was a small bank, this was an in-house loan product). Another benefit of a small bank/CU is that they're less likely to sell your loan (and all of your financial information) to someone else. I went through that one time, the spam was incredible. Ask about principle-only payments (some lenders allow this, some will apply "extra" payments to interest first ~ better to be principle only as it reduces the interest), go out of your way to make extra payments every year... if you're foolish enough to give the Gov free money (get a tax refund), then use this... if you're smart enough to not give them anything extra then you should be smart enough to work out how to pay a little extra on a mortgage. It's not always smartest to buy, urban areas tend to be a dumb place to buy. The best money tends to be in properties that need work, the more work needed, the fewer people looking to buy and the bigger the discount. My best buy was a high end house from 1930, Gov foreclosure so first rights to owner-occupants (knocked out the flippers and developers), had a fair bit of damage from neglect so it wasn't move-in ready and that scared off most other buyers. It was my 4th house, and I'm an experienced DIYer so I could do the work for materials cost only... ended up spending About the same in materials as I did for the property, but spread out over a couple years (took about 5 months of busting my ass till I moved in).