re: Minimum Amount Needed to Put Down on Home Purchase

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Why would you not want to pay down/off a house early which gets rid of PMI much quicker and saves 10s of thousands of dollars in interest?

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PMI can be deducted off your taxes (I think that still is in effect?) but assuming you don't have to pay for PMI cause you put 20% down

A house can be considered an asset. First case scenario, assume that a house's value as a commodity stays constant in 2012 US Dollars, if you take out a loan at 4% interest and inflation goes over 4% in 2 years and stays above 4% for the rest of your mortgage, relative to the US dollar your house has gained value so you could sell it for more than the principal and the interest on your house.

It is an interest vs inflation battle and most economist are predicting in 5-10 years inflation will be around 10% so a loan at 3-4% and a housing market that does even slightly better will net you a significant return compared to paying off your house early


Take all things previously mentioned and see that the housing market took a dip, unless the market is going to be on a decline again (which in the words of my friend who owns a large commercial real estate company "God isn't creating any more land any time soon") is unlikely. So if inflation goes over 4% and your house appreciates even marginally then you are making profit