re: PMI: Is it as bad as I think it is?

yes, very bad

How much debt you in?

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Rent isn’t all that bad. You don’t realize all of the extra costs that go with owning a home. Maintenance is expensive and upgrades cost money as well. As far as I’m concerned, I have owned a hone a long time and I think I would have come out better renting so far with all the expenses that come along with outfitting a home. Window coverings, landscaping, fencing etc. then you are responsible for repainting inside and out, repairing driveways when needed, new roof when needed, etc.

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I feel you.

But my experience renting homes for five years (after having been a home owner for 6 years) is that most landlords are assholes who put off needed maintenance as long as possible and often schedule the cheapest fixes imaginable when pressed.

I’d rather spend the extra money and enjoy my residence than be constantly frustrated.

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Given that many home buyers take 30 year mortgages

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yep, or if you have the discipline, get a 30 year but make payments based on a 15 year

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I hope to have it paid off by the time I'm 49 or 50.

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an incredible savings on interest and when you get ready to downsize(or upsize,) you've got 100% equity

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an incredible savings on interest and when you get ready to downsize(or upsize,) you've got 100% equity

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Yeah we may get a smaller house before then. My youngest should be out of the house in 5-6 years.

It's going to be weird being an empty nester in my 40s. I guess that's one benefit of knocking up the wife when I was pretty young

there is no better feeling in this world than not having a mortgage. I did it by age 51 and my lifestyle improved immediately

I started FHA/PMI then refinanced out of it, then refinanced again to 15 yrs, then paid that bitch down as fast as I could. Last payment was a lump sum from a bonus

It matters bc people in debt convince themselves its ok. But it’s not

Are you in a USDA area? We paid $0 upfront for the base loan, bought a half point (4.5% in 2009), and then just had the standard closing costs. We bought the appropriate sized home and only paid $50-$100 more per month with the loan+escrow than the house we were renting. We're considered rural by USDA standards even though our town's population is roughly 5,000. So even if you don't think of it as a USDA type of area at least ask. (FWIW, we went through a local bank who didn't even wait 24 hours to sell the mortgage to Chase.)

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I just get tripped up on the idea of paying insurance for a bank with no direct financial benefit on my part.

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The bank gets tripped up on the idea of loaning you money when you've essentially brought nothing to the table. 2008 wasn't that long ago.

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Another thing is I don't know if I'll be there 5 years or not

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Unless you live in a booming market, if you really don't think you'll be in the home for 5 years, it would be foolish to buy.