Hacker News Reader

Depending on your situation, PMI may be worth it. For example I was paying 1200 a month for a 1 br apartment. They wanted to up it to 1500 a month. Instead I bought a house with 5% down. The total monthly payment for a 200k house, including PMI, is 1,100 a month.

Even with PMI I am still paying less than living in the same apartment year over year.

PMI is reasonable. I put down 5% on my first home, (<$20k) and commuted via train. Just get a cell modem and do your morning work rituals (email, news, etc) on the train. I sold that house 3 years later at 13.5% appreciation, with good equity on top. I used all of that towards the down payment on house #2.

Commute in from a small investment home/condo to let equity + appreciation get you into the home you want a few years down the road. Even in my starter, I got twice the sqft for the same monthly as my not-very-close apt.

5% down is typical in high cost cities