Your point about timing really hits home for me. My parents tapped into their equity back in '07, thinking they'd renovate and boost the home's value....

Went through something similar myself about a year ago. Had my eye on a pretty modest place—nothing fancy, just something affordable and practical—but...

I hear you on the patience thing... it can be tough. When I bought my place, PMI wasn't huge either, but every month seeing that extra chunk go out fe...

Yeah, learned that lesson myself a few years back. Got excited seeing the lower monthly payments, but after sitting down and really looking at the num...

Totally agree with this. I learned the hard way myself—my lender once overestimated insurance costs, and I ended up paying way more into escrow than n...

Haha, I feel you on the homework thing. When I bought my place last year, I legit spent an entire weekend going through all that paperwork. Honestly, ...

Glad to hear your experience went smoothly—I remember when I did mine a couple years back, it felt like forever waiting on paperwork. Honestly, two we...