[aigel]

I have mixed feelings on home ownership. Especially if you really really stretch into it.

After 12 years of renting, you should really have 20% without selling toys. If you now stretch into this and have zero savings after the sale, will you have the discipline to quickly save up enough emergency funds to keep paying the mortgage, even during a bad job or health situation? Are you okay with losing your flexibility to move and work whenever and wherever you please? The county you mention does not strike me as a hotbed for jobs, but maybe you are in a profession that has plenty to do up there or it is a family location that you will remain in no matter what?

All questions to ask yourself.

Just wanted to paint a picture that doesn't glorify home ownership, as so many do here (which is fine!). I have done both - owned and rented. I hate having to look for a house with my pets and end up in some overpriced *****hole. But I also don't like the inflexibility and the ball and chain of a home, especially when things change in life. When I lose my job I take off for the next one and even if I break the lease, I may be out a few grand. If I do the same thing on a house I own, I can lose my shirt ... and from all I gather, it isn't as easy as mailing back the keys to the bank any more these days either.

Good Luck!

G