<prompt> Human: My boyfriend and I have found a very cute, small house that needs a little work, for only 18,000. We have the funds available to write a check for this house, however it would pretty much empty our savings accounts. Is it better to avoid a mortgage or better to keep a cushion of cash instead of having to rely on credit cards for all the incidentals?Any advice appreciated!  <response>: Oddly enough, it will actually be fairly difficult to get a mortgage of that size. The problem is that the lender cant generate enough fees up front , they dont have enough spread to cover a foreclosure, and for you even if they did it the fees would wind up being a large percentage of the loan. You might be able to get an unsecured loan for say half. The interest rate might be a bit higher but the fees and timeframecertainty of close would be better.Separately, you should never buy a house and close with no reserves. An AC or main breaker or ? is the same price for an 18K house as a 100K house. 