<prompt> Human: Hello. My girlfriend and I are currently looking to buy our first home, and are seeking some advice from experienced buyers regarding financing. Heres our situation:We are both in our mid-thirties, both living and employed in the Northeast, combined income roughly 300k before tax, and roughly 200k in cash savings. I have zero debt, she is a doctor so she has enough student debt for both of us.I had always been planning on a modestly-priced home, a MINIMUM of 20 down, and a 15-year loan to pay the home off as quickly as possible with as little interest as possible. However, we received some advice from friends who have purchased homes recently advocating for putting 5 down to reserve cash for upgrades, and getting a 30 year loan because you can always pay extra but its nice to pay less if you need to.The 30yr argument is more compelling to me than the 5 argument, but both are interesting thought experiments. Are these common strategies? Im still running the numbers but this could be reasonable...Are there any posts or resources on this sub or others that we could read on this topic?Thank you!  <response>: My girlfriend and I are currently looking to buy our first home,Thats not generally a wise idea. Look at threads here about We split up and now what do we do about the house.We dont feel the need to get official paperwork to show that we are committed...we just want to be jointly responsible for a major purchase which is only really practical if we stay together. advocating for putting 5 down to reserve cash for upgrades roughly 200k in cash savingsYeah, no. How much upgrades are you thinking here? Youd typically pay private mortgage insurance if you have 5 down.The term is more of a personal preference, and depends on the interest rate difference. You can always pay back more quickly, but you cant pay back more slowly. 