<prompt> Human: Hi PF,To start, I am a 24 year old male, fully employed making 36,000 per year before taxes. I am currently living at home and have been since I graduated. I made this decision for a number of reasons, but mainly to avoid paying rent costs that likely exceed a potential mortgage payment. A rough estimate would say that the average cost for a 1br1ba apartment in my area is around 850 per month, not including utilities, and the average 3br1ba home in my area rents for around 1,250 month, not including utilities. I have not done as good of a job saving for a mortgage as I should have, but my current assetsliabilities include: 15,000 in cash with the ability to aggressively save, 306month car payment, 335month Fed loan, 230month Sallie Mae, and obviously insurancefoodgascell phoneleisureetc. I am lucky enough to not have to pay for rentutilities at this moment. I am not being forced, but kind of in a situation where I need to start looking at my options to get on my own. So my questions are: If I put down less than 20 say I put down 5 of my budget of 100,000, is it worth it to take the remaining cash I have and invest it in the market to try and make up for the difference, or should I use as much cash as possible for a down payment? Do I have the wrong understanding of this process? Also, while Im here, is it even feasible to move out making 36,000 per year? I have more questions, but lets start here and see where it goes.  <response>: You cant afford a 100K house. Based on a 90k loan at 4.25 and your current debt loan, your backend DTI is 44 before adding property taxes, PMI, insurance, and HOA fees.Your debt load is too high to buy a house with that income. 