<prompt> Human: Fiancé and I are planning on moving in about a year. When we do that I would really like to purchase a house for us to live in so we are putting money into that investment as opposed to paying rent and losing that money. I feel like I make enough money my salary is about 100,000 a year to afford paying a mortgage, and all the calculations I have done show my mortgage payments being below what we would pay in rent for a similar living situation, even after taking into account the additional costs of owning a house would have maintenance, taxes, utilities, etc. And all of this is ensuring that rent or mortgage, I would not be exceeding the normal 33 of income on this type of expense. Also, in case someone wants to know, I own my car and have no debt.My only significant barrier is the down payment, currently I have about 20,000 in available cash to put toward a down payment. In the area we are looking to move, that would probably be about a 10 down payment on the kind of house that would be appropriate for us. I know 10 is only about half of what a bank is looking to see a person put down.Just hoping I can get some advice on what I might be able to do to purchase a house responsibly. Or please tell me if doing so is not at all responsible, and I need to just continue to save.Other questions I have, is mortgage insurance just an overall bad idea? Im assuming the bank would require it if I cant meet the 20 down payment requirement, but should I never consider that?Are there smaller institutions, credit unions or the like who might be more open to working with someone in my situation? Does it work that way? I dont really know anything about shopping for mortgages.Any advice is helpul, I just want to know whether I should be considering this because if possible I would like to do it so I dont continue to spend money on rent that I could otherwise be investing in my own property.Edit: I understand everyone here saying that things like interest and maintenance and taxes are all rent and those costs will be lost, very true. But the way I see it, that argument only goes so far. Heres how I see it, Assume rent has to be more than a mortgage for an equivalent property, because the landlord needs to recuperate the costs for not just the mortgage but all these other things they as the owner have to pay for, plus they want to profit. If I was the owner, I would have to pay for taxes and repairs and insurance just like the landlord, and you could even assume the interest I pay on my mortage is similar to the profit theyre making. The difference after paying all those costs above and beyond the principal of the mortgage, all the money payed to the principal is essentially being paid to myself, rather than a landlord. Which seems like a positive overall. My scenario assumes that the value of my home will appreciate, but I dont think thats a bad assumption, especially after looking at statistics for the area I am moving to. I understand there is more risk involved in being a buyer over a renter, but that doesnt make it an inherently bad decision. Just wanted to add this on because it seems to be the biggest point people are raising to the idea of purchasing a house, but your arguments are not fully making sense to me.  <response>: I know 10 is only about half of what a bank is looking to see a person put down.20 is nice because it means you wont need PMI. You could do it with 10, you will just have PMI 