<prompt> Human: A little background: broke up with my girlfriend last December, moved in with my parents while she finished out the lease in our apartment. Living with my parents made me realize how much I want to own a home, for the space, for the yard for my dog, etc. Once my old lease ends in May my parents dont care if I stay a little longer and use that time to save money... amazing financial opportunity. However as a 26 year old single guy, I dont want to stay any longer than I have to ;tl;dr living with my parents for a few months rent free, have the opportunity to save a lot of money and want to buy a house.I make 65k a year and have a 751 credit score.What type of mortgage should I look for? How much downpayment should I anticipate? What lender should I choose? Should I get a real estate agent? Any other tips appreciated. Thanks!UPDATE: Wow, this sub is awesome. So many great responses and fast. After reading these responses I realize that although I have a good job, good credit and low debt, I have nowhere near the amount of cash reserve to purchase a home. At this point I think renting a home and aggressively saving money for another year would be the smart move.  <response>: First of all, you should only buy a house if: you plan on staying in the area for a while your incomejob is steady and secure if you have enough money for emergencies which sounds like you doI also dont recommend you buy anything over 3x your gross so your top range is 200k. I will say that a lot of this depends on your situation - you might be saving a ton of money. What type of mortgage should I look for?Depends on how long you plan to stay in your home. If youre going to stay 7 years then you can get a 71 ARM. This means your interest rate will stay the same for 7 years but then COULD go up or down, but likely up once a year going forward. The downside is that if you plan to stay there longer, you might need to refinance. If youre looking for a guaranteed steady payment then you can go with a traditional 30-year fixed. This is a regular mortgage and your rate will always be the same. You could get more risky and try a 51 ARM which is the same as the 7-year but only for 5 years. Younger people typically move especially if youll eventually find a girlfriend youd like to marry so making long-decate committment to your house might not be ideal right now. How much downpayment should I anticipate?Some go the FHA route but Im not familiar with it. You should typically expect 10, 15, or 20 down payment so for a 200k, thats 20-40k down. What lender should I choose? I use a mortgage broker who always gets me a lower rate. It doesnt matter what bank you use - theyre all the same and the only key are the mortgage terms. Should I get a real estate agent?You dont have to but I did. They know the area better and they can show you new properties on the market. You can avoid them but only if you dont mind negotiating with the buyer or their agent or doing a lot more legwork to finding a place. Any other tips appreciated. You can put down less than 20 but youll be required to pay PMI which is basically insurance. Youll be forced to pay it until you have 20 equity. This money is a useless fee. To avoid it, you can get a second mortgage. The second mortgage will have the same tax savings on paid interest but once its paid off, your overall mortgage payment will go down without a refinance. after you close, get a card from a place like Home Depot - youll need it. They have 0 for 6 months for 300, 12 months for 1k, 24 months for 2k as part of the card agreement. Its highly useful when buying things like appliances, lawn mower, grill, etc. at some point in time, I highly recommend getting a HELOC if you have 20 equity. HELOC is basically a way to get lots of money right away with a low interest rate. The interest rate is calculated like a mortgage with its interest tax benefits but youre charged 3-4 vs. 10 for credit cards so its great if you pay it off in a year or two. I was able to use it to consolidate debt and aggressively pay it off while paying an overall 1.98 which is lower than even your typical 3 balance transfer fee.Good luck! 