JOhn, spot on. when buying a property, if you not fortunate enough to pay cash, you have to finance it so you know you can afford it at 3-5% higher and immediately start paying that 3-5% higher amount into the property. That way no suprises if rates increase and if the rate drops even better you paying more and will pay faster. I advise many people to budget for 15% and buy at 10% that way they score either way. Then today negotiate 10% below asking price anyway. With that said a property is a 5 to 20 year investment if it your own house so the extra 20 or even 50k is irrelevant if you pay it off correctly.