Home Ownership

[booter]

Most people I know who have purchased recently have only done 5% down payments, not 20%.

We saved for ~4-5 years to make our 5% down payment in a very HCOL area.

It's a standard mortgage, not FHA, but yes we do pay ~$55 a month in PMI (mortgage insurance) until we reach the 20% loan-to-value threshold.