Yeah, I was thinking about that because of the 3.5% thing. I'm also going to look into different banks to see what they offer. I really, really don't want to spend more than 4% (as I said). I think that's a dealbreaker, actually..

I think Obama (or maybe it was Clinton?) created a first time home buyers thing for taxes, but I haven't looked into that yet.

I also forgot about possibly having to break my lease early depending on when I get the house. I already pay an arm and a leg for my apartment. I don't even want to say here how much I spend on rent, but it's absurd and more than the cost of a monthly mortgage for a decent sized house.

I'm definitely NOT living anywhere near Boston anymore. Not that I can afford an actual house in the Boston area anyways... Not at f***ing $500k for a 800 sq foot house with no garage and no central cooling. You've got to be making at least $150k a year to afford that!