How much should you put down on a house? How about 100%? Some pundits would say you should borrow more, especially when rates are low, because you can make more investing that money in the stock market. Good point, but that assumes you actually invest the money rather than spending it on some other depreciating asset like a car, vacation or flat screen TV. A big if. If you have the discipline to put the savings to work, then by all means go for it. But if you don’t (like most people) then perhaps better to pay down your mortgage and become debt free.
At a minimum, put down 20% if you can, to avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI). And if you already have a mortgage with less than 20% down, keep track of your home’s value. Once you pay down the debt, or the value of your home increases, you can apply to your lender to eliminate the PMI once the debt principal drops below 80% of the home’s value. You may need an appraisal to support your claim.
Proverbial Living 