[Tree0164]

Jodi I agree! I remember when I was younger in my teens hearing you should really have 20% downpayment before you even consider buying a house. Now you can have a zero downpayment, ballon loans. I have friends who are buying $300-$500k house (average price for a house in Boston these days) with less than 10% down. Mortgage payments are through the roof. While saying 25% and doing a 15 yr mortgage isn't feasible for most folks having 1/2 of your take-home salary isn't smart. And now there is 40 yr and I saw a 50 yr mortgage being advertised somewhere.

Dave Ramsey is not the end all to personal finance, but he is the fatherest thing away from being snake oil salesman.