If you’re looking to buy your first home, you may have to expand your horizon to find a home that’s more affordable. When I bought my first home many years ago, I wound up with a small rambler in Northeast Tacoma. We used an FHA mortgage with a 3.5% down payment (you do NOT need 20% down to buy a home). At the time, I was working in downtown Seattle at the Columbia Center and it was a heck of a commute…but I was so proud to own a home. We only owned it for a couple of years before we were able to sell it and use the appreciation to buy our next “move up” home. [Read more…]