'Can You Buy Your First House?'

If you have a good job with a decent income, you may be thinking about trading up your mediocre apartment for an introductory house. Good credit and a down payment is a plus, but not always critical.

If you can afford $900 in rent, you can handle $1400 in mortgage, which should get you into the $200-250,000 range. If that can't buy a house in your market, consider a longer commute, because it's an investment for the future.

- A $1,400 mortgage is comparable to $900 in rent thanks to tax savings (ask your accountant).

- In a normal market, your house will go up in value 5-10% per year. On $200,000 your house will appreciate by $800 to $1,600 per month, which is as much (or more) than your whole payment.

- Even if the commute and payment is uncomfortable, within five-years you won't just get your deposit back (like when renting), but you can sell it and walk away with $50,000 or more in cash to put down on your next, bigger, better house.

Really, if you can find a way to afford your first house, you'd have to be insane or mentally deranged not to see the value and seize it.

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