Home Buying Basics
One way to buy a home is to pay cash. But the typical American family is not in a position to do this, and thus must arrange to finance its home purchase. Most families can afford only a modest down payment and are forced to secure the remainder of the purchase price by mortgage from some lending institution. The larger the down payment, the smaller the total interest payment over the term of the mortgage. Buyers, however, should not use all of their savings for the down payment, thus depriving themselves of any reserve to fall back on if extraordinary expenses arise or income falls in the future.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_real_estate_investing
