Pricing on houses is DOWN right now. It's a buyers market and at 6.0% fixed rates, you can't really go wrong. I'm not relying on renters to pay the bills, I'm relying on them to let me live more comfortably. I could afford to pay for it without them but life would suck. Overtime is always available if I need it.
For the record - That money is already considered mine. So those of you that don't think the same as I do, You're wrong!
As I said before, knowing people is a great thing.
Also - I don't need to spend 225k on a house. I just know that's the limit. If I find something worth the cash struggle, i'd pay up to 225k. Otherwise I'm looking to keep it down around 200 or less.