Don't go for the cheapest (unless the price is lower because it is on sale), but also don't go for the most expensive. 

For $10K and a lower rate I'd be willing to consider delaying...but only if I knew that lender two was solid on closing in a relatively short timeframe.

Taxes are half the cost compared to CA and insurance is lower if not by the water.

Since I have a fixed-rate mortgage, I understand this wouldn’t lower my monthly payment but would shorten the loan term by reducing the principal faster.

New construction in a saturated market isn’t always the best play if you’re looking for steady returns.A place like Rochester has way better fundamentals—lower buy-in, strong rent-to-price ratios, and stable demand from universities, hospitals, and major employers.

When they do, you can refinance to a lower rate.Dealing with current high interest rates (about 7% on 01/27/2025) you have the following choices:A larger down paymentAccept a negative cash flowBuy down the interest rateCombine and balance all three to get an acceptable cash flow today.

I'm also considering Halethorpe because it's a good commuter location.Some people really like supporting the city in which case , northeast Baltimore would seem to the best place to buy a single family, in my opinion given the taxes situation and given that none of those areas are walkable I’d rather just be in the county and pay Lower taxes, and it’s not like northeast Baltimore is much that much cheaper than Baltimore county, hathorpe is mixed, arbutus is nice, I hate the housing stock there, would rather be in Catonsville if I was considering western Baltimore county. 

So in that a much lower rate of return is acceptable given the safety and certainty level of things. 

This does not align with buying most buildings in cash.Once you progress in your investing efforts you may come across more UHNW individuals, family offices and institutions who would take the lower return for limiting risk (all cash deal).

In category after category, larger condos and higher price ranges are selling better than smaller condos and lower price ranges.