Wife and I both have an 800 credit score and plenty of income with a 19% DTI ratio. 2) Do you recommend that as a first timer I actually do go with a higher down payment product as I learn?

@Bridger L Logan me and my wife started off like this.

My wife and I are moving to the area as well and looking at our next investment.

My wife and I are past 150k W2s and I also have an S Corp out of IL for rentals I own.  

And you still get the same benefits in terms of tax benefits (depreciation is a beautiful thing), rental profits, principal paydown and appreciation. 

Purchase price: $340,000 Cash invested: $20,000 I bought a 5-bedroom, 2.5-bath home in a great neighborhood where my wife and I wanted to live and start a family.

Maybe consider an HSA for next year.Hire your wife, kids and other relatives.

That's a lot for a guy with wife diagnosed ADHD.

I lived in Upper Saddle river back in 88 with my parents and remember all the beautiful homes.

The beauty is in the income snowball and how they can help you modify it down the road and how to do it the most efficiently.Definitely not a gimmick.