I'm having a battle inside my head: • do I put a large deposit down on a house and pay high monthly rates to pay off in ~5 yearsOr• do I put a low deposit down and stretch the mortgage for cheaper monthly payments and more free cash flow for meSome background information --I have $100,000 cash to spend and the house I'm looking at is around $150,000 so either way I will need to borrow some cash.

Time is money and variance/zoning issues  can stretch out an extra month or two easily in many NJ towns if you don't have all your ducks in a row.

This would/could be my first deal, and though the word "deal" may be a stretch by the numbers, there are a lot of factors that I'd appreciate some feedback sorting through to see if we should go forward.The scenario: Just less than 2years ago, my grandfather died.

Buying Old stretches of Railroad or Spurs.....Yeah, I know, some are a stretch, but ALL of these are Real Estate Plays that I, or someone I know has invested in.If these weren't part of his list, then I guess we now have 34!

Likewise, the traditionally Polish/Slavic neighborhoods to the near southwest are showing promise.As for other markets, think about the entire 50-mile corridor south of Milwaukee and stretching to the Illinois border.

I'll try not to stretch myself too thin :)

Maybe if you stretch that out to 7 years, you'll hit your target.

If you are just a little handy and the carpet does not need to be stretched too much, you can go to any major hardware chain and in the carpet section you can purchase a carpet knee kicker for less than $100.If you need a full room carpet stretcher you would need to seek the services of a local carpet company and get a bid from them.I personally own my own full room carpet stretcher that I found at a garage sale for $50.

I would also be careful with stretching your cash to buy an asset that just sits there.

Whether you screen well or not finding decent tenants is a stretch.