My boyfriend (well, basically fiance w/out the ring) and I just bought a house two months ago. It was the right thing to do, because we have 2 cats and a dog that we would NEVER give up and every apartment we looked at that would accept them was $800+ which is ridiculous around here. Now we have a mortgage and a two car garage (sounds like a country song doesn’t it?) and I still believe that we did the right thing. But there’s been a LOT of work involved in getting to or comfort level. We re-did one of the rooms (tore out the wallpaper and the baseboards and painted everything), re-roofed the garage (in between torrential rainstorms that flooded our garage every other day), lost 4 boxes full of stuff to the flooded basement and still haven’t gotten everything unpacked. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is no way to half-ass buying a house (excuse the expression). You either have to do it 110% or you will be miserable. If it’s something you want, go for it. Zac and I are very very happy with our choice.