How much money are you going to put down on your house? Different borrowers are looking for different things in a mortgage mostly due to the fact that they have different amounts of money to use as a down payment. You will have a much different road ahead of you as the borrower with little to no cash money, than what you would have if you have even a little bit of money. And if you are lucky enough for over a 20 percent down payment, well then you are going to have a much easier go of it.  If you are of the latter group then you have many more options. For instance you can invest some of the money that you have instead of putting it all towards your down payment. This is always a good option as you can get some really great returns on your investments these days. And in the end they can save you more money by making your money than you can get by just putting it into your down payment. Do the math and see which option will leave you with the most money at the end of your mortgage term, you will probably have to ball park it somewhat because no one can depend fully on the stock market but you will be able to get a rough idea. A good rule of thumb to follow is to choose the mortgage and invest the extra money if the investment return rate is going to be higher than the mortgage rate. If on the other hand the investment return is going to be significantly lower than the mortgage rate put the money towards the down payment. You always want to get the highest return on your money, always keep that goal in the front of your mind. Investing the money and getting a mortgage is an especially good choice for young people. These young people have more time to make up any money that may be lost. They can get a longer term mortgage and they will not have to worry so much about any fluctuations in the market, in the end in all probability they will come out on top every single time.