Unless you absolutely need to own a house for some reason, just wait a few years. The "American Dream of Home Ownership" is the single greatest scam ever perpetrated on the public by the financial services industry - P.T. Barnum would be compelled to tip his hat to this bunch.
Huh? We bought our first house a couple of years ago. Our monthly mortgage payment is essentially what we were paying for renting our apartment. We lived in that apartment for ten years, and in the end had nothing to show for it. The difference now is that a percentage of our monthly payment becomes equity.
Home ownership is a forced savings plan, which is good. And, if you plan correctly, you'll have a paid-off home by the time you retire -- a huge advantage when you're living on a fixed income.
So what's the scam?