so it is best to leverage as much as you can at all times. Based on my history, I have ended up looking at home more as an expense just as much as an investment. We have had friends with big houses that weren't able to really monitor what their kids were doing. So, we decided on a much smaller house than we could otherwise afford. Plus, the extra cash we don't have tied up in our house allows us to go on more vacations, give more to charity, and other things.

Plus, I don't like house/yard work so I want our place as small as possible.