Serious question - Homeownership

As a young, burgeoning professional (hah!), I have been thinking quite a bit about buying a house. I spent a little time after work in the library, and there must be 900 books written on the topic of buying a home with "no money down", but not a single one on buying a regular house. I plan on securing the needed downpayment from good ol' Mom and Dad, but I'd like to try and finance a portion of the mortgage with renters. Looking through some of the government program books, I seem to land right outside of the "low-income" brackets, and since I'm looking to buy a house somewhere between 300-500K...that basically means I don't live in the ghetto down here. Here's what I was looking to find out from some of you older, wiser, Apexaholics: 1) General tips and traps not to fall into...and I'm sure there are a ton. 2) I understand the risk associated with trying to subsidize my debauched style of life with renters paying me: is this really a horrible idea, or has anyone done it successfully? 3) For all you kids in Westwood, if you see a dope house for sale, lemme know! In fact, if you know of any nice houses that might be a decent deal, post here! I'm sure I'm not the only one looking to buy... I appreciate y'all's help (can you put two apostrophes in one word?). __________________ Quote: 2) I understand the risk associated with trying to subsidize my debauched style of life with renters paying me: is this really a horrible idea, or has anyone done it successfully? It's not a horrible idea, per se. I've seen many instances of success. The trick is to look for the quiet (aka geeky/nerdy) students or young professionals. The worst thing that can happen is you having to give him/her a 30 day notice. (You are planning on writing up a contract and reporting this income to the IRS, right? ) __________________ what about a 50% off coupon for a mortgage? Could use one with what houses cost nowadays Mavi forum