1. How has the foreclosure crisis and collapse in home values in the last decade affected your thinking about buying a home someday?

2. What do you see as the advantages and the disadvantages for you of renting or buying housing at the current time? How might your feelings change in the future, such as within five years?

3. In the early years of the standard 30-year mortgage loan, as little as 10 percent of the monthly payment actually goes toward repaying the debt. As a result, it takes many, many years for the loan balance to come down to any significant extent. Explain how that affects your feelings about taking on such a long-term obligation.

4. Would you prefer a conventional mortgage, an adjustable-rate mortgage, or one of the other alternatives described in this chapter to finance a home purchase? Why?

5. Almost all closing costs on a home purchase are negotiable. Would you feel comfortable entering into a discussion of these items? Why or why not?