[quote=scaredycat]i see the numbers, I understand my worldview, but I cannot figure out what is the best thing to do. I am leaning toward 20% down, buy the interest rate down as low as possible and just hunker down and hopefully wait out the sh*tstorm I fully expect.[/quote]

You need to run the #’s on buying down the interest rate – determine when the break even point is for the points/fees. And figure out if you’ll likely to still be in that loan at that point. Each person’s time horizon is different. But that’s a simple calc. HLS has some calculators on his website you can “what if” the numbers. I used them a lot when I refi’d earlier this year, comparing rates from different sources.