Hello Mustachians! I've been reading the blog and forum for years but this is my first unresolved dilemma!
After years of renting during college and my time in the Army, my wife and I are considering buying a home in the Round Rock/Pflugerville/Cedar Park region north of Austin, TX. We have used the NY Times rent vs. buy calculator conservatively and have considered possible (likely) overvaluation of the regional market, but it still seems to make sense for us to buy.
With a VA loan, there is no down payment requirement or PMI, so traditional down payment advice doesn't really fit.
We have liquid assets of about 75% of the home price, so if the home price drops quickly and we have to bail out for some reason (underwater mortgage), we *could* sell assets to cover the difference, so I don't really think we need the equity cushion.
Intuitively, I think that it makes sense to use the VA loan and finance the entire home outright, investing the down payment in Vanguard (taxed accounts, assuming 401k is full either way). Am I missing something? Thanks!