As long as the expenses plus my taxes do not exceed my current taxes in the US, that doesn't bother me.

By "long term trends" do you mean actual price trends? Or do you mean patterns?

I will make the question more general and objective, as you suggest, then. I would, however, appreciate some thoughts on this.

Nationstar Mortgage. I think the key, though, was realizing that I needed to tell the bank that I am a W2 employee working for whatever company I work for, and it's none of the bank's business that the company happens to be a recruiting agency. God, just reflecting on this incident...seriously...I make three times what the average person makes, and I can get a job pretty much at any company within two weeks time. And I have never -- not once -- missed or even been close to being late on any payments for the loan or for anything. What morons those lenders were.

@DJClayworth While your story has good points, my employment is and was secure due to the marketability of my skill set. Even if I lost my job, I could easily find another in less than a week at numerous places. So while employment security should be a consideration, it is/was not at all an issue in my case.