Multi-year plan to buy

Hi gang, I'm looking for advice from the more experienced users here about how to prep financially to buy in Manhattan in ~2 years. Just to simplify discussion, let's say I will be looking for a 2BR in the $1.5m range. I'll live in it. About me -- late 20s, unmarried, excellent credit, no debt, good job in finance (but somewhat volatile bonuses). I have some savings and would put ~20% down (but... [more]

Hi gang, I'm looking for advice from the more experienced users here about how to prep financially to buy in Manhattan in ~2 years. Just to simplify discussion, let's say I will be looking for a 2BR in the $1.5m range. I'll live in it. About me -- late 20s, unmarried, excellent credit, no debt, good job in finance (but somewhat volatile bonuses). I have some savings and would put ~20% down (but not 50%). My DTI ratio would be low (< 25%). (1) I will be a first time buyer. Does this help at all? (2) What potential problems could I encounter with a $1.2m mortgage? Are there financial thresholds that will affect me? (e.g. $1m limit on mortgage interest deduction.) (3) It seems to me that an interest-only loan makes the most financial sense. Is it hard/expensive/impossible to find large specialized mortgages nowadays? [less]