MrsS, I think you got your heart set out owning a home and i think that is a great start!!! Having a goal in life is always good and I do agree with you, sometimes people get too scared from the thought of owning your own home, but I think once you are in a mortgage, your standards of living and expenses will adjusts to cater for that.

I also think it is good to have a back up plan though for the worsest worse case scenario.

Best of luck and hopefully your dream home will be yours soon =)