Could, and should, I go for a house w/ a mortgage vs. renting (given my situation)?

My recommendation is buying a house, as you said it's not an investment...try read this one too a href="http://www.loanmodsource.com/2011/04/29/home-loan-troubled-economy/" rel="nofollow"http://www.loanmodsource.com/2011/04/29/…/a