Congrats Conan and welcome to the American dream of home ownership.
Don't pay any attention to this Dfraud fuk head, home and land ownership is still the fastest way to build wealth and excellent credit in this country and this dumb fuk as usual doesn't have a clue.
I bought my first home at 25 and have never looked back. Rent money goes down the drain and you don't end up with shit after all those wasted years of pissing money away. My mortgage was also 30 years, which I ended up paying off in 15! Like slambam said, adding a little extra every month can considerably reduce your interest, term length and build excellent credit and equity in your home. Little things like not eating out all the time, cutting back on entertainment and other expenses can easily net you an extra few hundred dollars a month. Applied to the principal of your loan and you could easily knock off 5, 10, or 15 years and boom, you own your home.
The benefits of owning verses renting are substantial, if you plan on living in any one place longer than 5 years, buying is the only way to go.
Look at this way too, you'll never lose money on a home. Home values continue to appreciate, so even if you sell after 5 or 10 years, you'll recoup your investment, plus any improvements you make only add to the selling value of the home. The interest deductions and improvement tax credits are excellent, something you never get when renting.
Banks and credit unions love homeowners! My wife and I can walk into our credit union, (Banks fuk'in suck by the way, but that's a whole other story), and get any type of loan, line of credit, home equity loan, etc, all with just a signature, because we own our home. I bought our 2nd home after 10 years using the collateral from the 1st one, tuned our original home we out grew into rental income and used the rental income to pay the mortgage on both homes. It's just that easy bro and real estate will never crash like the stock markets.
The freedom of no land lord, multiple apartments with noisy kids and increasing rents, no parking congestion and lower crime are just a few benefits of being a homeowner. Why sit around like willy puss and piss your hard earned money away for 30 years and not have shit to show for it? I've got a nest egg home that produces income, I can borrow against or sell outright for cash anytime, and my mortgage is paid so I now live free in my home.
Good luck bro, there's nothing like having a front and a back yard, room for your dog to run, and the feeling on knowing you own it.