One of the greatest financial advantages of owning real estate is leverage — the ability to control a large asset with a relatively small amount of your own money. Unlike many other investments, you don’t need to pay the full price of a home upfront. With a mortgage, you might only put down 5% to 20% of the home’s value and still benefit from 100% of the home’s appreciation. Let’s say you buy a $400,000 home with a 10% down payment — that's $40,000. If the home appreciates ju