I'm thinking of buying a townhouse that is part of a complex that's going up very close to the downtown area of the city I live in. (It's being built on reclaimed land.) I believe the resale value of it is going to be strong because of its location. I'm thinking that I'll live in it for 5 or 10 years and then sell to buy a more rural property. My question is, how long should I make my mortgage for? 25, 30 or 40 years? I know 25 years is the best for paying it off, but since I know I probably won't live there for that long, would taking a longer mortgage be okay? I'm bringing a downpayment of 41%. I see this property equally as a home AND as an investment.

I don't like the longer amortizations. Nope. I don't.

Since you're putting a whack of cash into this house, your payment isn't going to be huge, so a shorter amortization shouldn't be too painful. Even if you don't plan to stay in the house till it's paid off, lowering your payment shouldn't be the only consideration. And you know what, you might end up staying in that house longer than you initially planned.