You have some protection in not over paying for a house, if you get a very large percentage loan, (90-95% percent of the price of the house). This is due to the fact that the loan agency will want to make sure that you don't over pay for the house because the property on their books will not be worth the loan value. Probably an even better thing to do though is get an independent appraiser to appraise the property. This appraiser would be looking out for your interest and could help make sure you don't over pay for the property, saving you thousands of dollars.