You might be able to see if you can get all of the closing costs included in your mortgage/loan. We've used a mortgage broker the last two times and she was awesome. She did all the leg work and submitted our financial details to a number of banks until she found us a few banks that were willing to give us a loan and then we picked the one with the best interest rate. The fee for a mortgage broker depends on where you live and on the broker themselves. Ours cost about 3,000.00 but, she gets paid after the mortgage goes through and the money comes from the mortgage, she just rolls her costs into it. And, the second time we used her she got us a mortgage with a bank here in canada called TD Canada Trust and the bank had a deal that they would pay half of our broker fee's so we only had to pay 1,500.00 and it was just added to our overall mortgage. I think it's totally worth it if it can help you get your foot in the door.
Also, both times, we put an offer in on a house and put a subject on the offer that was 'subject to financing' and requested 3 weeks to get our finances in order. It was during that 3 week period that our mortgage broker went to bat for us and found us financing. If she hadn't been able to, the offer would simply expire and nothing would be lost except for the opportunity to buy that house. One of the times we were trying to buy a house we needed some extra time, above and beyond the 3 weeks so we contacted the realtor and told them so. The seller gave us an extension of a week and that gave our broker some more time to find us a lender.
I agree, putting 1,000 each month towards a mortgage instead of to rent just makes sense. Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part but once you do, you'll be able to begin building your investment with each monthly payment as you watch your mortgage get smaller and smaller. I hope everything goes really well for you.