clea..........

 

First I'd consider your needs and your future needs. I don't know what 100k buys you but it doesnt sound like much. A simple life change (getting hitched/ having a kid) could seriously alter your basic housing requirements and then you'd be in a position to have to sell your property and then upsize.

In my personal situation, buying a house that I could grow into was a critical step. I already knew I was getting married and knew I would have kids.

On another note, we don't know what your financial situation is and how stable your job is and where you're at in your career.

I guess in short I'd say just keep renting.

 

f all my debt clean.

 

I would never rent again. I have an appreciating asset for which I actually gain money at time of sale for modding it :chuckles: I am re-financing right now to a 15 year and hope to have it paid off in 10. This will save me 87k dollars in interest over a conventional 30 year. If I were to rent, I would be building no equity and for me it would be like leasing a car. Pay a bunch of money and then own nothing.

 

I can share my personal experience, but it echos some of the things jaymar is saying.

I bought 3 years ago. It is a small home on a bigger than average lot around here. It was built in 1942 and isnt in the best school district. At the time, the opportunity was right for me to buy. I had the money and can afford the payments. Here is where the fun begins. A house that old needs maintenance, that equals to time and money. A lot that big needed constant gardening, that equals to time and money. A house that small is fine for myself, but it will not be the most ideal place for when a little b00gers comes. Being in a school district that isnt great will become a problem down the line. That and the home as lost value that it would not make sense for me to sell and take a loss.

In short, I wish I would have thought more longer term. Owning a home and only being able to own only one is a huge commitment that is going to tie you down to certain things.

 

I can only speak from a renting perspective. I rented an apartment for 2 years in a small town that had the "big city" mentality, and it was decent for my first experience living away from the home I grew up in. After having to move, I located a small 1 bedroom/1 bathroom house out in the county where there's nothing but farms for a few miles. Now I know I'm in a southern state and taxes are different, but I'm paying $500/month for my place. It, too, was built in the mid-1940's, but it was a Chapel then. It has since been remodeled into a home (keeping the original pine floors though). I have a semi-unique renting situation in that I'm renting from a good ol' man from the south that is really nice. I've had a couple of property managers at the one apartment complex and I've been around some assholes that don't like to help you out.

Pro's:
- Lower cost of living
- Renter's insurance is cheap
- Landlord fixes any issues
- Landlord mows the lawn (not all cases, but true in mine), so no maintenance costs for lawn
- I share a well with my only neighbor (Landlord's daughter), so no water bill
- I use his trash service, so no sanitation costs
- If I'm a day or 2 late on the payment (rare), he's really understanding and doesn't hound me or charge interest
Con's:
- Don't own the property, therefore;
- Can't really "customize" the place the way I'd like to
- Can't own a dog (terms of lease)


I know there are major benefits for owning a house, but for me at my current state in life, renting is the best option for me. Now if I ever meet the right woman and decide to get married, then this will be a good starter home until funds can be saved to buy a house, which is an obvious goal.

 

do you like paying bills? buy a house.

 

thinking for long term in the area you are looking at - buy a house
thinking to stay short term in the area you are looking at - rent

 

I normally recommend that people only consider purchasing if they are near 100% sure their family/work situation will not change (you will not need to relocate), or that the property can cash flow as a rental (i.e. you'll get more rent every month than you pay in mortgage, insurance and upkeep). The only guaranteed way to make money owning a house is to own it for a good long time. You can certainly turn a profit in the short term (I have twice), but there is more risk of failure. And let's face it, a house represents the bulk of our life savings for most of us, so you don't want to gamble. If the house doesn't suit your long term needs, keep renting and putting money in the bank.

However, with interest rates approaching the redonkulous, I'd say you can be a little less cautious :chuckles:

:edit: If you are trying to keep your housing costs under $1000, you should shoot for like $800 PITI. Shit comes up, and it gets expensive.

Also one thing to consider, on average, condos appreciate at a slower rate than detached houses. Mobile homes DEPRECIATE in most cases, and you're still paying rent on the land. I would not consider a mobile home an investment. It may be an affordable housing option, but you're not going to enjoy the primary benefit of ownership, building equity.

 

I wouldn't buy a house unless I planned on living there for at least 5 years. Too many things can go wrong in the short term. Additionally, coming from a condo into my current home, the condo required about 10% as much maintenance. All exterior maintenance (roof, yard, etc) was taken care of in the condo, and was definitely worth the $133 a month we paid in HOA fees. I was not prepared for the amount of work I would have to put in on a single-family home. There are just so many things that can go wrong, and the previous owners had definitely "deferred maintenance" for about 5 years prior to our move-in. I love the house, but I spend way more time and $$ than expected on maintenance. And our house isn't even very old -- built in 1994.

With interest rates at the lowest they've ever, ever been and house prices down significantly, it's a great time to purchase something. But you really have to be confident that the house/condo will meet your needs for quite some time, as it can be significantly more difficult than non-home-owners realize to sell a property in either a short amount of time or for an amount that makes sense.