Which housing choice would you make?

[Mermaidman]

I have a feeling you don't have much, if any, of a down payment, saved. In that case, keep renting until you saved enough for a ~20% down payment. Whatever happened with your car situation? Did you sell one of them?

edit: You might not qualify for a good mortgage with high debt and small down payment.

 

[Jzero]

Unless it's in the ghetto or you are planning to move out in less than 5 years, you would be a fool not to go with option "2." Even if your house appreciates slowly and you can't recoup your closing costs after 5 years, you will still have spent a less on interst and costs than you would have renting.

Option 3 is out. Never be house poor. It's not worth it.

Option 1 is your best choice if your future is uncertain and you can't commit to staying in the same place for 3-5 years.

 

[Toasthead]

get a house if you can afford it

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
I have a feeling you don't have much, if any, of a down payment, saved. In that case, keep renting until you saved enough for a ~20% down payment. Whatever happened with your car situation? Did you sell one of them?

edit: You might not qualify for a good mortgage with high debt and small down payment.

I sold my car for more than I owed on it.

My mortgage guy is awesome, and really helpful. I'm pre-approved for 6% with no down-payment. I'll just need $3-4k to cover some of the closing costs and fees.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Jzero
Unless it's in the ghetto or you are planning to move out in less than 5 years, you would be a fool not to go with option "2." Even if your house appreciates slowly and you can't recoup your closing costs after 5 years, you will still have spent a less on interst and costs than you would have renting.

Yeah, don't forget that renting is $10,860 down the drain every year. One year alone and you've more than made up the closing costs. A few more years and you haven't lost the interest on the loan.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Jzero
Unless it's in the ghetto or you are planning to move out in less than 5 years, you would be a fool not to go with option "2." Even if your house appreciates slowly and you can't recoup your closing costs after 5 years, you will still have spent a less on interst and costs than you would have renting.

Option 3 is out. Never be house poor. It's not worth it.

Option 1 is your best choice if your future is uncertain and you can't commit to staying in the same place for 3-5 years.

The thing is finding a house I like around $125k. I refuse to live in the city since I'm used to rural areas, and Syracuse has alot of crime. So I have to look out in the suburbs and rural area. I would plan on staying there for several years at least.

I found a nice 1300sq.ft. house on 3 acres that i really like, but it is over an hour and a half from work.

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
I have a feeling you don't have much, if any, of a down payment, saved. In that case, keep renting until you saved enough for a ~20% down payment. Whatever happened with your car situation? Did you sell one of them?

edit: You might not qualify for a good mortgage with high debt and small down payment.

I sold my car for more than I owed on it.

My mortgage guy is awesome, and really helpful. I'm pre-approved for 6% with no down-payment. I'll just need $3-4k to cover some of the closing costs and fees.

In that case--go for a cheap house and stay there >3 years! At the worst, you'll break even. You could even rent a room out to defray to costs!