Keep renting, or buy? I''m a total newbie at this...

[fire&ice]

Normally, I''m all for buying vs. renting - but in your circumstances I would hold off. Residency is a tricky nut - no guarantee you will be in Houston - and especially no guarantee you will be close to the area you will work. Plus, appreciation on real estate in general has cooled - in other words - normal appreciation and not the hyper market of 2005. Two years is a short time for real estate. And, good point about the commision when sellling.

Since you aren''t making a solid income, the tax break on the interest paid is probably not going be a big issue. Also, homeownership is a full time job in itself - do you own a lawnmower? washer dryer? weed wacker? shovel? etc, etc, etc. And, you will probably have LESS time to tend to the house/condo, etc when you are in your residency.

Just my 2cents.

 

[Dancing Fire]

luckily you not in Ca.

23 out of the top 25....


http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top25s/priceyhomes.html

 

[firebirdgold]

My .02 is that you shouldn''t buy. I don''t know about Houston, but the market around here is starting to stall. You don''t want to buy something now, just to have the market drop out from under you. I know that in the slightly pricier cities, you actually get more for your money if you rent then if you buy. I hear how a lot of people can''t make their mortgage payments from what they can rent the place for.

If you do buy, be really really careful. My fi didn''t have much saved for a down payment either, and while he was signing the papers for his house they sprung this nasty little clause on him. If he sells or refinances before three years he has to pay like $80,000 in penalty!!! And he can''t rent it out either! So he''s stuck with the thing until January!

grrrr. And the company sold his mortgage to someplace else entirely.

Wait until you start making some money. Then the tax benefits kick in and make owning an even better proposition.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Well, thanks for all the sage advice, ladies and gents!!! Decision has been made...

After discussing it with my folks and others and seeing what you guys have to say, we've decided to hold off until residency on buying.

First off, the time we'd have from buying to possibly selling would actually only be a year and a half instead of 2 years because my current lease doesn't end until December. So that's not very much time at all, and we could lose the skin off our backs there.

Secondly, even though there's at least a 50% chance we'll stay in Houston, what if we don't? What if the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself elsewhere? If we were to buy now, we'd feel stress and pressure to stay in Houston, whereas if we rent until we settle into Residency-ville (wherever that may be), we will be free to go wherever we please without guilting ourselves into staying here just because of the house.

All that said, we are definitely interested in buying as soon as we get to wherever residency will be, because that will be at least 4 years of staying put. It seems like about 4 years (or more) is a magic number when it comes to the decision of rent or buy.

I'm still open to hearing more discussion on this, though, as I'd love to learn as much about buying a home as I can before we do it! So keep the debate going, if you so desire!!

ETA: DF, yeah, houses on the west coast are high!!! Actually, housing here in Texas, and in Houston itself, is really reasonable. My parents built their (really nice) DREAM home a little over a year ago, and they're only out $260,000 or so. And DF, you'll be glad to know that my parents are true homeowners, too, just like you. They didn't end up with a mortgage and are sooooo glad for it.

 

[Mara]

HOU I have been daydreaming for a little while now about moving to Texas...Austin actually, because we could go and buy a house free and clear, and it is sooooooo tempting to think about no mortgage....ahhhhhh. Esp considering when we sell our place here in CA and get something else, it will basically just be more and more expensive. It never ends! ugh!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/17/2006 8:56:50 PM
Author: HOUMedGal

ETA: DF, yeah, houses on the west coast are high!!! Actually, housing here in Texas, and in Houston itself, is really reasonable. My parents built their (really nice) DREAM home a little over a year ago, and they''re only out $260,000 or so. And DF, you''ll be glad to know that my parents are true homeowners, too, just like you. They didn''t end up with a mortgage and are sooooo glad for it.

i wasn''t that lucky.

i had a mortgage for 15 1/2 yrs.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 7/17/2006 8:56:50 PM
Author: HOUMedGal

First off, the time we''d have from buying to possibly selling would actually only be a year and a half instead of 2 years because my current lease doesn''t end until December. So that''s not very much time at all, and we could lose the skin off our backs there.

Not to mention - if you do get lucky with appreciation - you have to stay in your house for two years before you get the tax benefit of rolling into another w/o paying income tax.