He he TG, I wonder if you are Irish. They say the Irish would have ruled the world if not for alcohol:) I am proudly descended from some very drunk Irish stock!
So, if it costs you less to own than rent, it seems that it makes sense to buy, but there are a lot of posts running through my head that I have read to dispute this theory. I think that we might buy if we find the perfect place that costs less to buy than rent, I know a lot of people my age (late 20s) who are all waiting with good credit and money saved for this to happen. I don’t think rents would go down too significantly, so if I can easily rent out the house I buy if push comes to shove and we have to move out of area or something happens, then we might buy. If you remember, I was in a similar place as yours, our rental out here was foreclosed on and we had to move and were all pissed off and so wanted to buy. We found a good deal (3 car garage, 2800 sq/ft, 305,000 accepted offer) but I convinced myself that renting for a few more months would bring even better deals, maybe not price per square feet but hopefully more options at that price. Moving into another rental when you know you will move again soon sucks but we are so glad not to be rushed into buying a place. If you look hard enough: Criagslist, newspapers, drive around the areas you want to rent in, you can find a month to month rental, we did. Then you can busy yourself with more time killers like the 3 car garage monitor until you find the perfect house.
Incidentally, what is your opinion of the relationship between post election year and interest rates. I am worried that rates may go up quickly and so am sort of planning on buying next fall, maybe earlier depending on how fast the inventory of houses that I like lowers their prices to a level that I like. I want to pay no more than 280,000 for a decent 4 bedroom house with a nice backyard and near parks and an elementary school for my boys. Funny thing about strike prices is I have the pleasure of being able to keep lowering my strike price and the houses keep catching up!
