Should I Rent or Buy

[Deal Hunter]

It’s a buyer’s market, so I would buy. However, don’t buy the biggest house you can afford. Find the most modest house you can stand, and buy the house JUST BELOW that standard! Work it out so that you have the ability to set aside 6months to 1 year of emergency cash.

Put as much down as you can and DON’T FORGET you have mortgage interest deduction with ownership that you don’t have with renting. Take the total of your potential mortgage interest deduction and divide by 3200. The result is the number you can add to your W4 exclusions to pull more money out of your paycheck each week. (Note: Your refund at the end of the year will be smaller).

I understand that school district is important, but so is your financial well-being. A reasonable purchase in those areas may still be putting you too much at risk with no ability to save. Perhaps a unsurpassable deal in a different area would give you the “cushion” you need and still allow you to own a home.

It’s temporary until you and the U.S. economy recovers better footing. You just have to put more effort into supporting your kids through a couple of years of a less than ideal school district. But I echo the post before me….

SAVE MONEY!

[theasian1]

I have been following the homes in the Poway,RB and RQ for the past one year. How much do you think it will drop further?
Most of the disucssion in this forum are telling San Diego market will drop further, but I haven’t seen a serious drop in these good school districts. Ofcourse 4sRanch has dropped and I see Foreclouse and Short Sale in 4sRanch, but not in Poway,RB or RP (atleast thats what I have observed so far).
If I can buy a townhome for the rent that I would be paying should I go ahead and buy (Ofcourse puting my 70K downpayment)? If at all I decide to buy,
any suggestions on which area Townhomes that I should consider.
BTW: Ofcourse I have 20K as my reserve!

Thanks

[theasian1]

I have been following the homes in the Poway,RB and RQ for the past one year. How much do you think it will drop further?
Most of the disucssion in this forum are telling San Diego market will drop further, but I haven’t seen a serious drop in these good school districts. Ofcourse 4sRanch has dropped and I see Foreclouse and Short Sale in 4sRanch, but not in Poway,RB or RP (atleast thats what I have observed so far).
If I can buy a townhome for the rent that I would be paying should I go ahead and buy (Ofcourse puting my 70K downpayment)? If at all I decide to buy,
any suggestions on which area Townhomes that I should consider.
BTW: Ofcourse I have 20K as my reserve!

Thanks

[theasian1]

I have been following the homes in the Poway,RB and RQ for the past one year. How much do you think it will drop further?
Most of the disucssion in this forum are telling San Diego market will drop further, but I haven’t seen a serious drop in these good school districts. Ofcourse 4sRanch has dropped and I see Foreclouse and Short Sale in 4sRanch, but not in Poway,RB or RP (atleast thats what I have observed so far).
If I can buy a townhome for the rent that I would be paying should I go ahead and buy (Ofcourse puting my 70K downpayment)? If at all I decide to buy,
any suggestions on which area Townhomes that I should consider.
BTW: Ofcourse I have 20K as my reserve!

Thanks

[theasian1]

I have been following the homes in the Poway,RB and RQ for the past one year. How much do you think it will drop further?
Most of the disucssion in this forum are telling San Diego market will drop further, but I haven’t seen a serious drop in these good school districts. Ofcourse 4sRanch has dropped and I see Foreclouse and Short Sale in 4sRanch, but not in Poway,RB or RP (atleast thats what I have observed so far).
If I can buy a townhome for the rent that I would be paying should I go ahead and buy (Ofcourse puting my 70K downpayment)? If at all I decide to buy,
any suggestions on which area Townhomes that I should consider.
BTW: Ofcourse I have 20K as my reserve!

Thanks

[theasian1]

I have been following the homes in the Poway,RB and RQ for the past one year. How much do you think it will drop further?
Most of the disucssion in this forum are telling San Diego market will drop further, but I haven’t seen a serious drop in these good school districts. Ofcourse 4sRanch has dropped and I see Foreclouse and Short Sale in 4sRanch, but not in Poway,RB or RP (atleast thats what I have observed so far).
If I can buy a townhome for the rent that I would be paying should I go ahead and buy (Ofcourse puting my 70K downpayment)? If at all I decide to buy,
any suggestions on which area Townhomes that I should consider.
BTW: Ofcourse I have 20K as my reserve!

Thanks

[Deal Hunter]

I too am waiting for prices to drop further. In fact, I’ve been waiting for prices to get better in SD area since early 2000. Prices just won’t plummet in SD like they do in other areas. The area is just too desireable, especially with school districts considered.

I’d start with the foreclosures and short sale townhomes as you can come in with very low offers and just see who is most motivated and wise to sell to you. I have an investor partner throwing out offers on short sales at 50% of value. So far, no takers, but we’re not giving up yet.

No question on whether to own or rent if the monthly is the same – owning is the way to go.

Oh and another thing – get a BUYER’S AGENT to represent you. Best if the agent only represents you and not the seller also. Dual agency never made sense to me – like having the same lawyer for the defendant and the plaintiff. Interview many until you find one that you like and trust.

Good luck!

[Deal Hunter]

I too am waiting for prices to drop further. In fact, I’ve been waiting for prices to get better in SD area since early 2000. Prices just won’t plummet in SD like they do in other areas. The area is just too desireable, especially with school districts considered.

I’d start with the foreclosures and short sale townhomes as you can come in with very low offers and just see who is most motivated and wise to sell to you. I have an investor partner throwing out offers on short sales at 50% of value. So far, no takers, but we’re not giving up yet.

No question on whether to own or rent if the monthly is the same – owning is the way to go.

Oh and another thing – get a BUYER’S AGENT to represent you. Best if the agent only represents you and not the seller also. Dual agency never made sense to me – like having the same lawyer for the defendant and the plaintiff. Interview many until you find one that you like and trust.

Good luck!

[Deal Hunter]

I too am waiting for prices to drop further. In fact, I’ve been waiting for prices to get better in SD area since early 2000. Prices just won’t plummet in SD like they do in other areas. The area is just too desireable, especially with school districts considered.

I’d start with the foreclosures and short sale townhomes as you can come in with very low offers and just see who is most motivated and wise to sell to you. I have an investor partner throwing out offers on short sales at 50% of value. So far, no takers, but we’re not giving up yet.

No question on whether to own or rent if the monthly is the same – owning is the way to go.

Oh and another thing – get a BUYER’S AGENT to represent you. Best if the agent only represents you and not the seller also. Dual agency never made sense to me – like having the same lawyer for the defendant and the plaintiff. Interview many until you find one that you like and trust.

Good luck!

[Deal Hunter]

I too am waiting for prices to drop further. In fact, I’ve been waiting for prices to get better in SD area since early 2000. Prices just won’t plummet in SD like they do in other areas. The area is just too desireable, especially with school districts considered.

I’d start with the foreclosures and short sale townhomes as you can come in with very low offers and just see who is most motivated and wise to sell to you. I have an investor partner throwing out offers on short sales at 50% of value. So far, no takers, but we’re not giving up yet.

No question on whether to own or rent if the monthly is the same – owning is the way to go.

Oh and another thing – get a BUYER’S AGENT to represent you. Best if the agent only represents you and not the seller also. Dual agency never made sense to me – like having the same lawyer for the defendant and the plaintiff. Interview many until you find one that you like and trust.

Good luck!

[Deal Hunter]

I too am waiting for prices to drop further. In fact, I’ve been waiting for prices to get better in SD area since early 2000. Prices just won’t plummet in SD like they do in other areas. The area is just too desireable, especially with school districts considered.

I’d start with the foreclosures and short sale townhomes as you can come in with very low offers and just see who is most motivated and wise to sell to you. I have an investor partner throwing out offers on short sales at 50% of value. So far, no takers, but we’re not giving up yet.

No question on whether to own or rent if the monthly is the same – owning is the way to go.

Oh and another thing – get a BUYER’S AGENT to represent you. Best if the agent only represents you and not the seller also. Dual agency never made sense to me – like having the same lawyer for the defendant and the plaintiff. Interview many until you find one that you like and trust.

Good luck!

[SD Realtor]

It depends on your timeframe. If you have 2-3 years you can see potential substantial drops. Perhaps 20% or more depending on the housing type. I do not agree with your assessments that there has not already been some nice depreciation in these neighborhoods because there really has been. I can show you comps in each of the areas where recent sales are lower priced then similar floorplans in those same areas from the not so recent past. As someone who is very familiar with the I15 corridor I am quite certain of my statements.

I am not going to go into a rent verses buy number crunching exercise for you because in my opinion you cannot put a dollar value on home ownership.

I will say that I do believe that if you base the decision of renting verses buying ON NUMBERS ALONE, then in the long run waiting to buy is better. However there is a pretty vast differential in terms of opinions (on this board) about the price of home ownership.

Financially I have what I call a reserve and I have a downpayment fund for a home. My reserve is a sum of money I have in case of a calamity, job loss, or a sudden interruption of income. This reserve is not measured by a dollar amount but is measured temporally. That is, the reserve is used to pay bills and such for about 1 year in case I cannot generate income. My downpayment fund for a home is a totally seperate entity.

I realize that many people do not have such a savings structure. Raising kids is not cheap and basically it is really hard to save money these days.

Again, I do think there will be some potential big savings down the road. Perhaps 20%, perhaps more. Even if you can wait another year you may find a 5-10% savings.

This is just my opinion though and I know renting sucks because I rent and I would rather enjoy home ownership then renting. Still, I have to look at the numbers and for me I have not found anything that adds up.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

It depends on your timeframe. If you have 2-3 years you can see potential substantial drops. Perhaps 20% or more depending on the housing type. I do not agree with your assessments that there has not already been some nice depreciation in these neighborhoods because there really has been. I can show you comps in each of the areas where recent sales are lower priced then similar floorplans in those same areas from the not so recent past. As someone who is very familiar with the I15 corridor I am quite certain of my statements.

I am not going to go into a rent verses buy number crunching exercise for you because in my opinion you cannot put a dollar value on home ownership.

I will say that I do believe that if you base the decision of renting verses buying ON NUMBERS ALONE, then in the long run waiting to buy is better. However there is a pretty vast differential in terms of opinions (on this board) about the price of home ownership.

Financially I have what I call a reserve and I have a downpayment fund for a home. My reserve is a sum of money I have in case of a calamity, job loss, or a sudden interruption of income. This reserve is not measured by a dollar amount but is measured temporally. That is, the reserve is used to pay bills and such for about 1 year in case I cannot generate income. My downpayment fund for a home is a totally seperate entity.

I realize that many people do not have such a savings structure. Raising kids is not cheap and basically it is really hard to save money these days.

Again, I do think there will be some potential big savings down the road. Perhaps 20%, perhaps more. Even if you can wait another year you may find a 5-10% savings.

This is just my opinion though and I know renting sucks because I rent and I would rather enjoy home ownership then renting. Still, I have to look at the numbers and for me I have not found anything that adds up.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

It depends on your timeframe. If you have 2-3 years you can see potential substantial drops. Perhaps 20% or more depending on the housing type. I do not agree with your assessments that there has not already been some nice depreciation in these neighborhoods because there really has been. I can show you comps in each of the areas where recent sales are lower priced then similar floorplans in those same areas from the not so recent past. As someone who is very familiar with the I15 corridor I am quite certain of my statements.

I am not going to go into a rent verses buy number crunching exercise for you because in my opinion you cannot put a dollar value on home ownership.

I will say that I do believe that if you base the decision of renting verses buying ON NUMBERS ALONE, then in the long run waiting to buy is better. However there is a pretty vast differential in terms of opinions (on this board) about the price of home ownership.

Financially I have what I call a reserve and I have a downpayment fund for a home. My reserve is a sum of money I have in case of a calamity, job loss, or a sudden interruption of income. This reserve is not measured by a dollar amount but is measured temporally. That is, the reserve is used to pay bills and such for about 1 year in case I cannot generate income. My downpayment fund for a home is a totally seperate entity.

I realize that many people do not have such a savings structure. Raising kids is not cheap and basically it is really hard to save money these days.

Again, I do think there will be some potential big savings down the road. Perhaps 20%, perhaps more. Even if you can wait another year you may find a 5-10% savings.

This is just my opinion though and I know renting sucks because I rent and I would rather enjoy home ownership then renting. Still, I have to look at the numbers and for me I have not found anything that adds up.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

It depends on your timeframe. If you have 2-3 years you can see potential substantial drops. Perhaps 20% or more depending on the housing type. I do not agree with your assessments that there has not already been some nice depreciation in these neighborhoods because there really has been. I can show you comps in each of the areas where recent sales are lower priced then similar floorplans in those same areas from the not so recent past. As someone who is very familiar with the I15 corridor I am quite certain of my statements.

I am not going to go into a rent verses buy number crunching exercise for you because in my opinion you cannot put a dollar value on home ownership.

I will say that I do believe that if you base the decision of renting verses buying ON NUMBERS ALONE, then in the long run waiting to buy is better. However there is a pretty vast differential in terms of opinions (on this board) about the price of home ownership.

Financially I have what I call a reserve and I have a downpayment fund for a home. My reserve is a sum of money I have in case of a calamity, job loss, or a sudden interruption of income. This reserve is not measured by a dollar amount but is measured temporally. That is, the reserve is used to pay bills and such for about 1 year in case I cannot generate income. My downpayment fund for a home is a totally seperate entity.

I realize that many people do not have such a savings structure. Raising kids is not cheap and basically it is really hard to save money these days.

Again, I do think there will be some potential big savings down the road. Perhaps 20%, perhaps more. Even if you can wait another year you may find a 5-10% savings.

This is just my opinion though and I know renting sucks because I rent and I would rather enjoy home ownership then renting. Still, I have to look at the numbers and for me I have not found anything that adds up.

SD Realtor

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