to rent or to buy?

Pros of each:

BUYING PROS:

• Monthly payments are like putting away into a savings account (towards your equity.)
• Job security – we know for a fact we will be in this city for the next 4-8 years if not longer.
• The thought of moving AGAIN in the next year makes me nauseous. I am a bad decorator when I know I am leaving in a few months. What's the point when it might not fit in the next place you live? I would love to finally settle in and buy curtains.
• Great time to buy.
• Sense of freedom to create your own.

RENTING PROS:

• A landlord is responsible. StuDoc will not be accessible to do as many honey-to-dos around the house as he would like (as I would like). Therefore, it would be nice to have someone else responsible and to turn to. I like to think I can do a lot on my own, but lets be honest... I can't even reach the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets without climbing on the counters.
• A chance to figure out what is important to us when we do buy.
• We don't feel comfortable using our loan money given to us to buy a house. For example, using a loan to pay a loan. It is important to us to always live within our means and never take more than we NEED.
• Take the time to get to know the area (communities, school districts, all those things to consider when re-selling).

The ideal situation would be rent the first year and buy it the following year if we really enjoy the property. If the PERFECT house presents itself we will consider. Here are some things that are important to us while we are searching.

1. Close to campus. – at our pre-orientation at TCOM there was one family who lived 2 blocks away and was able to meet and have lunch and dinner with her husband and their little girl on campus everyday. Another woman said that they bought a house in a cute little town outside of the big city and it was the worst decision they made. It took her husband 45 minutes to get to campus. What a waste of time driving.
2. Backyard – a good backyard for Boss. This apartment dog deserves it! He will just need to learn to be a little more independent and not have to ALWAYS be around people. As cute as he is, this gets really annoying sometimes.
3. Three-four bedrooms - It is important to this StuDoc to have a nice, quiet, organized study room. This will help our time management and give him a chance to spend more time at home. Since we will not be able to travel much, we want to have enough space for people to come visit us.
4. Open kitchen - I have realized growing up how important having a large open kitchen is to me. When my brother and I would come home from college or family would visit, it was always the kitchen where we would meet, eat, and greet. It allowed my parents to make dinner provide snacks, but not be secluded from conversation.

It is exciting to think that we will soon be picking out OUR FIRST HOME.