Lately, I have been really wishing I could buy a house. The prices are so low where I live it would be an ideal time to buy. However, I don't have a down payment saved, so my hands are tied.
I played with mortgage calculators online, and if I bought a $52,000 3 bed 2 bath starter home with 20% down ($10,400) at 5.5% my mortgage would be $236/month. It sounds great considering my current rent on a one bedroom apartment is $600/month plus utilities.
However, then I got to thinking--in my apartment, if there's a maintenance issue, the landlord takes care of it. I also don't pay property taxes here. I don't have to cut the grass--which I don't know how to do, so I'd have to hire a lawn company to come out and do that for me. And, I'd want to fix up the inside of a house I bought too and that would require the help of contractors. After adding in all those expenses, I'd probably be up to $600/month again, if not more.
The moral of the story? I'll keep renting for the time being. I do want to own a house in the future, but I want to be debt free and have 20% to put down on whatever I buy when it finally happens.
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Don't forget to figure homeowners insurance into the equation too. I'd guess that could add another $75-$100 a month to your payment. My insurance was around $1000 a year 14 years ago and now is around $1800, which adds $150 to my payment.
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