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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Should we buy or rent? ADVICE PLZ!
Hi everyone,
My fiance and I are getting married in about 10 months, but we are trying to plan out where we will live. Here is the dilemma: he is applying to jobs out of state because nothing is available in our town or surrounding area. We want to buy a house because the market is so GREAT, but on the other hand if we have to move due to his job, we don't want to go through the headache of trying to sell in this economy. We also want to do everything possible to stay in our town - our entire families are here and we want to begin a family shortly after getting married. I DO NOT want to have children out of state when I'm not near more family.
So, what are your recommendations? Rent or Buy? 
Kassidy's Mommy
www.kelsjohnston.blog.com
Baby Kassidy born sleeping on 11.5.2012
Rainbow Baby due 9.20.13
Re: Should we buy or rent? ADVICE PLZ!
I would rent if I were you.
The job situation could mean you have to pick up and leave, which after going through the trials of buying a house, probably won't be worth it.
You could probably get a great deal right now, but if you needed to leave and sell it again, you wouldn't be guaranteed to make your money back as the market is still in a state of up and down. We just bought our home via short sale in November for cheap, cheap, cheap (like insanely cheap) but it's still lost a bit of value. We bought with the mentality for the long run though-and that will save our investment, I'm sure.
The market is probably also not going to zoom back up any time soon, so you have plenty of time to decide. With the homebuyer tax credit gone now, the surplus of homes is bound to continue, driving the prices down or maintaining them.
Rent in an area you love, and save the house for after things are a bit more stable in your life. It will be worth it!
I would say if you have the money and credit to buy a house right now, do it. You'll be paying the same or less per month then if you rent. However you do have to consider what you're financial obligations are going to be in the next few years. If you want to start having kids soon then having a house would be great but that'll be added financial strain and you'd have to fit the out of state jobs thing into that too.
Have you thought about buying a house then renting it out if you do move out of state? Then you wouldn't have to stress about selling it again soon after buying and you could be paying the mortgage on it as well as possibly making money off of it. You would just have to consider what it would be like to have renters but then you have the option of having a house in the area of your family if/when you do move back and start a family.
Not sure I helped sorry, but we've been considering the same things recently so this is just what's on my mind.
I would rent. It is a great time time buy, but it will be a great time to buy for the next 3-5 years. There was an article last week about the market here dropping another 10% in the next year--ouch for owners, good for buyers.
I own a rental and it's a big.fat.headache sometimes, and it is 10 minutes from my house. I think being an out of town landlord would be even worse. It doesn't mean you couldn't do it, just really weigh all your options first.
All that being said, I love home ownership and getting to make your space your own. Good luck in your decision!
I would definately rent. Like PP said, the market here is too unstable if you think you will need to sell. My mom bought a foreclosed house for dirt cheap less than a year ago and the value has already gone down. She's also renting it out and it's been a headache. She wasn't able to get her full mortgage payment in rent (about $50 short a month) and she has had to put money in to the house to fix little things.
Also, it's not always cheaper to buy vs. rent. DH and I were paying about $300 less a month for a rental than we do for our mortgage and that's not even including the money out of pocket we have to pay for maintenance and upkeep.
As great as home ownership sounds, it's not always the best solution. In your situation, it definately doesn't sound like a good idea.
I would have to say rent if you're not sure!
You can always buy later, it's a lot harder to go the other way around. If you buy something here, and end up having to leave, you will have to worry about mortgage AND rent payments where ever you go for jobs. Renting it is an option... but as others have said, it can be a HUGE headache, especially if you're not close to really keep an eye on things.
I would rent. FI and I are in the same situation, although we've been renting from his sister for the past 2 years. He will be looking for a new job come March and as much as I want to buy a house, its not feasible right now. I don't know where we're going to be and I would rather just pick up and leave if we need to rather than find a renter that I can trust.
Horror story, my brother rented his house out before it was sold to a friend. She ended up having about 7 cats who sprayed all around the house and peed everywhere, she was also late every month. When they finally kicked her out they had to replace the dry wall, the carpets and get professional cleaning for whatever could be salvaged. Sometimes renting is just not worth it.
I would buy an investment home. Something you can get relatively cheap (maybe a short sale or foreclosure), fix up quickly, then live in while you're here. Then if you move you can either try to sell or just rent it out for several hundred (or even more) above the mortgage. This can help off-set the mortgage or rent at wherever you want to move. I have a friend who does this who has 3 houses in three different cities. He rents them all out for twice what he pays for and lives in a HUGE house in Dallas now and doesn't pay a lick of mortgage because he makes so much on the 3 rental houses.
You can get a nice condo or small house for $75,000ish will be about a $600-700 mortgage (on the higher side) and a 3/2 in a lot of areas of Phoenix rent for $1000+.
And yes, I've been doing A LOT of research on the housing market and rental market lately!
This. I own a townhouse in Scottsdale that I rent out now that I do not live there anymore. We also bought a house here in Vegas knowing that we may move in a few years and have to rent it out then. If, and only if, your financial situation is one that you could afford the mortgage even if you moved then I think you should buy. I personally believe that real estate is one of the best long term investments you can make. Luckily for us we have been able to rent out our townhouse with no major issue (mainly because it is near old town though) but we could also afford to pay the mortgage if for some reason it went unrented for a period of time.