When my wife got accepted to West Chester University in SE PA, we went looking for a place to rent in the nearby area. Coming from Harrisburg, where I could rent a house for $500/mo, I was blown away that a 2br apartment generally ran $1200/mo (Stop snickering, New Yorkers)
We decided to buy a 2br fixer-upper on the cheap and ended up with a mortgage of ~$600/mo. That was five years ago. We've since renovated the crap out of the house (it's now the nicest on the block), bought a second house in Philadelphia (wife's getting her PhD at Penn now, and I can now walk to work), and are about to put it out for rent. We'll be getting at least $1200/mo for it.
Renting's okay while you get your financial situation together. Maybe most people shouldn't live paycheck to paycheck. You don't have to be well off in order to make a budget. If you look at my social security statements, I was making jack squat while I lived in York PA, and still managed to squirrel money aside.
Some people's lifestyles are more conducive to renting. I quite like having a place I can mangle and customize as I see fit. Some people like not having to worry about maintaining their building and grounds. Maybe when I can't do things for myself, I'll go back to having a landlord, but especially given how low mortgage rates are right now, I feel fortunate to have bought a house or two.
You and your PhD wife do not sound average, which serves my point that buying a house is a gamble on future earnings. You both are investing in yourselves, improving your assets and generating wealth. The average American watches 4 hours of television a day, he isn't prudent.
> Maybe most people shouldn't live paycheck to paycheck.
We decided to buy a 2br fixer-upper on the cheap and ended up with a mortgage of ~$600/mo. That was five years ago. We've since renovated the crap out of the house (it's now the nicest on the block), bought a second house in Philadelphia (wife's getting her PhD at Penn now, and I can now walk to work), and are about to put it out for rent. We'll be getting at least $1200/mo for it.
Renting's okay while you get your financial situation together. Maybe most people shouldn't live paycheck to paycheck. You don't have to be well off in order to make a budget. If you look at my social security statements, I was making jack squat while I lived in York PA, and still managed to squirrel money aside.
Some people's lifestyles are more conducive to renting. I quite like having a place I can mangle and customize as I see fit. Some people like not having to worry about maintaining their building and grounds. Maybe when I can't do things for myself, I'll go back to having a landlord, but especially given how low mortgage rates are right now, I feel fortunate to have bought a house or two.