is it worth it to buy a house?

[Anonymous]

OP do the math. Will the interest rate tax write-off make home ownership a better deal? ppl tend to forget that nice perk when theyre calculating costs of ownership v renting.

We're DI WITH kids and still rent -- mainly bc i think housing will still drop further than it is now but also bc I dream of leaving DC so I don't want anything tying me to this area.

[Anonymous]

I would consider buying a condo and then selling it and moving to a house when your kid is 3 or so. Renting doesn't give you any equity.

[Anonymous]

Rent in the neighborhood where you want to buy, and so when you are ready you will be able to move on something with complete confidence.

[Anonymous]

Yes, if you plan to stay in this area six or more years.

[Anonymous]

In this area, yes.

[Anonymous]

OP, where are you located? I can't imagine your future mortgage being 2.5x your rent-- It seems most people find a mortgage that is equal to or even less than they pay now.
Say you find a home with a $2k mortgage- that means your rent is only $800?

[Anonymous]

For the OP, it seems to make more sense to rent rather than own. For the time being at least. Like a PP, I would also like to point to the mortgage interest deduction, which has made an absolutely huge difference on my tax bill to the tune of about $10k.

[Anonymous]

The NY Times has a useful calculator to help you answer this question: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/business/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2.5x is a lot. Put away that much money a month and some money for expenses for a couple of months first and see how it feels. 10% down doesn't seem like much either do you also have an 8-12 month emergency fund?

Yes. We have the emergency fund in addition to the 10% downpayment and no debts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, where are you located? I can't imagine your future mortgage being 2.5x your rent-- It seems most people find a mortgage that is equal to or even less than they pay now.
Say you find a home with a $2k mortgage- that means your rent is only $800?

OP here. Do you even live in this area? There's no such thing as 800 a month rent or even 2k mortgage for that matter. We're not interested in living in a far out burb if that's what you're referring to...