PP.
Typo: "difference between owning a condo (can't afford SHF in NArlington) and renting is about $350~400/month."

The $1250/month Apt went up to $1450 after we moved out.

We are sort of in a similar situation as OP, but our biggest mistake was to giving up our tiny 1BR Apt with only $1250/month rent in a sort-after nighborhood (old and small, but extremely convenient) and moved to 2BR Apt with $2100/month rent when baby arrived.
We realized soon after our move that we could of stayed in the tiny Apt until baby is 3~4 yrs old. Baby will not need his/her own room at that young age.
Now, with the daycare fee on top of the rental, it is killing us.

And, of course this slows down the speed to save up a sizable downpayment.

When we compared the numbers, the diffrence between wning a condo and renting is about $350~400/month.

So, How much should ths "substantial diference" number be before you break even or safely say "yes, you are better off bying than renting"?

Anonymous wrote:The advice to rent makes sense if it is cheaper to rent than to pay a mortgage. However, that is often not the case in this area. It is easy to get trapped into a cycle in which you are paying so much in rent you can't save enough to buy in this area.

I agree with this so much. It's only after a few raises that we're not able to start putting aside real money towards a down payment and it will still take 2 years for us to save up 10-15%!

I think you need to do a bit of cost-benefit analysis here. Sure, owning is riskier but if the mortgage+HOA+insurance+maintenance will be significantly cheaper than rent then you'll be able to make quicker progress towards your savings goals by buying. We're in the process of making these calculations now - they're complicated - but we'll actually be able to pay off our student loans much fast once we own than if we continue to rent. As a risk averse person, I initially preferred to pay off the loans entirely before taking on another loan, but DH convinced me by showing me the numbers and it just doesn't make sense to keep renting. We've compromised on agreeing to save up 15% before buying instead of going for an FHA.

Good luck OP!

Anonymous wrote:You're outta the loop re rent. 2250 is standard for a one bedroom in dc, arlington, Bethesda etc. Most two bedrooms run between 2900 and 3600.

This is not universally true. I pay MUCH less for a one bedroom in a cushy area of Arlington that people on this board fall over themselves to buy in. Yeah, it's not luxury and has zero amenities, but we decided to suck it up for a few years in order to save for a house. The PP who mentioned the "rent trap" of this area is spot on.

We are in a very similar situation. Expecting in February, HHI is 98K and we've been saving for a downpayment. By the time the baby comes we'll have about 30K in our house fund in addition to emergency savings. Also have retirement at 13 and 12 percent (that's with matching contributions). We've recently realized that we will have to rent for another year or two while we deal with daycare costs (which may take some dipping into our house fund) and figure out where we even want to live.

OP something you said stood out to me--that you've noticed that most people who post on here own there own home. That's true and the more I read the more I sometimes start to get down about our financial situation and lack of home ownership. We're both passionate about our jobs but spent years in grad school and we work in low-paying fields. However, then I remember that there's no rule that says you need to own a house by the time you have a kid. Most people here earn far more than I ever will, but I also see a lot of "we took on too big of a mortgage" or "we're struggling on 200K/year" posts. Your rent is high so maybe buying a house would be a good move for you, but my guess is you are looking in a similar price range to us and without a larger downpayment you may still be facing a large mortgage. There's also the hidden costs of homebuying to consider--all of my friends who own told me they were shocked at how much additional money they spent fixing minor things on the house, painting, and furnishing the place when transitioning from apartment to house.

Based on your numbers, I'd say maybe you should wait 1-2 years before buying. You could rent someplace cheaper, and in a few years the daycare costs will go down slightly as your child moves from infant to toddler.