[magellan]

Originally Posted by mostie

I always figure that if you're paying monthly, you're giving that money to someone else if you rent-

When you have a mortgage, you ARE giving that money to someone else. Probably 90% of it goes to interest, the rest to principle. On a $100,000 house with 20% down, you might be putting $100 or so toward principle, tops. Over 12 months, that's only $1200. If you have to use an agent to sell your home, which most people do especially in a soft market, than you pay 6% or $6000. So that's five years of principle to pay for that realtor. Don't forget to add in maintenance, which will be a lot since a $100,000 won't be brand new. Then add in property taxes and homeowners insurance. Plus other things that a landlord usually picks up, like mowing the lawn and sometimes utilities.

Just a thought.

[KKRA]

Buy or rent: it's a tough decision to make. We've always bought but haven't always profitted with all our home sales due to several factors. First, we didn't stay long enough (because of job relos) to profit. Second, with several states we've lived in (Michigan is one of these states), you have to figure in 1% of the sale of your home going to the state of MI at the closing. This is the seller's obligation. Then you need to also add in the RE agent's commission when a home is sold. All these "hidden" costs add up, and moreso when little or not profit is involved. When we bought our home in MI five years ago, we thought for sure we'd see a profit in only a few years. We are now in the same position as too many others, having what is called an "upside down" mortgage (owing more than what the house could be sold for). It's an ironic situation because now we could move anywhere we wanted (the job has evolved into this fortunate status) but can't because of the economy. I would suggest that you rent a home for the few years you are here because, even though you are "paying someone else's mortgage", as others have written, you are free of the stress, worry, maintenance, and other issues (many of them financially responsible ones) associated with having to sell a home. A year or more from now we may all, hopefully, be telling a different story. The recession may be a thing of the past and house prices could start rising again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with this thought. You also need to live in a state for a while to acclimate yourself to the newness of the place and decide whether you like it or not. I've lived in six states and haven't liked most of them for one reason or another. Since you didn't post where you are moving from, it can't be determined if you're from a place that is vastly different from Grand Blanc. You might ask others from that area of MI to give you more details about life there (unless you already know the area well or have posted other threads). The decision is ultimately between you and your husband. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.