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Im currently living in a rental apartment and my lease is up in May. My wife will be going to school up north starting next summer (May 2012) and we are wondering wether to buy something cheap to hold us over for a year or rent again.
Our current apartment is not what we expected it to be and we cannot wait to get out of here in May. This is why we are wondering if it would be beneficial to buy something cheap (short-sale/foreclosure), since it would be cheaper to buy than rent, and then try to sell it a year from now when we leave.
Or would it be wise to try and avoid all the homebuyer things like mortgages, closing costs, realtor fees, etc. and just find something else to rent for a year.
If you are wondering, we live in the Pembroke Pines area of Florida and the average rental cost of a 2/2 is around 1400.
Im currently living in a rental apartment and my lease is up in May. My wife will be going to school up north starting next summer (May 2012) and we are wondering wether to buy something cheap to hold us over for a year or rent again.
Our current apartment is not what we expected it to be and we cannot wait to get out of here in May. This is why we are wondering if it would be beneficial to buy something cheap (short-sale/foreclosure), since it would be cheaper to buy than rent, and then try to sell it a year from now when we leave.
Or would it be wise to try and avoid all the homebuyer things like mortgages, closing costs, realtor fees, etc. and just find something else to rent for a year.
If you are wondering, we live in the Pembroke Pines area of Florida and the average rental cost of a 2/2 is around 1400.
What would be the best choice?
Whats the cost of the house? For one year almost always it will be less expensive to rent then buy. You need to stay in house 5-10 years at least to really make it cheaper to buy then rent. A 2x2?
Whether it's better to buy versus rent depends on many factors - for instance, the local median rent, the local median home cost, the market trend up/down of home prices, length of time you plan to stay. There is always a tipping point based on the factors as to whether renting or buying is better than the other. You should do your own realistic cost analysis based on the area you are moving to. If you don't know how, the New York Times has an estimator that you can plug numbers into that will help you determine which is best. It was last updated last April 2010: Is It Better to Buy or Rent? - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com
If I knew I was only going to be staying for a year, in today's market, I would absolutely rent. No question.
It might be cheaper on a monthly basis to buy, but when you factor in closing costs at both ends, and likely no appreciation in 1 year, and possibly still more depreciation, it is a losing deal.
If you are looking at a one year time frame you should rent. It costs money to buy real estate and then it costs money to sell it. The Fort Lauderdale area (I live in Plantation) is stabilizing but even if you didn't lose money on the property you would be out your closing costs on both the buy and sell.
Ok, thank you.
The apartment we live in now, we found on craigslist.
Are there realtors that look for rentals and can help negotiate prices? I would like to find someone who can find us what we are looking for and negotiate the cost of utilities into the rent price if possible.
Definitely rent. Especially up north (you didn't say where), cost of living can be much higher than in FL given the taxes and utilities etc.
Even folks who are only considering refinancing their homes should consider carefully the closing costs because you will not even recoup your closing costs in a year. They could add as much as $4,000 to the bottom line price of your home, so you can easily divide that by 12 months for example.
One major consideration for you also is that renting in your case will be more flexible in the event your wife's or your new job doesn't work out and you decide to leave the area. If you buy, you will become a seller in a very dicey market.
Rent, and look around once you feel totally settled.
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