To buy or not to buy a house. It’s a good question, and I’ve been thinking about it for at least a year. Last fall, I said I’d probably buy a house this summer. But summer is here and I am not house-hunting.
There are many reasons to buy a house. I want more space. I want my space. I want to actually have enough room to invite people over for dinner and movie-watching, I want to live in a nice comfy neighborhood. I want to be able to run from my house without worrying about getting hit by traffic on the major road next door. I won’t say that I want to be better off financially, because the houses don’t here just don’t appreciate fast enough to say that buying a house is definitely a better investment.
But there are many reasons to stay in an apartment (or at least to remain a renter). My lease is up in August, which means I’ll have to renew for 6 months, which means the soonest I’d move into a house (without suffering penalties) is February. And a big factor is that I don’t know what I’ll be doing past 2010. When the shuttle program ends, I don’t know if I’ll stay with NASA. There’s a chance — I don’t know how big of a chance, but it’s not extremely far-fetched — that I will be preparing to leave Houston within the next three years. Right now my rent is fairly reasonable, my apartment complex is nice, and I can afford to sock away a pretty good chunk into savings each month.
So one day I decide that I’m going to start looking. And the next day I decide to stay put. And that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing for a few months.
For the first time, I am having to consider the space shuttle launch schedule while trying to plan a vacation. This is no fun. See, we want to go to Japan. But STS-120 is scheduled for launch on October 20 and STS-122 is scheduled for December 6. I am working both launches, and Jose is working the entire October mission. Our proposed trip dates are in mid-November. Right now, 120 would land sometime around the first of November. But the more it slips, the more it pushes toward our first choice of vacation dates. Of course, it hasn’t slipped, and hopefully won’t slip. But it could.
Take your time and be sure! When you factor in all the “hidden” expenses of owning– both financial and in terms of your time, renting can be the better deal. This is especially true if you have any serious doubts about where you’ll be living for the next ten years or how much space you’ll need.
I’m 40 and only now seriously considering a house and that’s only because I accidentally came across an opportunity to get a place that appears to have just about everything I’ve ever wanted.
Be patient and be sure. You’re talking about one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make. Don’t get sucked into “everyone else is doing it” trap!
And good luck! Your dream home is out there. Waiting for it is just as smart as it was to wait for the right man!