Should I buy or continue to rent?

Question

I pay $925 per month for a big one bedroom. Should I buy a unit which is just down the street for $190,000. I live in Jersey City, NJ. The unit that I am renting now is a little bit bigger than the one I would be buying, however, the one I'm buying is on the top floor which I like because it's quiet, whereas now I am on the 4th out of 5 floors. If i get a mortgage the monthly payments would be about $1400 including taxes (1400 per year) and maint is 250/month. What should I do?

Answer 1

So the monthly on rent is 925 and the monthly mortgage payment on the smaller one is 1650 plus any repairs?

Wow! I would have to believe house prices were just about to rocket up to buy in that situation. How long would the rent stay so cheap do you figure?

I am a Realtor and hated it when I rented, but I never have a huge negative incentive like that! I think I would rent and watch month by month to see if my rent goes up or the prices go down. If the difference was $200 or so it would be a no brain-er but at $725 difference I would rent.

Answer 2

Rent for now. The market is "soft" in most parts of the united states. Contents insurance would also be costly but if the unit above you has a water bed "mishap" then your stuff inside is your own problem. That will take the cost up even more.
But this is just my opinion, so if you really, really love the top floor and want to pay that much then go for it.
Good luck!

Answer 3

sorry, but the answer is "it depends", on many other factors. First, how long are you committed to staying in the area? Not planning, but committed. Renting, you can pull up stakes quickly, owning, might not be able to leave for months/years. Financially, the rent looks better, unless you can expect huge appreciation. Have you considered investing the $475 difference per month? It will probably appreciate better than the value of the purchased unit.

Answer 4

If you plan on staying another 5 years in that town ,
Go for the mortgage .
If you think you will be relating soon , don't .

FYI - the $250 maint is NOT tax deductible , only
the % and taxes .
And pay 20% down so you don't have PMI .

Answer 5

Wait it out.

Mortgage re-sets are about to hit the real estate market big time.

Look at the mortgage resets for the subprime mortgage market next year.

Aug (07) 52 Billion Dollars
Sep 58
Oct 55
Nov 52
Dec 58
Jan (08) 80
Feb 88
Mar 110!!! WOW
Apr 92
May 72
June 75
July 50

Answer 6

Well, look at the pros and cons of both. I continue to rent because after all of my monthly bills, I don't have much left. If something major happened to my house and I owned it...I don't know that I could afford to fix it. Of course, if I COULD own I would simply for the investment.