Is a mortgage the right way to go for me?

walkman12

Hi Everyone,

I'm very grateful to have found this forum as I'm in need of some practical advice.

I'm 26, living in a major city on the East Coast, and I'm currently paying $1,730 per month to rent a small studio apartment with my girlfriend. We share the rent so we're paying $865 each. Between the two of us we earn about $100k/year before taxes.

I feel like what we're doing is a major waste of money, because after years and years of paying this rent, we will own nothing. I do have the resources to put a down payment down on a small apartment (I could probably spend $20k), but I couldn't afford to do much more. This would limit me to a small studio or one bedroom apartment if I want to keep my mortgage payments even with my current rent. However, I wouldn't be able to afford the kind of place I'd like to be living in 10 years from now when I'm making better money.

Is it foolish to lock myself into a mortgage now on a small place that I know I'd like to move out of in 10 years? I know a mortgage would probably be better for me financially if I was going to do it for the long term, but I'm wondering if it is worth my while to do it now.

Any and all advice is much appreciated.

John1993_2

You've comme to a UK based site. Our mrtgages are pretty different to yours, in terms of obligations and benefits, so you are probably better off trying to ask the question again on a US based site, sorry.

As a general point, although you do expect to be better off financially in the long-run if you buy, the difference is not so great as it might at first appear, as you need to start accounting for repairs and maintenance, keeping your house modern (i.e. updating kitchens etc), and so on. You also have far less freedom to move easily if your cirrcumstances change.