In Medias Res #15- My condo is my baby

I need to move. Not right away, but between the commute and some impending construction delays I really would prefer to be closer to work. As much as I like my neighborhood I find myself spending more time away from home, and driving around to get to all my favorite places is getting old. I want to reduce my carbon footprint, dear readers. I want to be the kind of person a Nobel laureate like Al Gore could love.
Now, I won’t be moving for a good six months. That said, I want to get a sense of what’s out there, where I would live, and what I can get for my money. To that end, I stopped in a real estate office this weekend in one of the neighborhoods I have my eye on. As I was talking to the realtor he was explaining the benefits of home ownership. Dear reader, In Medias Res is not a sucker. I know any real estate agent is going to try and talk you into buying a house. That’s their job. I try and talk young people into spending thousands of dollars to sit in a classroom for four years on a regular basis. That’s my racket.
But it did make me think about why I wasn’t even considering buying. I’m still young, and although that’s a factor its not really a compelling one. If I’m making money, and I can save money, should I not be investing what little I can? That would presumably be the primary advantage of investing at a young age: a small amount of money can go further. Student affairs, of course, is a pretty fluid profession. Lots of people move around from school to school, but people tend to stay at my institution for quite a few years. Realistically, barring any major change of circumstance, I imagine I would stay here until I decide to go back for my Phd (which would put me at 3-5 years).
Here’s the advantages as I see them:
I’m building equity.
I have the autonomy and freedom to do what I want with my space.
Some of the houses I’m looking at (and yes in this depressed market I can
probably afford a house) have 2 or 3 bedrooms, and a friend has already
expressed interest in renting an inexpensive bedroom.
Gives me a sense of stability.
It would (most likely) eat into more of my income than rent.
Here are some of the disadvantages:
I’m responsible every time something breaks.
It makes it harder to leave. I’ve basically put down roots.
I might lose money on the house if I have to sell quickly (or the market changes).
I’m not throwing money away on rent.
Honestly, it bugs the crap out of me that my rent money just disappears into the ether. I also hate having a landlord. This may just be my experience, but in general I’ve never been happy with any landlord I’ve had. They’re not responsive. They don’t particularly care about me, more about the condition of the apartment. Everything is a struggle.
I know buying a place wouldn’t be problem free. Houses require upkeep, maintenance, and furniture (the last of which I own very little of). That said, they would be problems I can immediately address since they will be problems I have literal ownership over.
Now, a million things could change between now and the end of the school year. But isn’t that a neat holiday wish? In Medias Res: Homeowner, Blogger, Handsome Sumbitch.