Renting v. Buying a Condo

Hi everyone -

I want to get some opinions on a rent vs. buy situation I’m thinking about right now.

Background - I’m 24 and live in downtown Chicago with my wife. We currently pay $1,725 a month for rent for a solid 1 bed/1 bath apartment. - We definitely plan on living in Chicago for the near future (I’d say at least 5 years), but I could see us moving elsewhere after that

Financial Situation - Current combined net worth is around $40,000 - Combined salary is $110,000 - We’d be looking for a condo between $150-200k - We’d put about $8,000 down with closing costs bringing the total upfront costs to $15,000 - The monthly mortgage/HOA/tax payment would be about the same as what we’re currently paying in rent - The two figures above were based on conversations I’ve had with two lenders

Pros of Buying - Building equity - No longer spending money on rent that we won’t get back - Freedom to make the place truly our own - Potential to rent it out even if we move - Opportune time to buy in downtown area due to COVID

Cons - Lose flexibility that comes with renting - Responsible for maintenance and unexpected costs of homeownership - Risk of market being down when we want to sell and not at least recouping closing costs

I definitely see pros and cons to continuing renting as well as buying. I guess the idea of buying is appealing to me because I feel like we waste so much money in rent and investing in (the right) real estate early on is a great way to start the foundation of long-term wealth.

We are very good at budgeting so I’m really not worried about it putting us in a bad place financially, I’m just more so questioning if this is the best use of our money right now.

Open to any and all opinions so let me know what y’all think!

submitted by /u/drh81996
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/ltdnbl/renting_v_buying_a_condo/