I received a letter from a weary renter this morning:
"I'm a student from a local college, I have a family and I also work for the U.S Armed forces.
I would love to know how to move in and start purchasing this place (he was interested in one of my listings) or others like it.
I have been renting a place near your listing, we had an original lease of one year, then renewed our lease for an additional 9 months-which will be up in May.
I am tired of renting and would love to start paying on a place I can own. Please let me know what needs to be done to get into a place. You can reply to this email, or call us"
It's not hard to understand where his coming from. He's been faithfully paying his rent for one year and nine months and sees that at current home prices he can get a home with a monthly payment lower than his rent.
The house that he wanted would cost him about $432.45 in mortgage payments. The one that he is renting a few blocks away is costing him at least $800/month.
I think this man is wise not just for wanting to buy a house ("what a surprise Joe") but because he's not taking more than what he can handle--he's choosing to stay close to what he is already paying (even lower!).
Plus, the market in the $50,000 -$100,000 range is doing pretty darn good...
Demand:
(click to enlarge)
Median Price:
(click to enlarge)
Some people might go from 0 mph to 60 mph--from renting $800 to paying $1,500 in mortgage payment plus land taxes and higher utilities.
Yes, you do have tax breaks ($8000) and other benefits but I can't help but feel a bit concerned about the $700/month more coming out of their pockets.
But after everything has been said and done, studying the first time home buyer market (there are 273 homes in the $50,000-$120,000 market in Reno alone ) and rental rates ($700 to $1,2000)clearly tells us that now is a good time to buy.
Leave a comment