gopherguy06Home ownership is not for everyone, especially if you are thinking you will be mobile. Buying and selling in short term, unless you think the market will spike is not a great plan.
I wanted my own place and hated living with roomies. I bought a condo because I didn’t want to deal with maintaining it as I was traveling 4 days a week for work. I didn’t want to shovel or mow the lawn, etc. and was easier to pay someone to do so. Plus, I got a great deal on a place downtown that is right on the river and close to everything. When I got married we moved to a townhouse in NE and perfect for the foreseeable future.
Also, strongly consider a 15 year mortgage. In the long run, you save on interest, may get a lower rate and the way I look at it, if your income is going to grow (through promotions, inheritance, getting married), then it is a smart move. While it may be hard at first to make the larger payment, your income growth will make it easier and likely in 5-7 years, you are half done and almost fully paid off.
Also, I read somewhere on a 30 year mortgage, if over the year, you pay one more payment than the 12 (13 instead of 12), it cuts your payoff from 30 to like 23-24 years or about 7 years.
Another great option is bi-weekly payments, since most get paid bi-weekly, easier to budget rather than one lump sum each month and same principal as before, where you are paying more off than the normal 12 pmts/year and you are allowing less interest in the month