to buy or not to buy....

Go with a sub-prime loan...you just can't lose.

Take a couple thousand bucks to buy a car good enough to get around in and get rid of the car and car payment you now have. A car is a depreciating asset and is the last thing you want to spend a lot of money on when you are young.

Get a 30 year mortgage on the coop with an interest only option. At 6.5%, your payment would be about a thousand bucks a month or 36% of your take home pay. You should be able to handle that payment. The most important thing you need to concentrate on is cash flow. With little reserves, this is very important.

As you start earning more money and are able to have a few thousand in reserve, you can then pay principle on the coop and get a nicer car if you choose. By owning real estate which is an appreciating asset (most of the time)as soon as possible, you will be better off in the long run.

OR

Stay at your parents and stick that thousand bucks in the bank every month for two years. With 25 grand in the bank, you will be in a much better position to buy real estate in the future.

If things look like they "could be tight," then the simple and correct answer is, don't do it. Kill off those student loans and car payments, then look at buying. Don't get yourself into bigger debt unless it's a deal that's too good to pass up, which it looks like this isn't. Looks like there may be some pressure on you to buy your sister's place and help her out, no?

But then again, I'm a huge proponent of living debt-free. Stay with the family, kill off all loans, save a down payment and buy something nice. And NEVER buy a car on loan again. A car is just transportation, and

Alabaster wrote:

Go with a sub-prime loan...you just can't lose.

No need for gov't intervention. The market is correcting itself and many sub-prime lenders will go bankrupt. That is good news for the rental business. Foreclosures cost the bank 14-18 thousand each. When the higher interest from the others can't make up for that, the companies will lose money and will tighten their lending practices.

Find a roommate, and buy the place yourself. Charge the roommate 1-3 to 1-2 of the cost of the monthly payment. I would rather live with a roommate than family at 24.

thanks for the different opinions. i think i'm going to wait it out a little bit longer, save up some money, and hopefully in a year or 2 the market will go down some more. my sister bought the place a few years ago for 135k, and today she could probably sell for close to 190k. though i'd love to have my own place, for now it seems more intriguing to save up some while still having the opportunity to spend a little bit on different training/racing adventures (while i'm young enough).

thanks again...

If you do opt for the 2nd choice, stick that $ in an ING Orange savings account. You'll earn 4.5% w/o tying up your $ for when you need it for a down payment. Good luck.

It's a horrible time to buy. Put the extra money in that Orange savings account the other person recommended. Don't let people talk you into buying right now. You did the numbers, you know it'll be tight. What if you lose your job? Do you have reserves to be able to pay a few months bills? What if your car breaks? Rent somewhere stress free.