23M should I buy a townhouse?
So the details. I have about $100k I make about $5200 a month before taxes purely off my job plus investments but this will go up to about $6k a month if I buy a townhouse. I’ve never rented before still live at home, my reasons for buying are, 1 a place to live, 2 it’s basically cheaper than renting. 3. My job is fairly stable and if not I get paid out. The ones I’m looking at are $250-300k im looking to put 20% down. Idk much about real estate so I’ll probably find an agent to help with knowing what to look for.
From a financial perspective is this sound? high 700s credit score but my credit is only 14 months old. No loans or debts.
23. Should I buy a townhouse?
byu/Round-Huckleberry570 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Round-Huckleberry570
1 Comment
Honestly for 23 you’re in a really solid spot, but I’d slow down a bit before jumping straight to buying just because it’s “cheaper than renting.”
You’ve never lived on your own, so you don’t actually know what you want yet or what your real monthly burn rate is with utilities, furniture, repairs, etc. I’d run the full monthly cost on a specific place PITI, HOA, utilities, maintenance, closing costs and compare that to renting for a year while you stack more cash and make sure you actually like the area and lifestyle.
Financially it’s not wild if you’ve still got a good emergency fund after the down payment, but from a life experience standpoint renting first for 6 to 12 months would probably save you from locking into something you outgrow fast.