what to do?????

[andyready5]

I'm new in the military (E-4) and just received orders to South West Florida. We had been saving for a home in case we received orders to New England (home sweet home!). Now We have 50,000 sitting in a savings account.

We looked into buying homes in the Fort Myers area but don't want to be stuck with it when we transfer in 4 years. However 4 years of rent is flushing 48,000 down the drain! nice places can be found from 50 to 100 k. What should we do with the $$?

I already have a TSP (military retirement plan) set up and contribute 20% monthly.
We are both debt free and 28 years old.
My wife is a teacher and should be able to find a job in the area.
We would love to buy a home after this tour but where should we invest until then.

any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for all your help!

[bjl584]

Standard advice is to not buy a home unless you know that you will be living in it a minimum of 5 years. When you are ready to buy you should have 20% down payment, a 6 month emergency fund in place, and the house should not cost more than 3 times your annual salary.

[snafu]

Brian has offered sound advice; buying a house is a huge commitment with significant potential for major loss in this horrid housing market place. Personally I'd work through the long list of unknowns. 1st wife get's teaching contract, next lower cost accommodation either smaller and less expensive or special arrangement with military family needing a good tenant during deployment or house share if you can relinquish a modicum of privacy. Reward yourself with extra special vacations for example. Rental can offer several benefits and is not necessarily a waste of money. Your current house DP savings could be invested for decent return

[terces]

Definitely don't buy the house. Hubby was military and we had many friends who made the plunge to buy a house only to be transferred elsewhere. Many got stuck with a house they couldn't sell or dealing with rental problems from far away.

Don't think of rent as flushing your money away. Plus you do get BAH to cover part of that housing cost. A house will cost a whole lot more than that $50,000 mortgage when you start adding, insurance, taxes, repairs & maintenance, etc.

[Josh28]

A;

you don't purchase home quickly first live there and than decide its suitable for you than you buy that.and buy a new home on installment bases......

[Tree0164]

I wouldn't buy a house unless you are going to be in there area 5-7 years atleast. You don't know if your house will sell and you could be under water.

[dczech09]

Next time you think of rent as "flushing your money away" think about all the interest that you would pay on a mortgage. Also think of all of the maintenance costs and upkeep that you would be responsible for.

Never base a rent vs buy decision on whether or not you are throwing money away. Instead, base it on your individual situation.

You could make a down payment, have an emergency fund, continue saving for retirement, AND be debt free aside from the house. However, you're military and you are in a situation where moving in just a few short years is highly probable. You stated 4 years until transfer.

I would rent. Follow everyone else's advice and don't buy unless you will be there at least 5 years.

Conventional wisdom is that people who are active military or in the early years of self-employment should not buy.