First of all, good for you for thinking this out intelligently instead of just rashly jumping in! Honestly, unless you have at least three-six months savings for a dedicated emergency fund you really have no business buying a home in this economy. You can't depend on consistently having a job. I say this as someone who has watched my parents struggle because they both lost a job. Imagine if you buy a condo and lost your job the next month and at the same time the water heater blows and your car breaks down (this actually happened to someone I know). What then? I don't know what the most recent estimate is, but last I heard it takes, on average, about 7-8 months to find a job. My husband and I are trying to make this same decision, and I would rather have our monthly expenses as low as possible in case an emergency happens. It sounds like you have a good thing going at your parents. I would stick it out a little longer, pay off the loans, build up a nice emergency fund and down payment.
One exception is if it is a phenomenal deal that you will never ever see again. And in that case make sure you get a home inspection first (do this anyway).
Last edited by Seashell84; 07-26-2013 at 06:20 AM.
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