Live in apartment…or buy home..??

[James Mudd]

Soooo…here is my dilemma…should I stay living in an apartment while I accumulate rental properties so that I free up my debt ratio…for even more income properties?…or should I buy a home to live in and just accumulate properties as I can?…or maybe live there for 2 years with the ultimate goal of using it as an income property?…I have debated this for over 1 year…any help would be great…thanks !!!!

[Bryce Y.]

I take a contrarian view on this. I have thought about this extensively and have chosen to rent while I accumulate investment properties. I have a 4-plex and have debated living in one unit, but ultimately decided against it. First of all, it's not in a great area (not warzone, just not a great place to live imo). 2nd and most importantly is that I rented that unit out for 595. It costs me less to rent right now (I am living with a roommate). However, even if I decided to get a 1 bedroom or something, I'd only pay maybe 1-200 more than what it'd cost to rent that unit out. Plus you don't have to live in a less desirable area, don't have to live next to your tenants, and can live closer to work. Are those intangible benefits worth 1-200 per month? Only you can answer that.

Of course if you don't have the cash to put 20% down and FHA is your only option, then none of the above applies. (I am anti-FHA since they changed the PMI restrictions) I just believe that the benefits of home ownership are grossly overrated. I'll buy a home when I'm ready to live in it for at least 10-15 years.