Should I buy or rent?

[Timothy Metra]

I work as a contractor (temp) but the pay is good. My job is expected to last at least 3 years. It could potentially become permanent, but I'm not into putting that thought into my head for the moment.

I'm debating on one of the two situations:

1.) Buy a nice (possibly new) mobile/manufactured home in cash. This would take about 1.5 years of savings. Something modest, but I have a lot of construction experience and can add onto the home to raise the value minimally. I know mobile homes drop in value easily, but they stay relatively the same in my market. I work a lot, I'm super clean, and the additions would at least hold the value. I could get 5 acres and a mobile home in cash for about $50,000 total in 1.5 years. My lease ends in 6 mos.

2.) Just rent and save the $50,000. Continue to rent, and save and save. My monthly expenses are about $1,500 a month. I could easily save about $70,000 in 3 years, but I would like to make enough residual income on the side of my job to not have to stay here the whole 3 years.

Any suggestions?