Buying a condo in dental school

[DoWork91]

Hey did anyone buy a home or condo during or before dental school? Can you share your experiences and how you made the monthly mortgage payments? Has it been worth it? Why did you choose to do so over renting?

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[OU11BB]

if you find the right property its a good deal. you need to find one that has no apparent problems at the right price. one thing you get with owning is taxes insurance, maintenance etc that I feel are overlooked. the way i saw it was i could dump 50k into rent or 50k into my own home. I choose buying and it was not a difficult decision.

 

[divertete]

As someone who bought a condo in undergrad, I would wholeheartedly say don't do it, unless you can pay for it in cash and/or know that you will also be living and practicing in the same city after you graduate. It is just so much more expensive than you realize... the biggest factor is association dues (mine are $300/mo) that are over and above your mortgage payment. There's maintenance of course. But another huge factor is the sad fact of amortization schedules which mean that your mortgage payments are mostly interest for the first many years. If you're selling the place in 4 years, you won't have nearly the equity you are hoping for. As I said, I bought a condo in undergrad, moved to another city for dental school, and now 5 years out of school I still (unwillingly) own the place and rent it out at a monthly loss. Yes, I had some larger circumstances like the housing market crash and major major building repairs (I had to pay ~1/3 the value of my unit in repair costs, which I will never recover, due to some shoddy mid-90's construction practices that are very common in condos) but looking back I still think it was a terrible idea even if those things hadn't happened!

 

[Shunwei]

As someone who bought a condo in undergrad, I would wholeheartedly say don't do it, unless you can pay for it in cash and/or know that you will also be living and practicing in the same city after you graduate. It is just so much more expensive than you realize... the biggest factor is association dues (mine are $300/mo) that are over and above your mortgage payment. There's maintenance of course. But another huge factor is the sad fact of amortization schedules which mean that your mortgage payments are mostly interest for the first many years. If you're selling the place in 4 years, you won't have nearly the equity you are hoping for. As I said, I bought a condo in undergrad, moved to another city for dental school, and now 5 years out of school I still (unwillingly) own the place and rent it out at a monthly loss. Yes, I had some larger circumstances like the housing market crash and major major building repairs (I had to pay ~1/3 the value of my unit in repair costs, which I will never recover, due to some shoddy mid-90's construction practices that are very common in condos) but looking back I still think it was a terrible idea even if those things hadn't happened!

You also have to account for property taxes as well. In the end real estate might be a good long-term investment but short-term wise it can go wildly either way. A friend of mine bought a house in dental school just before the 2008 crash and by the time he was graduated he sold his house at a 60k loss. I'd also be weary of buying a house before figuring out if you want to purchase a dental practice as the mortgage can make banks hesitant towards extending additional loans.

 

[DentalDoc2016]

I bought a condo right before dental school started and i'll live in it until I graduate and probably for some time after. One of the best financial decisions I've ever made. BUT like those above me have said, if you don't find a great deal, you could really put yourself in a bind. My mortgage payments are 1/3 of what my classmates pay in rent, and my homeowners fees are about $150 per month. Even if my property did not increase in value after 5 years and I sold it for what I paid for (or even less), at least i'm getting some money back -- if you pay rent you are losing 100% of the money you put in.

 

[sacapuntas]

I bought a condo right before dental school started and i'll live in it until I graduate and probably for some time after. One of the best financial decisions I've ever made. BUT like those above me have said, if you don't find a great deal, you could really put yourself in a bind. My mortgage payments are 1/3 of what my classmates pay in rent, and my homeowners fees are about $150 per month. Even if my property did not increase in value after 5 years and I sold it for what I paid for (or even less), at least i'm getting some money back -- if you pay rent you are losing 100% of the money you put in.

Plan to pay between 8-10% of your sale price to real estate agents, closing costs etc. Your property will need to appreciate somewhat for you to break even. It makes you sick after you buy and sell a few properties when you realize how much real estate agents make in commissions vs. how little work they actually do. The commission rates are still the same as the olden days before the internet made being an agent an easy gig.