The point I was trying to make was that I would not buy a home unless I got an incredible deal on one, so that in the case that I needed to pack up an move (for rotations or residency...since we are not guaranteed to end up where we want), that I would be able to do a quick transaction and not lose any money. Owning a home is a big pain, especially if you are not the one occupying it...as tenants can be hit or miss and could potentially cause you more added stress on top of being in medical school.
Foreclosure would be the most popular way to get a home for much cheaper than the appraised value...but you could just get lucky and find someone willing to sell their home a lot cheaper. For instance, my mom bought a condo one month ago from a woman who's husband just passed away....she bought it fully furnished as the woman did not want anything from it, and just wanted to get rid of it. The lady was asking 35,000 and my mom offered 8000 cash and the lady accepted it...it is appraised at a little over 40,000. That is one instance where I would say it would be safe to buy a place....however, I would not go take a mortgage out on a home for 200,000 when it is worth 200,000. This market in South Florida is not stable, and it may not become stable within the next 5 years...especially with presidential elections coming up. Just some food for thought.
There are some people in my class who have bought condos/homes and don't regret doing so...this is just my opinion. I personally bought a house 8 years ago, and I still owe about 40,000 more on it than it is worth...and I have tenants living there since I have to be here at school. Tenants pay late, don't take good care of your home (i.e., overflowed the toilet and didn't let me know about it because they "fixed it"....only to have a water leak show up on the 1st floor ceiling below that bathroom a few days later...etc).
To me, right now in this current market, the risk vs reward doesn't pay. But that is my opinion.
