<prompt> Human: Hello there, I am a long time lurker of this sub just looking at posts that may help me in the future. I made a throw away since it might not be hard to identify me with the given information. For a little background: I recent graduated with a bachelors degree and have been couch surfing until I can find a job. Just got an offer for 72k that I accepted. Dont really have a home to return to. Anyways if you guys could help shine some light into some gray areas I have with transitioning into housing I would sincerely appreciate it. Ill just list them below.Renting?Seems like a money sink to me. Id ideally want that payment going towards something tangible like a mortgage. Though thanks to a certain rroomates subreddit I am able to have ample opportunities to room with others.Mortgage?This seems like the best way to go. I have a couple of friends that have mortgages on a housecondo and thier loving it. They say it was surprisingly easy to get one. I did some online mortgage calculator and it said I would be making enough to take one. Im shooting for a 200k condo or something very similar. I do have a bit of a catch though. Though I have no sort of good natured relationship with my parents, they have took out college loans for me which amounts to 60k, which I intend to pay back. But since theyre not in my name it looks like they wont hinder my chances of getting approved? I understand that this would be an expense that I should account for. You guys also talk about putting that 20 down to avoid mortgage insurance, but would that extra cost not be worth it for me considering I cant really couch surf at this one place forever. Would mortgage insurance not be less than the cost of a 1 year lease at 650 a month and the opportunity cost of missing a great place I could mortgage?Ideally Id like a place with 3 bedrooms and maybe I could lease them out, until I start a family or something? In my target area these places exist easily in the sub 200k range. Maybe I am looking too far ahead, I do not even know where to begin mortgage shopping besides my own bank.---Other than standard expenses this would really it. I have no need for a car, and would use public transportation as all the places I am looking at in the target location are near train. Thanks for hearing me out. If you could drop a piece of advice that would be lovely, help this clueless kid transition from couch to world.EDIT: Thanks for your input guys. Didnt quite get the downvotes on my comment about it being likely that I would stay in the city but I suppose thats just an unfortunate part of Reddit. Regardless, you guys really put things into perspective for me. The risk involved with rushing into a house paired with the months couch surfing while the mortgage process would go through is just too much for me. Im signing onto a 1 year lease with fellow redditors and will hopefully have enough saved by then. I find additional solace in considering the rent as an alternative to the PMI payments I would have otherwise been paying. Cheers. Assistant: Renting? Seems like a money sink to me.long term, yes. you probably dont want to make a permanent lifestyle of renting. but buying a house when youre broke, or otherwise in a bad position, is a recipe for disaster. even if the monthly cost of home ownership is less than rent, homes are more expensive on average. renters dont pay for roof repairs, busted water heaters, etc. nothing wrong with renting for a year or two to save an emergency fund and down payment. they say it was surprisingly easy to get one.wait till the condo association votes for a new roof, or the county assessor raises the property tax by 15. Human: Ahh yes if something were to go wrong early that would be a lot of cash though I would be making a large salary I would probably be in a pinch early with what I have so far. But I see it as a risk, that may be worth it? If I could just survive a couple months alone that would be a good safety net. I would plan to get roomates too for extra income going towards a 1k a month. Pardon my excited demeanor, but doesnt that sounds awesome for me?  <response>: I mean this to be as non-confrontational as possible: Dont think of 72k as a large salary. After taxes and expenses there will be less left than you think, and not paying close attention to your money will get you in trouble fast. 