<prompt> Human: yep, its a throw-away. i dont want this tied to my primary account. its all legit except i rounded the accounts off below.about me: 28, single typical introverted female-repellent type 5 years wcurrent employer software qa 782 credit score had all 3 pulled yesterday 73k salary 3.9kmo take-home pay 196k fidelity 401k currently 10 401k contribution 88k e-trade account 64k vanguard roth ira target retirement index funds 50k cash amex online high yield savings 10k cash local bank 24k available credit between 3 cards use for points, pay balances monthlyim not going to spew some bullshit about how i made the right choices and everything i did was because i have some incredible foresight--completely the opposite! i was lucky enough to land an it-related job straight out of high school while i was attending community college. the tl;dr of the story is the employer i worked for had no limits on over-time pay. i basically lived at work for a few years and dropped out of school where i had been chasing a computer-science degree. i also consider myself extremely fortunate over the years that i happened to have the right set of skills at the right time and schmoozed with the right people and self-taught myself a lot. i started aggressively contributing to a roth ira 401k over 10 years ago, and have continued to do so until this year temporarily no longer maximizing 401k. i was also extremely fortunate to invest 10k into tesla after they had their ipo and sold out near the height of their bubble. i currently live with a good friend and his girlfriend in a 2br apartment. cost of living where i live is low. the full cost of rent for this apartment is 870 and all utilities are included in the rent electricheatwater. i want to buy a house but im not sure how to tackle it.my expenses: rent: 230 car: 0 recently paid it off internet: 90 verizon fios cell: 54 t-mobile unlimited wnexus4 car-ins: 280 paid in full every 6 months student loans: 0 did not finish college, had full-ride at the time gasoline - 160 usually 4 fill-ups per month 40ea food: 200 weekly 50 trips to wegmans 4xmonth misc: 100-200 movies, fast-food, out with friends, etci want to be financially independent. i like knowing that given my current living situation, i could live here for a very long time without worrying about money. however, quality of life is low and i would very much like to own my own home. preferably i would like to purchase a home close to work to eliminate the need for a car as much as possible.my dilemma is firstly, do i liquidate a portion of my retirementpersonal savings to pay for a house out-right and avoid having a mortgage? do i take out a standard 15 or 30 year mortgage and pay it off over time like normal? for reference, a standard middle-class home sells for between 100 200k where i live. i have 60k cash on hand that i can use immediately, but i do not want to feel poor after the transaction. i am ready to take on the responsibilities of home ownership. yes, i will repair whats needed, do maintenance on the home, pay property taxes, pay utilities, fix what breaks, etc. i do not want to be at the mercy of the two that im living with. when they leave i do not want to spend nearly 900mo to stay here we each pay thirds currently, but their shares are larger to each pay for a third of the cost of internet. both of them have very clearly stated that they will not be staying come lease renewal time in october. that gives me 8 months to figure this out. i already have a buyers agent im working with and was pre-approved for a conservative 170k i told the loan officer i didnt want a loan larger than that.i guess im not sure what i should do. keep renting? find new roommates? buy a home? i also subscribe to rfrugal and rminimalism and equally believe in both, so i would like to find a small property but thats proving difficult. generally smaller properties are cheaper, but looking at less expensive homes typically has me looking at homes in lower socio-economic areas.i am trying my hardest to find a sub 1k sq-ft home with low property taxes that has been updated. preferably a smaller home would require less energy to heat cool it. admittedly, i do not posses the necessary skills to update or flip a property so i would need to hire contractors for that, and i refuse to live in a home thats still rocking a 1950s kitchen. Im not a fan of wall-paper, wood trim, bronzebrass fixtures.. you get the idea. i want something updated.what the hell do i do? i feel like im in a great position to do something but im not sure what.  <response>: do i liquidate a portion of my retirementpersonal savings to pay for a house out-rightNO, leave the retirement alone. Taking non-retirement investments and some cash leaving 6 month buffer could be a good idea.It is good you realized all the costs associated with a house, often you see people with zero in the bank saying they need to buy a house because rent is throwing money away. I think you are way better off then most and your are definitely ready, especially if you are looking at less expensive homes. Your ETrade account could be a 50 down payment on a 170k house which would leave a 700-800 payment on a 15 year mortgage. Seems very possible, to keep extra frugal rent out the extra rooms to help pay the mortgage. It seems that all that is missing is finding the right house. Be patient and continue to save and keep looking, rent a place on your own or with new roommates but hopefully 8 months would be enough. Switch agents if they are not finding you the right homes. 