<prompt> Human: I just got a new job a month ago and moved to Texas for it. My wife and I quickly moved into an apartment 875 a month that is really crappy and run down. We are looking to get out but for nice apartments in the area we are looking at 1,200 a month. That is possible for us but we are wondering if we should just tough it out here for a few more months, save up and buy a house instead. Mortgage payments in the area are seemingly low 600-800 a month so it seems like a better option. If we moved into the new apartment we wouldnt have much wiggle room to be saving for a house.So its either get a nice apartment or get a house. Pros cons. Go!Assistant: If you plan on staying in texas, look to buy a house. If not... just rent. Pro: you actually are working towards owning something. Cons: the cost of owning a house. Do you have a lawn mower? Can you afford bills that come with owning a house? Human: I dont own a lawn mower currently, but live right next to family. What other bills come with a house that I dont have at an apartment electric, water, internet, gas?  <response>: Property taxes, Homeowners association fees, home insurance, repairsmaintenance, Private mortgage insurancePMI, and mortgage interestGenerally it is property tax that is the big one. If youre paying 800month for 30 years the house is probably worth 300k, the average Texan pays 1.81 in property taxes which would be 5430year or 452month more than just the mortgage paymentPeople always look at the mortgage payment alone for rent vs buy but property tax really muddles up the math 