<prompt> Human: So, the husband and I have been debating the merits of buying a home instead of continuing to rent. We currently pay 1,000 a month in rent for an overpriced, IMO apartment, which we can comfortably afford. Were we to keep renting, Id like to find something around the 800 range, which is definitely doable In our area Las Vegas. Conversely, we could find a condo for around 100,000, but we wouldnt feel comfortable putting more than 8 or 9 down because it would require taking more out of our savings than were ok with. So with HOA fees and PMI, wed probably be paying anywhere between 800-950 a month, according to the calculations Ive done. So, essentially, the monthly payments would be approx. the same. We would probably stay at the home about 5-6 years before trying to sell and move. My question is this. Since wed only be putting down a small percentage for our down payment, is there any real upside to buying at this point? I know in the beginning, youre mostly paying interest and very little towards principal on your mortgage. Would we build any equity at all? Would renting be the best choice, or -since the costs are similar- does buying make sense?  <response>: Few questions for you- What is the reason for wanting to buy a condo? Youre saying you would stay at the home for 5-6 years before selling and moving. What are you hoping will happen?- You say that you dont want to put more than 8-9 down. How much do you have in cash savings? - What is your long term financial goal in relation to housing? Are you looking to become a landlord, or are you trying to flip houses? Are you just looking for a nice home to buy and live in for a long time? I think this impacts the decision a lot.Personally, I like the freedom and low overhead of renting. It allows me to go where the work is, and keep all my costs low. In my last place, even though its not for a family, I paid less in rent for a room in a house than I imagine my landlord paid in a combination of taxes and utilities. Although in the big picture hes living on the property rent-free because his tenants pay for the whole mortgage. So I guess we can call that mutually beneficial. I wouldnt want the responsibility of renting out a whole house though unless I was already very financially comfortable. And everyone has a different comfort level of what they can tolerate, how much savings they need to have before making choices like this, how much financial risk to take - such as if something goes wrong with the property that you need to fix and you need to drop 12 grand on for instance. What if theres something wrong with the plumbing, etc. If you tell me how much you have in savings and what your combined incomes are that may help in giving my opinion on renting vs buying. 