<prompt> Human: I am a recent college graduate, I have NO DEBT, and I currently have about 5K saved up in the bank. I make approximately 35000 a year at my current job and I would consider it to be a very stable position with lots of potential for more earnings in the future. I am currently living with my parents, and my commute is about an hour and ten minutes each way. The drive is really killing me, and I am starting graduate school soon too part time, which is only about 10 minutes from where I work. I need to move to the area for that reason, so its either get an apartment or a house. Graduate school will probably cost about 7000 a year, of which about 4000 will be reimbursed by my employer. I really, really do not want to pay rent ever again, and Im pretty handy I would kind of like to get a fixer-up-er.So my question is this: Can I afford a house at all? If so how much house can I afford? How should I go about the down payment?To reiterate-35K income yearly7K grad schoolNo debtHouse?Assistant: Theres a lot of advantages to renting, ESP while u are busy with school and work. Think of maintenance and crap like cutting grass or shoveling snow.. or heating a house compared to apartment. Also if ur a grad student, does the university have any type of on campus housing, which would be cheaper than rent most likely. Everyone thinks of a house as mortgage payment and thats it, but dont forget property taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance. If i was in hour situation, Id probably rent a no fuss apartment, unless ur married or have kids..In the end, theres prob someone willing to lend you money for a house if thats what you are set on doing.Human: Heres the problem though, the area I work in is notoriously expensive. I havent seen rent cheaper than 900 a month and thats for a studio apartment. A decent one bedroom in this area costs around 1200 a month. If I move to about 30-35 minutes away things become much more affordable, but there are less apartment to pick from because its somewhat of a country area. The maintenance doesnt really bother me since Ive dont it all before living in house apartments during college, plus as I mentioned Id like to get something that needs some TLC, so I can treat it like an investment. Even with utilities and insurance wouldnt it be better to spend 1200 a month on a house, and not an apartment?  <response>: If rent is that high, then 35k esp if this is before taxeswont get you far. If univ has grad school housing available, Id try that first, if not, Id start expanding my search area, even it it meant going on Craigs list and renting a room or finding a roommate. It comes down to how much free cash flow u will have ... is 35k after taxes or before. Is the 3k grad school bill going to be paid for by you or is it a student loan that can be paid for after u graduate. After figuring out how much money u have left, you will be able to figure how much you have left for a mortgage payment, which will tell you how much you can affordIf rent is that expensive, the cost of living for everything else is probably higher than it is living at home...groceries, shopping,etc 