<prompt> Human: Im an incoming dental student trying to sort out fall housing in Boston, ma. Ill be here for at least 4 years, so Im making the rentbuy decision.I hadnt considered buying property before this week, but in a phone call they mentioned that they could potentially make the down payment for a place if the mortgage would come out to be near what I would be paying in rent anyway.I would be living with my partner, and he makes 50kyear. In addition, Im taking out loans to cover housing - whether or not I buy - so the total monthly rentmortgage payment we can pay comes to about 2100mo. We looked at rental places and found a couple attractive ones in our price range but havent taken the step of going to any viewings yet. Thing is, Im under a time crunch because my current housing expires September 1st. So I have to decide quickly, as rental units will start to go fast after July. Im not sure if I can move this faster, though, since my parents are planning on making the down payment, theyre the ones whod be co-signing the loan to make it. My boyfriend and I would be paying the mortgage monthly; Id be the only one on the ownership of the place.Using the NYT calculator and Zillows mortgage calculator on the listing, its financially better to buy. I just cant find a detailed enough timeline and Im not sure how to push this all on my end when my parents are the one taking out the loan if I get approved and can get an offer on the place accepted.Im not scared of making the decision to own, Im uneasy about going into the process without all the information and experience behind me. Unfortunately theres a first time for everything, but I want to do this right. Any advice from those with experience is appreciated. Thanks.Assistant: Rent. You are young and you will be under a great amount of stress and pressure while in dental school. You dont also need to worry about spending your time doing home maintenance and finding the money to repair broken water heaters, etc. Honestly its not a good idea to take on too many life changes all at once, and if you are 21 you presumably just graduated college, are looking at starting grad school, are engaged to be married, and I cant tell from your post are potentially new to Boston. Dont add figuring out the home buying process, house hunting, mortgage-getting, and home maintenance to the list. Human: Its true that Ill be under a lot of stress, but it feels like piling housing loans on top of tuition loans that dont get me anything. Working on a mortgage and having something financially and physically mine would I presume be a relief rather than a burden. Its true I know nothing about maintenance for a residence, but I have been in Boston for 4 years so far just graduated undergrad.Im considering this while Im this young because it would give me a foothold in the city and something I dont have to worry about later in my twenties. My partners a little bit older than I am and I dont want to force him to hold out on finding a place for potentially 10 more years until Im out of the debt hole student loans is starting to burn in my pocket.The biggest roadblock it seems would be what it would do to my potential career placement after dental school if I cant get a job or postdoc in Boston  <response>: I know you might not think its a big deal, but yardwork will need to be done. The time adds up. Mowing, raking, shoveling, etc. Also think about utilities. Most apartments in my area include water and garbage, sometimes heat. These add up really quick. Especially when, instead of doing maintenanceyard work, you could be working at an internship or something. 