<prompt> Human: Not sure if I wanted to flair this as debt or housing.. but I guess it is more of a housing question situation I find myself in.In 2012 I graduated from college, found a good job, and bought a house in November. I bought the house for 132k and now it is worth 175k thanks to the housing market picking up in this area.I have a roommate that is about to move out soon, so the timing is setting up nicely for me to get it sold and move into something smaller no roommates for a bit. I figure with the little bit of equity I have put into my house with mortgage payments, and the increase in market value, I can walk away with a little over 30k in my pocket if I sell. That would be just enough to pay off a good chunk of my debt. I have about 30k in student loan debt, 10k in credit card debt which was built up in college, and 20k in a vehicle loan. I am thinking about knocking out the student loans first, but really either way I would be freeing up some money each month by eliminating some payments. between 450 and 700 a month depending on which loans I paid off first.Getting back to the housing question.. am I crazy to want to go back to renting? I feel like renting is just easier. Less time consuming. What if I want to change cities in a couple years? With an apartment I know I can easily plan that around the end of a lease. No yard maintenance, no repairs, no RISK.. I know I made a good call buying when I did and potentially selling for a nice return.. but that could EASILY go the other way. That is why I know I dont want to buy right now with this market.. I am afraid it will drop soon and I dont want to get myself locked into a house when the market crashes. But I could be wrong about that too.On the other hand there are so many people who are trying to get out of throwing money away on rent.. so it gets me thinking if I am making the right move or not.Wanted to get some feedback from the PF community.Assistant: I feel like renting is just easier. Less time consuming.It is, for sure. No yard maintenance, no repairs, no RISKAnd no equity. Thats the tradeoff. I know I made a good call buying when I did and potentially selling for a nice return.. but that could EASILY go the other way. That is why I know I dont want to buy right now with this market.. I am afraid it will drop soon The word soon there implies that youre basically wanting to time the market. Trying to time the market is usually a bad idea. ; so it gets me thinking if I am making the right move or not.This is ultimately a personal decision. Owning a house is more expensive month-to-month, between mortgage payments, repairs, upgrades, etc. But you get equity out of it, plus other benefits like space that it truly your own -- having your landlord walk around your place with 24 hours notice for maintenance inspections work sucks -- and the ability to rip up that ugly carpet or redo that barely-functional kitchen to replace it with something better is worth something. ; I bought my first home last year, and moved out to the country with acreage and cows for neighbours... I can have bonfires and BBQ and work on my car in the driveway and have a woodworking metalworking shop in my garage. I could do none of these things as a renter I was renting in lowhigh-rise buildings downtown, so no garage space to speak of, couldnt have a BBQ on the balcony due to fire code, etc. I regret nothing, and wouldnt go back to renting for anything. But thats me. Maybe youre different.Human: Thanks for the input. Having a garage space to work on projects was one of the first reasons I opted for buying a house. Having an attached or detached garage is a must even if I rent.Why is trying to time the market a bad thing? I know its unpredictable but what about waiting for a lull or a housing crash then going and buying a couple properties at that point?  <response>: You can always rent somewhere with land and cows and room for a workshop. Renting doesnt always mean apartment building. 