<prompt> Human: I am currently renting and am looking into buying a house. Because of my less than good credit score made some bad financial decisions in college I have found it difficult to apply and be approved for a regular mortgage. Also my savings is not significant enough for the average 20 down payment. Because of these factors I am considering an FHA mortgage. I have built my credit back to some degree and it continues to improve. I also have saved enough for the FHA down payment requirements. More detail, I live in the Milwaukee area and I am looking at houses in the surrounding suburbs. Currently I pay slightly more than 900 rent. I am looking at houses in the 120K-150K. Being that it is an FHA loan does it make sense to buy a house or should I continue renting? and what should influence this decision? Let me know if I need to post more information.  <response>: Ive posted this so much, that I keep it in a text file for easy access.Renting is not throwing money away. Renting is trading money for a place to live.If rent is money that is thrown away, then so is: Mortgage interest Maintenance costs PMIMIP costs Loan origination fees Property taxes this is easily shrugged off if youve never owned a home, but think of it as giving 1.5 of your home back to the county every year. Would you invest in a mutual fund with a 1.5 expense ratio? HOA dues Homeowners insurance Time spent on house-related chores Any cost or lost opportunity that results from not being able to move to a different city as easily Any realtors buying and selling fees. Easily 6 to sell in most cases.Note that only one item on that list goes away when you finish paying off the house. Youll never get any of this money spent back. I would avoid an FHA loan at all costs. Youre going to be paying PMI for the life of the loan. Youre going to be paying next to nothing towards the principle of the loan for the first 5-7 years.What is your annual income? 