<prompt> Human: Quick background: 27, paying 1,100month in rent right now for a 1 bedroom apartment, have a nice savings account built up, could afford to put 20-30 down on a 200,000 or less condohouse.I would like a 2nd bedroom for an office etc. and that jacks rent up another few hundred. I would also like a garage if possible and thats probably another 100 in rent. At the end of the day, Im stingy and probably couldnt justify throwing 1,500 at something Im getting no return out of. My savings account keeps growing while putting the max into a 401k so I think buying at this time might be a good move?I cant say for certain I would stay at my current jobcity for a long period of time. I work as a software engineer and bouncing around is quite common. I work in the suburbs right now and driving downtown where most software development is done would be longer than I would be willing to deal with. I guess thats always a risk you take when you buy though. That coupled with the housing market where I am being red hot and prices very aggressive, are the only thing holding me back in the back of my mind.Thanks for any advice in advance!  <response>: Im a fan of real estate ownership. My advice if youre not certain youll stay long term is to buy something youd find suitable if you were shopping ONLY for an investment property. If you end up leaving the area then treat it as an investment property after that point. Basically the stuff you said youd want garage, second bedroom are things that would make an investment property more attractive anyway, so thats a start. You also would need to ensure the numbers work rents exceeding costsdebt service and have a plan for management of the investment. 