<prompt> Human: I am a forth year medical student who is graduating in June of this year. I have applied to residencies but have not matched yet though I anticipate a successful match. I will make 48-52K as an intern and my pay will increase 2-3K per year for the next three or four years. There is little chance of a resident being fired, so this income is stable. I do not yet know where in the country I will match but I will learn March 20th. I have avoided places with extraordinarily high cost of living NYC, west coast, fancy cities.In anticipation of residency and my first income after four years of medical school, I am considering whether to purchase a starter property in whatever city I match in. Instead of paying rent, I can build equity. I am targeting properties in the 20-50K range I applied to areas of the country with cheap cost of living.There are many companies that offer physician mortages with terms that seem too good to be true: no down payment, low rates and they do not consider student debt burden when underwriting. That last part is key because I will graduate with 220K in debt which I plan on paying during residency!.Here is one example:I understand that owning a home requires more work than simply renting and it limits your mobility. However, I am tired of spending money that Ill never see again on housing and the shitty situation of living in close proximity of strangers. If I move after residency, I could rent out the property with a property management company or flip it housing prices shouldnt really go much lower than they are now.My problem is that it all seems too good to be true. My BS-meter is pinging and Id like someone with more financial savvy to offer their opinion on the matter. Thank you.Assistant: Keep in mind that renting can beat owning in terms of ROI, and not necessarily wanting to settle down in that particular city only makes the situation worse travel expenses to go to court over evictions, etc.So while building equity counts as a good long-term goal, dont mistake renting for throwing away money. After factoring in your hypothetical mortgage interest tax writeoff, if you can invest at a higher rate of return than the housing market growth - Renting means throwing away less money.Human: Any resources that elaborate on how renting beats a mortage payment? I believe you, but Id like to read and learn more.  <response>: The WSJ has a good high-level analysis of this, where they suggest the crossover point at right around buy_price 15x_annual_rent.Edit: I wanted to find a good online calculator for this, but failed. This one doesnt suck, and will give you a solid yes or no, but it doesnt give quite the detail Id have liked. 