<prompt> Human: I need some advice from all of you. I have been renting apartments for the past 11 years after I started working a full-time job. I lived in apartments for around 600month for 9 years and I have been living in a 450month apartment since 2013. I have decided that it would be better to buy a house after losing so much money to renting that I can never get back. Last month, I met with a mortgage loan officer at my bank for a preapproval for a loan. I gave her my W-2 forms, tax return forms, and bank statements, and I was preapproved. I was looking at buying a house for maximum of 90,000 and considered putting down a 20 payment of 18,000. The bank would, of course, loan me the remaining 72,000 for a 30 year mortgage if I decide to purchase a house.But if I continue renting the 450month apartment, I could move right away after my full-time job is over. Also, if I shared a two bedroom apartment with a roommate to lower the rent even more, I could always move whenever. Of course, I can always call the landlord if there is a maintenance issue. There has not been any maintenance issue so far with my current apartment. The problem with renting is that you cant build equity on the rent, so I am embarrassed to say that I lost over 75,000 renting apartments over the past 11 years!However, if I lived at my parents house, I would have absolutely NO expenses. Keep in mind that I wouldnt have as much privacy and I also work full-time for one of my parents. I dont need to live with my parents and I was able to put aside money in savings despite living in apartments, including money in mutual funds and retirement accounts. But living at my parents house is another option worthy of consideration. Although I was preapproved for the loan, I havent actually applied for the loan yet and there was no loan transaction, closing, title deed transfer, or anything. So I dont think that I am obligated to do anything yet since all I have done so far is meeting the mortgage loan officer for the preapproval in August and meeting with a realtor to look at several houses during the past few weeks.I have been living in apartments for 11 years, and at this point, I am trying to decide between four options. My question is: Should I buy a house option 1, keep renting my current apartment option 2, share a two bedroom with a roommate for lower rent option 3, or move back in with my parents option 4. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: I have decided that it would be better to buy a house after losing so much money to renting that I can never get back.You do realize that you have absolutely no guarantee that money spent on a home will be returned back to you, correct? There are many extra costs with owning a home that can be classified as money you throw away, such as: 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. But if I continue renting the 450month apartment, I could move right away after my full-time job is over. Also, if I shared a two bedroom apartment with a roommate to lower the rent even more, I could always move whenever. Of course, I can always call the landlord if there is a maintenance issue. There has not been any maintenance issue so far with my current apartment.So is your full time job ending? Are you thinking about changing areas? If so, you shouldnt be looking to purchase anything.The problem with renting is that you cant build equity on the rent, so I am embarrassed to say that I lost over 75,000 renting apartments over the past 11 years!Again, renting is not throwing money away. Please get that out of your mindset. You are exchanging money for a place to live, while buying the freedom to uproot and move as you see fit. Renting gives you a peace of mind as well as lowers your overall housing cost risk. Your rent is the maximum youre going to pay that month to put a roof over your head. A mortgage is the minimum amount youll pay out each month to do the same. The costs beyond that can increase exponentially.Should I buy a house option 1What is your current annual income? Do you have a 20 down payment, plus a 6 month emergency fund, plus a move-in fund?How long are you going to stay in your current area?keep renting my current apartment option 2Your rent is 450 a month. That is dirt cheap. Cheaper than a home, for sure.share a two bedroom with a roommate for lower rent option 3Are you struggling for money each month? Why would you even suggest this unless youre having a problem paying your rent now? It sounds to me like you need to make up your mind in what you want to do with your living situation. Youve offered 4 options, all of which are vastly different from each other. 