Your house should be your home, your residence.
Too many people saw it as an investment, an those are the ones in trouble now.

I never considered my home an investment....

It may be cheaper to buy than rent.
If you have pets, you may have a difficult time finding a rental.
You OWN the home, so no restrictions on decorating, kids being loud, etc., etc.
You are responsible for all maintenance and upkeep on the house.
When the four years are up, it may be difficult to sell.
When the four years are up, the market may have rebounded and you will make a nice profit.
You have money tied-up in the down payment.
You have no idea if that four years will really be four years... or two years, or thirty years.

Honestly? If it were me I'd buy. I'd do some decent research and make sure the neighborhood is desirable, look for a house with little to do except paint, buy in a more modest area that is affordable to many rather than a higher-end market that will have a smaller pool of potential buyers, and never again think of that house as in investment. It would be my home.

Why would you buy a house for such a short-term residency? (and four years is VERY short-term.)
Where are you planning to go four years from now?

Anyway, I'm sure you've noticed by now that West Michigan's economy is quite different from the eastern side of the state.

Check the taxes. I don't know what they're like on the West side of the state, but I do know they're really high in Oakland and Wayne counties (Detroit metro). Insurance rates are high too- I know we're paying over 3k per year between the taxes and insurance, and our house is only 800sf (will full basement).

Sad to say I don't think we've hit bottom yet in MI (although I think we're close) It is a GREAT time to be a buyer though. Is the "4 years" what you think you'll stay in MI or is it a specific contract? We thought we'd only be in our current house 4-5 years and 9years later we're still here..although we have been trying to sell for over a year now. I can't say whether you would make a huge profit on a house if you sold it in 4yrs but I don't think you would necessarily lose money either.
If it's a contract type thing I'm not sure I'd buy a house unless the company I was working for was willing to absorb the house if I couldn't sell it at the end of my contract.

My BIL&SIL live in St. Joe and I know that there are a bunch of homes for sale there. St. Joe is a nice area.

Thanks everyone for your input. This move would not be where I stay indefinitely, which is why I hesitate to buy a home. I am thinking I'd be there four years for the job and to get the boys through HS.

I didn't ask the question very well, but I am seeking info on whether this area (influenced more by Chicago than Detroit), is not as depressed as the other parts of the state. Generally you hear about Michigan houses being on the market for years, which is scary to me. But perhaps this Lake Michigan resort-type area is different?

The taxes are not as high s Detroit. They appear to be about $2000 for a 2000 sq ft home.

Why not rent short term - either month to month, or a 1 yr lease and make up your mind about whether to buy, and where, or maybe not to do it at all (you never really know how new jobs work out, especially in today's economy, and new people are normally let go first).

I don't know the area, but the fact that it is a resort area would concern me- if you have a resort home in the area, you'll be from Detroit, Indiana, Ohio or Illinois.

I don't know what the Illinois economy is like, but Indiana, Ohio and Detroit are not doing well, which means the resort areas will be hard hit first.

It may be better in four years- but it may be much worse, too.

birkie,

I have relatives in the St. Joe -- Stevensville area. You are correct in that there are plenty of weekend or even commuter folks from Chicago that live there. (Check out the grocery store parking lots on the weekends. Lots of Illinois license plates)! They are generally along the Lake Michigan beaches off of Lake Shore Drive or Red Arrow Hwy. It is a pleasant area. The housing prices are high for Michigan. But as you've noted the prices are falling. The public school system is said to be very good. There are a lot of new McMansion developments that have popped up during the past 10 years, that have added inventory to the resale market.

Keep in mind that there is not a lot of growing business in the area. Bosch, LECO and Whirlpool are the major employers. Whirlpool recently had a layoff of about 300-350. Thats a big hit for this isolated area. As you've seen, you have to drive far to get to another populated area like, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Holland MI, South Bend IN or Chicago. By the way, there are 2 nuclear power plants about 25 miles apart; one in Bridgman and the other near South Haven.

I suspect if you could get a deal on a Lake front or Lake Michigan beach community home you should be o.k. On anything else, you have to ask yourself, why would anyone really want to live there? Its funny the bored Michigan people go to Chicago for the weekend and the stressed out Chicagoans go to Michigan!

Thanks Dixie for this perspective, it is helpful.

Something had been nagging me that I couldn't put into words. I am not a fan of McMansions, nuclear power and can't afford a lakefront home. I searched Sperling's Best Places and the air and water quality scores were 40s (with 100 being the best).

I do like the area with vineyards and orchards, and I'm sure the state parks on Lake Michigan are beautiful.

I appreciate everyone's input.

birkie_2006 -- not sure where you are from but know that that area gets a vicious amount of "lake effect snow."

As someone whose lived in the Midwest or Great Plains my whole life (not in areas like Chicago) I don't think I've ever lived anywhere where the average appreciation rate was more than 2-3%. A spike s would be 5 or 6% and would probably only have lasted a few years.
Hence a home in many of these areas is not an investment like many of you all have gotten used to in places like DC, Dallas, or Ann Arbor MI , Austin TX etc.
Its a long term investment of the type where you stay in the house till you retire where you hopefully have it paid off and it helps you in retirement. Much harder to do the trade up thing, make money or break even crowd.
Berrian's market may be a little different because of its location but if as you say you won't be buying a "resort" home then you need to check what the average appreciation is, factor in property taxes, realtor fees, maintenance, higher utility bills.
Chances are high that turning a house around in 4 years in that area is too short a time to do more than break even and more likely lose money.
Then factor in, do I want my kids to live in a home for their high school years and some of the intangibles that make home ownership attractive regardless of the investment part.
Then factor in the possibility of not being able to sell at all - personally I think there are still some houses selling out there but....they usually are in those "hot spots" that have something people are trying to get into .....you would need to be really careful to buy a house that has everything - i.e. good schools, not just "good location" but desirable location (backyard facing greenspace for example), energy efficient, well maintained, good size etc. for the primary market in the area, great price. If you have everything, especially great price, you may not get stuck. Well at least not forever. Truly well-maintained plus a rock bottom price are key.

I like the 'rent first' advice. It's a new job, a new place. Maybe you'll stay; maybe not. I feel the same way about people retiring and moving across country: rent first.

In this market you can surely find tons of houses for rent in that area. Get the lay of the land before you buy. I think our economy has a ways to go before we hit 'bottom'.

for sure rent. michigan is a dump, and you wont want to stay unless you have to.

Marys1000, you mentioned Dallas as a place where homes have appreciated a lot, but they really haven't here. Of course there are some areas that have done better then others but home values have not gone up much in the past 20 years or so and even fell some in the 1980's.