I have to say that I never, ever thought of renting a room to anyone. I'm a solitary person and require a lot of privacy. I, too, was approached by a friend about the possibility and every tenant I've had has been through other people. I've never advertized and never would. Maybe the cosmos brought all my tenants and me together, which is why it worked. If you are both bridesmaids to the same friend/relative, I suspect the bride suggested she call you and see if you'd consider having her. It's scary these days to move to a new community and find housing. Lots to make people, especially young female students wary of answering ads on CL, etc. If you think it could work, then have her come and have some serious conversations about expectations. A trial period is a great idea. That would give her some safety and time to consider other options. I really believe you receive back what you put out there - so if it seems fishy, well then that's what you're putting forth. I am not a naive person and totally trust my gut. I felt like I had the space to spare (but my house is only 2000 sq ft and I only share the bottom/main floor - so less than 1000 sf), the people I've rented to are ALL wonderful people who I felt lucky to have come into my life...and they feel the same way. It's really an opportunity to build community, but you should trust your instincts about whether she is "your kind of person." If you get the right vibe from her, I doubt you will regret it and if you don't do it, you'll never know what you may have missed.

Um, you DO pay property taxes when you rent. Those taxes are part of the rent you pay. And if the taxes go up, the next lease will reflect that. And yes, you can pick up and move. And that's part of the fun of being young. Just for kicks, I went to the website of the apartment my wife and I rented when we got married. Back then (1972) the rent was an outrageous $205 a month. And you had to make a month's rent per week in salary. Don't forget, you could buy a brand new Toyota for $1,995 back then. Today that exact same apartment rents for $1,205 a month. This was a 1 bedroom 650 sq ft garden apartment in Randolph, New Jersey. You buy a home, the mortgage stays the same for the life of the loan, and currently you can deduct the taxes and interest you pay. Can't do that with rent money, but your landlord can.

Hi ML, I think you're getting unfairly beat up. Your guy did the same thing that a lot of people did- they bought at the top of the market, thinking it was a good investment. Right now you have a "paper loss", but there is also the real cost of paying a mortgage for $200k+ vs a mortgage of That said. Truly, this is a "good" problem to have. When you and your DH look back on this years from now, you will think about how you had to deal with a place that is less than perfect and sold some land instead and you'll smile about your youth. You will be thankful that you could afford the mistake and that you weren't bankrupted or foreclosed upon. This is still a problem, but it's a problem that is livable. You aren't facing cancer, injury, etc. In a few years it might make more sense to rent because rents generally are rising now. In fact, this might eventually turn into a cash cow if you ended up renting it. You might end up making much more money on it then you would have if you could short sell it now- plus there will be costs associated with a short sell, even if it were possible (it sounds like it really isn't.) This is just the start of the story for you and your DH. Don't let this come between the two of you. There are all kinds of ways to have fun with it and make it a positive. My FIL is a contractor- when the crash started, he reno'd his kitchen and bathroom and took a lot of before/after pics. He started a website for his business with the pics. His wife was delighted to have a new kitchen and bathroom, and he picked up business. Look for the win-win. You're smart and young, it gets better!

Buying is the way to go. There are just a couple of exceptions. If they are not going to stay for at least five years, they will not break even with all the closing costs of buying and then selling, so, in that case, they should not buy. If they have really bad credit and can only get a sub-prime loan, then I recommend renting until they can improve their credit. Otherwise, buying is the way to go, even if renting SEEMS cheaper on a month to month basis. The reason I say "seems" cheaper is because they actually cost the same many times. Property taxes and interest on the mortgage are 100% tax deductable so long as they are not high earners and required to pay the minimum tax. At the beginning of a mortgage, virtually the entire monthly payment is going towards interest so the new homeowner realizes a large deduction. To find out how much a mortgage payment is really costing per month versus rent, first figure out the after tax interest rate. The formula is: interest rate x (1-tax bracket.) Example for someone in the 15% tax bracket with a 6.25% interest rate: 6.25 x (1-0.15) = 6.25 x 0.85 = 5.31%. Now, to compare owning to renting, head over to the mortgage calculator on Bankrate.com and plug in 5.31% as the interest rate and see how much the monthly payments would be. Of course, these are not the real monthly payments, but how much the payments would actually cost after receiving the tax benefit of homeownership. This comparison does not take into account the property taxes which have to be added to the monthly payment. But, once again, those taxes are tax deductable, so they are not costing as much annually as they appear to cost monthly. I'm sure that there is a way to figure out the true cost, but I just can't think right now. :) Another benefit to buying if someone has poor saving habits is that many times, for these people, the obstacle is saving up the down payment. If they think that they will receive enough $$$ in wedding gifts to use as a down payment, then I think that they should spend it on a down payment before they decide that they "need" a new car, or a big screen TV, or some other non-essential that many poor savers seem to always require. Based on my experience with poor saving family and friends, I don't think that they will have too much trouble making the payments. It has been my experience, that when something truely essential comes up, they somehow find the money to pay for it, even though, previously, they were living paycheck to paycheck, and insist that they must live this way. The reality is, that they have more discretionary income than they realize, and can certainly reallocate it, if need be. My aunt recently bought her first house. The only reason that she was able to do this is because she was given the down payment by her son. The mortgage payment is MUCH higher than her rent payment, yet, she is managing just fine! Finally, I advocate buying sooner than later, even if it means only putting down 3%. Real estate is constantly appreciating. The longer they wait, the more the same house is going to cost. I mentioned this is another thread, but, I'll reitterate. The 30 year mortgage is the best deal going IF you actually keep your mortgage for 30 years (which most people don't do.) Think about it, your mortgage payment remains the same for 30 years. Yet, over the course of those 30 years, the dollar has depreciated, and you've received raises to adjust for inflation. Perhaps, 30 years ago, the average mortgage payment was $175/month (I just made up that figure, but it sounds about right to me.) As the years go by, that $175 seems like less and less of a burden. Today you can't even buy a car for $175/month. Yet, the house that originally cost $175/month has appreciated tremendously in value. I can only imagine what my aunt's financial situation would be if she had had a down payment 30 years ago. I would love to see her retire w/out a mortgage, but that is just not going to happen. :( Of couse, many people will refinance in order to get equity out of their home. We can only hope that they use this money to make improvements to the real property, but we know that many don't. But I still don't think that that's a reason to advocate renting over buying. Here is a link that might be useful: Bankrate.com