Should I rent or buy ?
I 28F still live at home graduated last year for software engineering, have not transitioned into that field yet. But I have one credit card that was the only thing affecting my credit, and I just it paid off this month(May). My current credit score is 730 before even paying the card off, I made a lump sum payment on the card a month ago which raised it. Besides that I have a small student loan and a little left to pay off my car, both things are not reflected on my credit no hard inquires. They were through my local credit union and smaller school which did not affect credit. I’ve been going back in forth in my head if I should rent for a year in my dream area or buy, I want to have my own place by the end of this year no later beginning of new year. With the rest of the year from my current salary I can cover a one year lease for the year if I chose to rent or use it as a down payment. I also spoke with someone at my job who owns multiple properties and gave me his contact, and he told me that I wouldn’t have to worry about the down payment or having all the money working with his contact. I just want to make sure if I buy I could have a place secured in my timeline. I know it would be money down the drain renting for a year but since I’ve never lived on my own before, should I rent for a year first or buy ?