So, a house just came up for sale where we live for $7,000. It's in very rough shape. I think we could make an offer and buy it for less than the list price. Details on the house include: 1 block from place(s) of work/school for both of us (a university), 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 story, has fenced in lot, garage off alley. It would need many things to make it a comfortable house, but it's currently "liveable" right now, if your standards are low. Ours can be low for a time while we do improvements.
Considerations: We do not plan to stay in this area for more than 2-3 years, which is why we are renting currently and have not looked for houses to buy. We are somewhat-handy people, we have renovated a bathroom and put in windows and floors and doors before, so we could do most of the work to the house ourselves. If we can't do something, we have a network here that will be excellent for finding people with skill to help us. It's less than one block from the university, and the graduate programs at the university are growing, so in a few years when we want to move on, we will have the option to rent it out and also have pretty good flow of steady renters. Also, we know several local landlords that might be interested in buying it, or we could flat out sell and be pretty sure to make our money back. If we do rent, we will not be in the town, we will be somewhere else. Friends who are here would be able to help us show the house and keep an eye on the renters for us.
The land and structure is valued at $28,000 according to the city tax records, but that was 4 years ago at last assessment in 2008.
It seems like a good move, but I want to get your opinions as additional things to consider. What does the MMM community have to say?