I would do some math. There is something called the 1% rule, and what it basically means is that a landlord should be looking to have a property generating monthly rent of at least 1% per month of the purchase price. So said another way, if they purchase a house for $120,000, they should be able to rent it for $1000 or more, if they purchase for $240,000, it should rent for $2000 a month or more and so on. While some folks have questioned the value of this rule of thumb in some hot RE markets like SF, LA, and DC, it’s still an interesting tool. You can turn this on it’s head and use the rule for making a buy versus rent decision. So if you look at a place to rent and compare it to a comparable property for sale, if the rent is over 1% of the purchase price, buying is probably a better deal and if the rent is less than 1% of the purchase price, renting is probably a better deal. Keep in mind that it’s a rule of thumb and YMMV. I think what you’ll find is rents in NOVA are much less than 1%. But I don’t live there so do the math.
Now I’ll share my opinion. Home ownership is a lifestyle choice, not an investment. After the costs of maintenance, upgrades, price risks, etc, you’re lucky if you break even. Buy it because you want to own a dog, because you want a part of the dream, you don’t like moving, whatever. It’s extremely difficult to justify on an ROI basis in most cases.
