I am a new college graduate with a 70K a year job (before taxes). I live in the seattle area. My net worth is near 0, but I am looking to begin rapidly building that. My initial budget was about 24K for the year. This is dominated by rent/utilities expenses (12K). This is to live in walking distance from my place of work downtown. I am currently reevaluating spending so much in rent and other expenses, with the intent to bring my budget closer to the 19-20K range. That said, despite my net worth being near zero, I have a financial backer who has offered to assist me in the purchase of a first home, if he agrees with the valuation of the home. Although I initially planned to save up and aim for purchasing a home 3 years down the road, I want to seriously consider the pros and cons of looking to buy now, even if it means increasing my housing costs. (since it would be building home equity, as opposed to just being a monthly rent expense).
I am hesitant to be so leveraged, but on the other hand, I like the idea of owning instead of paying someone else to rent a house.
Thanks for the thoughts and advice!