Hi there. I'm a very young person just starting my investing journey. I'm about 1 year out of college, I have saved about $40,000 and I have it in different investments (lending club, IRA, precious metals, and more.) I've always wanted a house, but I always thought they were for people with 5-10 years of work experience. I'm really looking for someone to convince me that that is the case and that I shouldn't think about buying a house.
In terms of savings, my total "investing money" per month comes out to about $2400.
The situation:
I'm about to move to a small (and inexpensive) college town where I'm going to start telecommuting (to keep my old job.) I feel like if I'm going to be telecommuting, I'm going to want a home office that's not my bedroom. I've always just rented rooms, so I haven't been able to have an office. I feel like having an office/workstation is extremely important to stay focused, so renting a room is out.
I have a lot of mustachian hobbies (such as building things, engineering, woodworking, and gardening) that require tools, a workshop, and the ability to get a place messy. It also requires a yard! I also have a habit of annoying my roommates with constant band practices. I have been neglecting these things for the past couple of years since I haven't had my own place and I'm starting to get sick of it.
I see a lot of foreclosed (cheap) houses in the $50-$70,000 range that look pretty decent. I don't care about bells and whistles, just sanitation and utility. I know with $2400 per month to spend it seems like something I can afford, but the question is not whether I should afford it but rather whether it's a good idea to invest in a cheap property.
I have about $20k cash and by the time I plan on looking for a house I'll have more like $30k cash, so I could afford to fix it up.
Should I bother looking for deals or just rent?