So, here's the situation (and this is long, sorry...but I just want to lay out the facts):
For the past 3 years, my domestic partner and I have been renting a house. (We are in our mid-30s, no kids.) It is currently owned by an acquaintance who can no longer live independently due to a severe stroke. (She lives in an assisted-living facility now.) Our arrangement with her and her power-of-attorney (her cousin) has always been casual, friendly, and mutually cooperative. For instance, my partner and I provide all repairs, maintenance and upkeep to the property. (We have also adopted the homeowner's 2 cats.)
In return, the homeowner and her cousin have kept the rent low for the area ($600/month) which includes all utilities. As tenants, my partner and I have free reign over the yard, garden, home decor, etc.
The homeowner now wants to sell her house and almost everything in it.
And she wants to sell it all to us. She knows we have come to love and appreciate the house and have taken good care of it. The house itself is a 400-square-foot, one-bedroom cottage built in 1928 with a 3-season porch and a 2-car garage that is nearly the same square footage as the house itself.
The house is in a quiet community just outside St. Paul (Lauderdale, MN). The "estimates" for this house that I have viewed online hover around $120k.
The homeowner would like to sell for $80k.
My partner and I are pre-approved for a mortgage through our credit union. We have more than enough for a 20% down payment. There would be no fees through a realtor for this property.
And yes, since we've lived here 3 years, we like the house and community a lot. We know our neighbors, and we know this house and its ups/downs.
Our combined annual income is currently ~ $90k.
The ultimate question is: should we buy this house? Yes, we like it. Yes, it seems like a good value. Yes, it would be a fairly direct transaction between the owner and us.
It seems that our mortgage would be about the same as our current rent.
But a nagging part of me is a bit afraid. We've never owned before. What if we want/need to move away from this state someday? What if the floor falls in the day we buy it? What if we get sick of the house or the area?
The small size of the house (with one single closet in the whole place) is okay with us, but it could be a negative aspect for selling in the future, or even renting it out someday.
If we did not buy this house, we would probably look for a place to rent. Average rentals for 1-2 bedrooms around here are about $800-$1200/mo.
Again, I apologize for the length of this query's background. But I feel like I need to look at it from all angles, and that means going outside the sphere of family and friends for feedback (most of whom think it's a good idea to buy it, a few who do not because they believe renting = freedom).
Thoughts?