3 Reasons You May Want to Consider Buying a House in Graduate School
Congratulations! You just got an email informing you that you are among the select few applicants starting Graduate school. You’ll be heading back to familiar grounds as a mature (hopefully wiser) student. You get to upgrade your employability and still earn some money in on the side. But then, something throws cold water on your excitement, “where will you live while in graduate school?”
- School-provided housing is not always worth the hassle
Undergraduates have it much easier because their new school will most likely have a dorm offer, and they can just show up and find ways to make it work. As a graduate student, you are most likely on your own. School provided-housing are usually scarce, and when you do find one; you can expect it to be cramped, poorly located, overpriced, or restrictive.
- Living near hoards of undergraduate student is another hassle on its own
If you choose to get an apartment off campus, you’ll most likely want a place that is affordable and close to the campus – such apartments also seem to be magnets for undergrads who don’t want to live on campus. Hence, if you rent an apartment off-campus, you’ll most likely have to contend with hoards of undergrads and you might be shocked that you don’t have anything in common with them. You must spot and avoid undergrad hubs if you don’t want your nights to be short and rough because of undergrads gyrating from Wednesday through Saturday night.
- Paying rent basically throws money down the drain
In some instances, it doesn’t make much economic sense to rent a place during graduate school especially if you want to do a couple of Masters degrees or your PhD in the same school. Paying a rent of $600 per month over a period of 4 years is $28,000 that could have gone towards YOUR home. In addition, if you buy a home, you’ll be paying a mortgage and you can get tax deductions on your mortgage.
A couple considerations before you buy a house in graduate school
Before you decide to buy a House, you should take the time to do the math to understand how mortgages are structured in relation to your finances. You can expect to pay as much as 6% in transaction costs on the purchase and you’ll need to add in the costs of fixing up the house and moving in. If you want to buy a condo, you can expect to pay an association fee in addition to your regular mortgage payments.
Many graduate students also worry about the additional costs of home ownership expenses especially for the maintenance, repair and replacement of household appliances. However, buying a home warranty can go a long way in protecting you from out-of-pocket expenses in maintenance costs.
For example, Total Home Protection offers a comprehensive coverage for home systems and appliances. The cost of homeowner warranty varies across different cities and other factors such as the age and size of the home influences the cost of your home warranty. If you live in New York, you should consider checking out a selection of NY providers to know the ongoing range for home warranty so that you can buy a protection that offers you the best value for money.
Buying a house is not the perfect move for all graduate students
Buying a house sounds great on paper, you don’t have to worry about hoards of undergraduate students, you get to live near your professors or potential professional contacts. However, buying a home might not be a great move if your graduate program will only last for one year. Buying a house might not be worth the hassle if you don’t plan to live on the city for 3 to 5 years, and hopefully stay after your graduate program.
