Rent or Buy?Purchasing property is always a risky business due to the massive investment required.

However a property owner is living a dream life since it’s the satisfaction and security of a personal home that makes a person happy. On the other hand, renting a property is much easier due to the regular but smaller payments each period. This is one option that most average income earning people can afford. However getting a mortgage for a home is a tool used by many due to the dual advantage of getting to own a personal home and paying regular but smaller payments each month.With an annual salary of $50,000 after tax, the disposable income for each month comes around to be $4100.

Approximately a person pays one-fifth for his property from his income so ideally, I can only pay around $800 at most per month (Associated Press, 2006). This means that if I decide to either buy a house or a condo or rent a place, at most I can spend about $800 per month. This figure leaves me with fewer options and my search can focus on homes whose prices are below $800.According to research online I can get a lot of choice for a rental home/apartment with rents going as low as $600 per month. However since I would be living alone and would need a good and safe location for my future home that is close to my workplace, I might have to pay more than the least price available. My search for homes for rent and also for purchase has revealed the following homes in relatively good locations in Boston. I have tabulated the information and included features like the distance from city center to give an idea of how much travelling times be required from work to home.Homes Available for RentNameAreaDistance from City CenterTypeBedroomsBathroomsPriceTwin OaksMansfield23.

33Garden11$815Royal Crest EstatesMarlborough24.15Apartment11$799Weymouth CommonsWeymouth13.01Studio01$697Concord & LexingtonSomerville3.

10Studio01$800Source: Apartmentguide.com, 2009Homes Available for PurchaseNameAreaTypeBedroomsBathroomsPrice (5 Year Mortgage with $10000 Down Payment)BostonBostonCondo21$2605 Parkman St UnitDorchesterCondo21$24077 Ridgewood St UnitDorchesterCondo21.5$340210 Havre StEast BostonSingle Family31$390Source: Realtor.com, 2009This research proved to be a vital source of information for me since this would enable me to prepare for future expenses and how much can I afford to spend on a home. Since I’m single and have a good secure job, I’m ready to pay around $800 per month for a home.

Thus a house on rent would be suitable for me at this current point in time. But thinking of the future when I would eventually have a family, then I would have to look for options to get a mortgage to purchase a house. But at this time a renting a small apartment or even a studio apartment will be suitable for me given that it is close to the workplace so that I can control on fuel and travelling costs.ReferencesGuide, A. (2009). Boston Apartments for Rent. Retrieved July 28, 2009, from Apartment Guide: http://www.apartmentguide.

com/apartments/Massachusetts/Boston/?order=asc&sortby=pricelowPress, T. A. (2006). Americans becoming increasingly house poor. Retrieved July 28, 2009, from http://www.

msnbc.msn.com/id/15107993/Realtor.com. (2009). Homes for Sale in Boston.

Retrieved July 27, 2009, from Realtor.com: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Boston_MA