Wanted to poll the smart people here on a dilemma my wife and I are fortunate enough to have (no, you're not taking sides, we really don't know what we think!)
Feel free to ignore, I know it's slightly off topic.
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We're about ready to stop renting and start owning. We're in our thirties, and have both owned, leased and been landlords in other cities before.
Option A - Expensive house in the Bouldin neighborhood, something like a new 4BR. Obviously a high future growth area, close to DT but enough room for a family. Fun money might be limited for the first year to pull this off.
Option B - Modest home in Austin, plus an affordable condo in Portland or Denver area for summer living, and funds leftover to make the trip back and forth each year. Obviously, the Austin house is smaller and more likely to be somewhere boring like NW Austin, or in a cool neighborhood but old and ugly.
Option A might actually offer the best 'investment return', but no escaping the summers! Option B might make up for that if the condo is near a college campus and can be rented out to respectable grad students during the school year.
Any opinions?
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