What to do??

[andyready5]

I'm new in the military (E-4) and just received orders to South West Florida. We had been saving for a home in case we received orders to New England (home sweet home!). Now We have 50,000 sitting in a savings account.

We looked into buying homes in the Fort Myers area but don't want to be stuck with it when we transfer in 4 years. However 4 years of rent is flushing 48,000 down the drain! nice places can be found from 50 to 100 k. What should we do with the $$?

I already have a TSP (military retirement plan) set up and contribute 20% monthly.
We are both debt free and 28 years old.
My wife is a teacher and should be able to find a job in the area.
We would love to buy a home after this tour but where should we invest until then.

any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for all your help!

[ecoadapt]

Buying home would be a better action.

[FireBal989]

Buying the home would likely be better, however I recommend (if I may) taking out a mortgage on a relatively cheap home, when it's time to move, you'll have the choice to keep your home and have it as an investment, or sell your home. Who knows, if you buy now and sell, you could profit some, with the way the market is it's still definitely a buyer's marketplace

[bjl584]

Rule of thumb is not to buy unless you plan on staying at least 5 years. So, by that rule you should rent. Florida is an interesting case though. It was hit pretty hard by the housing crisis, and you can still find nice properties there on the cheap. You could, in theory, pick up a really nice place on the cheap and live there cheaper than you could rent, even after factoring in taxes and upkeep costs. One word of caution, you know that you will be relocated in 4 years, so do you think that you will be able to sell the house in a timely manner once you move? If not, do you want to be a long distance landlord?