Hello Jim,

We have many clients who ask that same question. Indeed, it might make sense in this economy.

There is another reason to consider buying, and that is because of lack of on-campus housing for students at U.C. Berkeley. This would make your son's housing needs settled for the four years, and you would not have to do the annual stress-producing task of locating housing for the subsequent school year. Plus, your son would not have to relocate annually.

Does it make financial sense? You might want to consult with your financial/tax advisor.

If you need a realtor in the area surrounding U.C. Berkeley, please let us know and we can arrange for a realtor to assist you.

With best regards,
Fran and Rowena

It makes sense if the mortgage payments are less than the cost to rent a comparable property. The best way to go about doing this is to buy a bigger unit 2 bedrooms or more and rent out the spare ones to college kids. That can help cover some of the mortgage. In some cases your son may be able to get 2 or 3 roommates and cover the entire mortgage payment and essentially live for free. In general property near college campuses tend to be great investments. Ultimately it comes down to the numbers and whether it makes financial sense.

Good luck

Ron Miller http://www.buyrenter.com

It might make sense if you could get a good deal on a property. The San Francisco Bay Area's market has been very slow. Slower than Los Angeles's. Berkeley is very expensive per square foot, so I would recommend you do a search on Redfin.com or Realtor.com to see what is available in your price range. I would prefer to look at something that needed some work so that you could improve it over time and sell for a larger profit.