Tim -
Buying shorter term (1 to 3 years) can be more complicated to answer than if you're sticking around 5+ years. With your down payment, you could buy a sweet condo for say $250K near downtown, monthly mortgage pymt of $1000 at 5% or so, and say $500/mo for tax and condo fees - rough numbers, but a good ballpark.

So the $1500 a month would look like that - not bad.

Complication comes in recouping your closing costs in a couple years, any realtor commissions you might pay then, offset by some tax advantages of owning in the meantime! Hmmm, what to do?

Usually - in our market - buy! My advice - best to look at what you might get for the money and compare that to what you get in your rental and see if that offers some direction. Bet it will. Let me know if I can help with that.
Mike

Hi Tim,
Chittenden County has not see the market crashes of other counties in other states. The market is still very strong here and a solid investment. It is a perfect time to buy because sellers are negotiating and will to work with a buyer. Below is another mortgage calculator. With that amount to put down and the loan programs still available you should be able to find a good home.

Tim, use this calculator: http://www.dinkytown.net/java/MortgageRentvsBuy.html

“Congress, the Bush administration and regulators have urged lenders to renegotiate terms for borrowers so they can stay in their homes, easing the glut of empty houses. Such efforts may mask the slump’s extent by delaying foreclosures, RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said in the statement.”

“‘This country needs a cleansing,’ said billionaire real estate investor Sam Zell. ‘We need to clean out all those people who never should have bought in the first place, and not give them sympathy.’”

“Government attempts to slow the flood of defaults ‘could be simply deferring another flood of foreclosures,’ Saccacio said in the statement. ‘That could extend the length of time it takes the market to recover from this downward cycle.’”

“The subprime borrowing spree featured lax lending standards that allowed people to buy homes with little or no down payment, and many of those borrowers today have no incentive to pay off mortgages that are worth more than the homes they bought, Zell said.”

“‘That whole process has to be liquidated,’ Zell said.”

Hi there! The only circumstances under which it would more beneficial to rent are if you can't afford to buy or will only be somewhere for a short time. As far as "breaking even" it would be largely contingent upon what you pay to rent and what you choose to buy, however, at the end of a rental term you have no property and no equity. If you purchase, as long as you keep the home in good repair, you will anticipate selling hopefully for a profit (even if it's just that of inflation) or at least at what you paid.
Here in Vermont, we are not affected by the drastic drops in property values many of the other states are facing. Thankfully, Vermont consistently has the lowest foreclosure rates in the country, and has not seen a lot of sub-prime lending. It sounds like you have a substancial down payment to offset what you'd need to borrow, which will help you in gaining a loan. The other big factor these days is your credit rating, which can greatly affect the type of loan and interest rate you will qualify for. A good first step is speaking to a lender to find out what price range you should shop in to meet your financial goals and stay within your comfort zone. Please feel free to email or call for further information! I can gladly pass along the names of some great local lenders as well.