If you are a young professional with a high paying job, you have many things working in your favor. Lots of disposable income. Lots of freedom. Lots of options.

Here are three reasons you should not buy a house/condo if you are in this stage of life:

Real Estate Ties You Down

You decide to buy a nice little home in Walnut Creek, CA. Your career starts to take off. A headhunter contacts you with your dream job in Boston. You would love to take it, but what do you do with your home? Do you sell it? Can you sell it? Do you rent it? Do you want to be a landlord on a home in California while you are in Boston?

As one radio host said, “Owning real estate is placing a stake in the ground.” It is a financial obligation that can limit your options and limits your freedom.

Your Spouse Won’t Like It

Let’s say you buy that little two bedroom house in Walnut Creek. One day while walking your dog in the Dog Park, you see the most beautiful creature on two legs. Your whirlwind romance leads to a proposal and wedding plans.

As you begin making plans for life after marriage, you are deciding on where to live. Your spouse begins to point out the deficiencies in your first house. It only has two bedrooms, where are you going to put Jack and Jill when they come along? The kitchen is too small. The bathroom only has one sink. Where are the in-laws going to stay when they visit? Why did you paint the kitchen that shade of blue?

Your options are to remodel or to sell your existing house and buy something new. Do you really want this hassle while planning a wedding?

Odds are that the person you marry won’t have the exact tastes that you do. The house you thought was ideal, is not their ideal. It is a much better decision to buy something together that you both enjoy.

It is Not the Wisest Financial Choice

Imagine a young farmer. He just bought his first plot of land. He needs to plant his fields for the harvest and he needs to build his first house. However, he only has enough capital (money) available to do one or the other. Should he buy seed for his fields or buy lumber to build the home? Which would you choose?

Hopefully, you chose the seed. Seed provides more income for the coming years. Seeds will allow the farmer to have a future in the farming business. Lumber may have provided shelter, but it didn’t produce any lasting return to the farmer.

In many ways buying a single family house is like a farmer buying lumber. It provides shelter, but the long-term benefit is mitigated.

There is another answer that makes sense for a young professional. If you would like to hear more about this solution call me at (925) 385-8798.