I am on H1b visa and have not been able to decide if I should buy a house. I am in Seattle and house is a big investment here. Other than visa, my parents are in India and that is another variable. Assuming some of you had similar situations, why was your thought process? What did/would you do?

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I would take H1B out of the equation. It takes decade/s to get green card as of now and you can’t put your life on hold

Question should be: Are you planning to immigrate or live here long term?

If yes, you should buy a house. Many I know kept pondering over this for years , and then ultimately bought the house. Because none of the variables you listed are going to change in near future. Though keep track of COVID

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OP isn’t everyone on H1B have their parents outside the US ? As others have said, you should forget about visa hassles and buy. Bring your parents every six months to stay with you. If you still don’t buy, invest in markets.

If you are in need of a house and are able to afford one then buy it. My thought process was as simple as that.

FYI - I’m on H1 and homeowner for a while.

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I always thought my time in US is temporary and I will be out or away from here soon. Ended up passing 7 years in Apt thinking the same.

Then also thought that I grew up in Apt back in India too and that pretty much half of my life had gone in Apt Living. so felt the need of living and experiencing SFH.

Also did some cost analysis thinking how much I was spending for Apt so small in size compared with size of house with little extra payment.

After been living in SFH I realized how much open space had an impact on my overall thinking, stress and well being. It feels really good to live in house to me atleast.

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I stayed in dilemma for 8 years and finally brought home last year.. it’s not a big deal to buy and sell house in good city with good school district..even my apartment maintenance guy had 2 town homes .. even in covid Times, I have seen multiple houses listed and contingent in 3 days..if you got 2-3 years extension , buy a house without worry as interests are now below 2.5%..

Just want to add , my friend spent the same rent money in townhouse as he bought it in second year of h1b , paid off the loan and now got an independent house recently while I was still in dilemma..my citizen Indian friends have 3-4 houses as rental properties in addition to primary home, they say the risk of home ownership is same for h1b , green card or citizens- loss of job n ability to pay monthly payments..keep looking for good deal in next 4-8 months..

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