Rent vs. Buying

The past month has been a whirlwind of chaos as we decide where our next adventure will take us.  My husband got a new job so it looks like we are going to stop moving around the country on a month-to-month basis and settle down in Pennsylvania for at least a year while we also gain our parenting-legs with a second child.

We have owned our own home in Massachusetts for so many years now that we just naturally assumed it was the next step for us to find a new house to settle down in so we aggressively started looking.  Although the housing market is still not recovered in most of the country, it turns out that the area of PA we were looking in was just as a hot market as it was back in our prior MA area.  We underestimated that solid houses were selling within days of listing and predominantly over asking price.  It caught us off-guard and we lost out on a couple of possible new homes.

But God always has a plan, right?  Turns out that the rental market for three bedrooms is competitive as well, but we found exactly what we needed - if not much more!!  Plus renting with a one year lease just seems to be a smart decision when we are not only new to the area but unsure if my husband would even like the new job he starts.  Renting is also a great option for us because we are about 2 months away from when our new baby is to arrive so we can get settled in and I can start nesting  :)

I think we all have weighed the risks and rewards to renting vs. buying - what experiences have you had?