It all depends on what your long term goals are. Right now has never been a better time to buy. However, you have to greatly consider what does the renting market look like where you live. If you're fairly confident you could rent it with no trouble, then it's worth exploring. Just remember, if you get caught not being able to rent if, even just for a few months, it could really eat away at your income or savings. It's a risk you have to weigh out heavily against the potential benefits. I'd also use a mortgage calculator to estimate what your note would be on a house in the price range you're looking at and compare it to the rent you could get on the place. Remember to calculate additional for taxes, insurance, and property upkeep. Good luck!

RIGHT NOW is both a great and a horrible time to buy, at least in the USA. Unless you have enough saved or earn enough to cover a mortgage by yourself, in case you don't have a tenant for 2 to 4 months....I'd just sit on this idea for a while. It's a good idea, it's just I feel the financial world around us is a bit UNSTABLE right now. Example: I have a nice little Craftsman Bungalow in San Diego; 2 bed, 1 bath, single car garage, small fenced in front yard....pathway in back, all fenced in and I allow pets. It's a RENTER'S MARKET in San Diego right now, and I had to lower my rent from $1535 per month down to $1235 to get a tenant, plus lower the deposit from $2000 to $1500 on a house that was valued at almost $600,000 now down to about $200,000....My mortgage is $1604 per month...(normal mortgage not an ARM or other designer loan)...Indy Mac is supposed to be redoing my loan to lower the interest on it, since as a NON-OWNER occupied property the interest was higher, despite my platinum credit. Granted, it's a small house, but in excellent shape and with many of the Craftsman features, built-ins, wood floors, laundry room, fireplace, coved ceiling. It's a cute house in a good area. But I almost lost it because I couldn't pay the mortgage beyond one month after the tenant moved out. Nothing like this has ever happened to me in 12+ years of renting it out! Normally I have between 30 to as many as 75 people FILLING OUT APPLICATIONS...not this time! If you can't carry the mortgage, I'd just be happy with one rental FOR NOW...keep your eyes on the market and the general financial heartbeat and go for it when you KNOW you'll get a good opportunity for success!

As they say in real estate.......location, location, location. Is your current rental property in a good location? Do you have stable tenants? Do you own your own home without a mortgage, or do you rent? Some very good friends of ours purchased a number of "depressed" properties, planned on flipping them or renting them out, took out mortgages including three on their own home. You guessed it, one by one they are being foreclosed on. She called me crying that they "are going to lose everything".

Think what would happen if you lost your job..who would make the payments on the house loan plus the new morgages? In this day and age your job could be gone tomorrow and you would lose all your houses. better be happy you have one that is paid for..wait until the economy gets better...and be sure you will always have the job that is supposed to pay your loan payments...a lot of rentals are out there now and they do not have anyone in them!