Should Adam Smith become a homeowner? Adam Smith completed his MBA at Eastern New Mexico University and accepted a job at Nissan North America Headquarter in Franklin, TN. Because Adam liked to have a very active social life, he decided to rent a two-bedroom condominium in downtown Nashville and commute to his job. The rent was $2,500 per month, which included parking but no utilities. Now, after one year, a similar condominium in his building has become available for sale with an asking price of $550,000. Adam likes the area, the building, and more important the unit itself, therefore he is considering buying the condominium. He knows he is not ready to settle down right now, but he is convinced that this will change in the next few years. Facing the classic buy vs rent dilemma, Adam has a long discussion with his best friend David Hume. However, it is time for Adam to make his own decision, so he comes up with several financial details he must consider.

The association fee will be $500 per month.
The property taxes will be $600 per month.
General maintenance and repairs will be $600 per year.
To purchase the unit, Adam will provide a 20% down payment.
The closing costs will be around $10,000.
Adam will finance the remaining 80% with a mortgage for 30 years. The rate will be 4%.
The down payment is currently invested and brings a 4% annual return.
If he decides to sell the home, he will pay 6% of the selling price to the realtor plus $2,000 other fees.
In order to perform a comprehensive analysis, Adam takes the following steps

Compute the monthly mortgage payment.
Compute the opportunity cost of using the required funds for closing.
Compute the total monthly cost.
Perform a scenario analysis: compute net future gains if he sells the condominium
in 2 years
in 5 years
10 years
Because he heard some rumors about Nashville’ house market being overpriced, Adam also considers a scenario analysis for future condo prices
The price drops 10% over the next 2 years, reverts to the original price by the end of year 5, then increases 10% from the original price by the end of year 10.
The price increases by 5% annually.
Follow Adam’s steps and explain what he should do.

Did Adam miss anything?
What other factors can he consider?