Vet School Housing Question?

[sheep girl]

I was just wondering, how much everyone was thinking about spending on housing during vet school? And if you are going oversees are you going to live on campus or off campus?

In college, I spent anywhere from 150-850$/month in rent. (And since then 600-1000$/month)

If you are not married, are you planning on living alone or with roomates?

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[BostonLvr]

I am in Manhattan, KS and I pay $650 right now for a pretty nice 2BR 1BA duplex with a single car garage. I live by myself now but may have a roomate in the future.

 

[lailanni]

Something to consider is buying a house.

If you can afford a downpayment, the monthy mortgage payments can be just as much as regular rent.

The big plus is that you get money back when you sell your house after vet school - if your home goes up in value. Homes tend to hold/gain value in college towns, since there is usually a demand, or so I've heard. So your monthly 'rent' money wasn't just going down the hole. And you have a nice place to live for 4 years. Get yourself a roomie, and then cut your monthly payment in half!

The downside is property tax and house upkeep costs, etc.

I know 2 people who have done this, and they're pretty happy about it. I know it's not a possibility for most people, but it is a possibility.

 

[CookieBear]

Something to consider is buying a house.

If you can afford a downpayment, the monthy mortgage payments can be just as much as regular rent.

The big plus is that you get money back when you sell your house after vet school - if your home goes up in value. Homes tend to hold/gain value in college towns, since there is usually a demand, or so I've heard. So your monthly 'rent' money wasn't just going down the hole. And you have a nice place to live for 4 years. Get yourself a roomie, and then cut your monthly payment in half!

The downside is property tax and house upkeep costs, etc.

I know 2 people who have done this, and they're pretty happy about it. I know it's not a possibility for most people, but it is a possibility.

You can also, in many cases (perhaps all, but I'm not an accountant), claim the interest that you pay on your mortgage for tax purposes. And since most of the money you pay in a mortgage for the first few years goes towards interest, that can add up considerably. I.E. most home-owners get a refund on income tax filing because of the mortgage interest tax deduction.

The downside is certainly, you do need to figure and factor that most property taxes WILL increase, and that you're responsible for fixing that sink, broken fence, nasty carpet, etc. etc.

(Home-owner expense in a nutshell off the top of my head: mortgage payment, utilities, property tax, and home insurance - plus repairs/maintenance).

 

[david594]

I am still pretty new to the tax thing... but if you don't have any income do you actually have anything you can claim the mortgage interest payments against? Also, paying the first 4 years on a 20 or 30 year loan... wont you still be upsidedown on it if you are looking to sell it at graduation?

I had one friend in college who pulled off buying a house his sophmore year and selling it after graduation. Although, property values were pretty low by my college and his family paid cash for the house.

 

[VAgirl]

Also, paying the first 4 years on a 20 or 30 year loan... wont you still be upsidedown on it if you are looking to sell it at graduation?

Most likely. You are paying mostly interest at first (nearly 4 years into my 30 year mortgage and still barely a quarter of each payment is going towards principle, and I have a low low interest rate). So that makes it hard to build up much equity. You could build up some, but there are lots of costs associated with selling a house (closing costs of several thousand when you buy, real estate agent fees of 5-6% of the sale price when you sell, not to mention other things that can cost more than renting throughout) and they will likely eat up your equity pretty fast. Unless the value of the house is also increasing (which I don't think is happening in many places in the country at this point...or at least, certainly not very fast) it may be hard to break even after four years--it's certainly not guaranteed. And you could lose money (which obviously happens when you pay rent, too, but you could lose more than the cost of renting for four years would have been, and at least when you rent and things break they aren't your problem ).

You'd just have to decide if it's worth the risk. For me, I'm 99.9% sure I'll just go back to renting (unless maybe I go to ISU and do their whole strange trailer thing). I'm going to have enough on my mind as is, I think, and I'm not too eager to buy another house just yet.

 

[akitavet]

He're's what we are doing. The market SUCKS right now for selling your house (fantastic if you are buying, especially for first time buyers with low prices and low interest rates). We own a townhome in the Chicago suburbs. The market may or may not pick up within the next four years.

So...first we wait to see where I get in. I only applied to 2 schools (IL and WI). If I get in at WI we will be selling our townhome (hopefully) but probably at no profit at all. Most likely we will have to sell at a loss when you account for realtor fees. But, this is not as bad as it sounds, because depending on how expensive it is to keep the home, it can actually be cheaper for you to sell at a loss. Every month, this place costs us $500+ in property taxes and $255 in assessment. Theres a significant amount we are paying in interest too (probably half our house payment right now). Every month it sits without selling costs us at least that much. And, on the good side, its a great buyers market and we can upgrade to a single family home with a big yard for the dogs in Wisconsin!

If I get in only at Illinois, we will be renting down that way...not because its particularly expensive, but because we dont want to stay in Champaign any longer than we have to. We will be looking for a single family home with a fence to rent. Im thinking that we can possibly talk a landlord in to splitting the cost of a fence with us with a four year lease committment if necessary, but I really need a good exercise area for my dogs. That means we will probably keep our house up here and then rent it out. We cant afford for it to sit vacant and we cant sell it because the tax implications for selling a house and then not reinvesting that $ in another home with in a year are pretty bad.

 

[fargeese]

If you own a house now, and have to sell it to move to your new school, FAFSA will get on you for any profit you make on the house, even if it is just the money you put into it...unless you roll what you cleared on the old house into a new house at school. I have a chunk that FAFSA is going to look askance at this year from selling my house last year, but it will have magically gone into the new house by the time I refile the FAFSA next year and I will once again appear poor!

Also, the housing market is so soft right now, you should be able to buy a house for much less than even a year ago, and even if it takes awhile for the market to recover, you will probably still get enough to recoup the rent and get the tax benefit. I have bought and sold 2 houses, and while it seems scary, it isn't really that hard. And guess what, when I graduate and sell my house, look who has money to buy a practice! The loan rate on your loans is a dream compared to rates for business loans, which is what most people are going to have to take out to own or buy into a practice.

At least talk to your banker for a half hour to see if it is possible. If you have never owned a house, you can get super rates, and they will give you an honest assessment of whether you can do it or not.

 

[VAgirl]

If you own a house now, and have to sell it to move to your new school, FAFSA will get on you for any profit you make on the house, even if it is just the money you put into it...unless you roll what you cleared on the old house into a new house at school.

For next year, yes, but if you sell after filing your FAFSA (I've already filed mine) then it won't appear. Also, you could use that money for a new house or for tuition. If it's gone by the next FAFSA filing, it won't show up except in your taxes calculation.

(That is if anyone can make any money selling a house in this market!)

 

[lailanni]

I believe there is some way to make corrections after you submit your FAFSA. I'm not sure how extensive the corrections can be, or how late you can make them, but I submitted mine 2 weeks ago and it said I could make corrections if I had to.

 

[VAgirl]

I believe there is some way to make corrections after you submit your FAFSA. I'm not sure how extensive the corrections can be, or how late you can make them, but I submitted mine 2 weeks ago and it said I could make corrections if I had to.

I don't think you have to, though. They financial aid guy at Iowa State said as much when I asked him certain questions. (The question was if you submit your FAFSA and then get married, does that matter? The answer was no, you don't have to go back and add in your new spouse's information.)

 

[lailanni]

I don't think you have to, though. They financial aid guy at Iowa State said as much when I asked him certain questions. (The question was if you submit your FAFSA and then get married, does that matter? The answer was no, you don't have to go back and add in your new spouse's information.)

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but how does the FAFSA work with vet school? After you're accepted, does the vet school send you some kind of financial aid offer?