Buying A House: How To Know When It's The Right Time To Leap Into Homeownership

Nan Chung and his wife knew it was time to start looking for their first home when they ran out of space in the two-bedroom, 900-square-foot Seattle apartment they were renting for $1,500 a month. Low interest rates made the decision even easier, as did the realization that they could get a 1,700-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home for roughly the same monthly payment that they were shelling out for their tiny apartment.