I have been trying to decide what is the best way for my dh and I to go.  Due to a possible buyout of our home, I'm thinking that we should rent a house, at least for awhile.  We live in the FL panhandle so there is always the hurricane threat, my dh is years away from retiring and I don't work, the economy is shaky, property taxes, home insurance, ect..  My dh has worked at his present job for just a few months, no real job security there.  We will have one is college next year and one in middle school.  Thanks for any input!

Andrea 

Do you have the large down payment and credit that lenders are demanding today to have purchasing as an option?

If you do have the down payment for a house, I'd suggest laddered CDs with it for now. I seriously doubt that housing prices will rise the 3-5 percent that you can get on CDs now.

Depending on your DH's job security - govt., contract, commission - you may wish to wait a while on buying a house now.

Of course, my opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it....

I think Walt has hit the nail on the head with this one.

There's nothing wrong with renting.  We rent, and we prefer it for the moment.  If something breaks, the landlord fixes it. If we need or want to move, especially in order to "down-size" to a cheaper place we can without putting something on the market and worrying if it is going to sell or not.

The laddered CDs are a smashing idea.  Not to mention, according to a report on Good Morning America today anyway, best-case scenario for the housing market to start to rebound is next summer, but more likely it will be summer of 2010.  I'd wait at least a few months to see how much more home prices are going to come down before I look at purchasing.  Why spend more than you have to when housing costs are still riding the deflation of the bubble?