Owning versus Renting

We've been thinking a lot about the costs of owning a home versus renting. We've been renters for our entire married life so far (4 years this month), the last two of which have been in our current home. We have started looking (again) at homes in the area and have started to seriously consider buying a house in the "near" future. (What the "near" future is will SIGNIFICANTLY depend on what financing we might be able to get.)

One of the things we've been looking at closely is the amount of rent we pay each month. For the same payment, or less, we could be owning a nice home. However, that does not take into account all the "extras" of home ownership - gas, electric, repairs, upkeep, insurance, etc. We realize that our current financial situation (although we have MORE than enough for all our needs and most of our wants) is less than "desirable" for home ownership (at least in the eyes of the banks/lenders), so we're working towards saving up a significant amount of money for a down payment. I would LOVE to be able to save enough to pay CASH for a home, but I know that's probably a HUGE stretch for the time frame in which we are looking to buy.

One of my biggest obstacles in buying a home right now is the fact that we're looking here. I'm not sure I want to live here "permanently", so I'm going to be EXTREMELY picky in finding a house to buy. However, if J was up for buying a house in GR or the surrounding area, I'd be a LOT LESS PICKY. And, this may be what ends up happening. By the time we save our desired amount and are ready to actually buy a house, we may be able to move to our desired location (or at least MY desired location).

I'd really like to start taking "drastic" action to be able to save as much as possible towards my goal of paying CASH for a home, rather than paying double for the home by taking out huge loans from the bank (and yes, I've calculated the interest we would end up paying if we took out a loan on a house with a little downpayment).

We'll see what happens. We've contacted a few banks/lenders to start the pre-approval process to find out how much house we can REALLY afford right now. I think this result will significantly influence our decision-making process about buying now or waiting a while.

Q4U: Do you own or rent? If you rent - what are the biggest benefits and/or bummers about renting? If you own - what are some of the "hidden" costs you've discovered about owning your own home? Any advice for a couple of home buying novices? I'd love your input and advice!!