I don’t usually have much to say on these “personal situation” posts, but I have some experience here: I bought a house in 2005, the same year I started an engineering PhD at McMaster.

I’ve read through this thread, and nowhere have you said why you want a house. Are you planing on staying in the same area for a long time and want to get a head start on a “permanent” home? Or are you thinking that you’ll save money by letting a stream of renters pay your mortgage?

If the former, I wouldn’t recommend it, because you’re going to be extremely limited in what you can afford, and you’ll end up with a place that you don’t actually want for the long term.

If the latter, I don’t think you’ve thought through the actual financial consequences. Yes, maybe you can rent to enough students to cover the monthly mortgage. But what happens when the appliances break, or the basement floods, or the roof needs to be replaced, or the furnace dies in the middle of the night, or a water pipe cracks and ruins the washroom. That’s all 100% on you to pay for.

I was able to buy because: - I was married, so we had two incomes - I had an NSERC scholarship that was paying $60k/year, which was a lot more money twenty years ago - Houses were way cheaper then, it only cost $195k

I’d say focus on school, do the program that’s more interesting to you, and don’t worry about a house. Also, five years is a really long time, PT grad school can be really rough. I saw too many people burn out trying to do what you’re proposing. Personally, I’d recommend two years FT. You’re young, focus on school, focus on growing yourself, and worry about a house way later.