text: buy a home in this situation? so i have lived in the same awful small noisy apartment for 5 years and want to move - badly.  however, my company is in the process of being sold to another company, and my job will almost certainly be going away at some point in the next few months.  but there is a nice severance policy which would give me over 10 months full salary if i am laid off, and i live in metro nyc which has a decent job market, and it has taken a hit but i *should* be able to find another it job in a reasonable amount of time.  i have decided that this is where i want to stay for at least a few years so location isn't much of an issue (although buying a home then getting a new job somewhere and having to commute a long distance is a consideration).  lastly, the housing market is ripe for buying at this point.  given all this, should i buy or wait until i find a new job? if you are certain of a lay-off, then i suggest you buy now, considering the hassle of the additionial paperwork to prove income will just make an already crazy situation crazier.