Looking for advice on saving for first home purchase

[Adam Sherwood]

Hello all,

A little background, I have recently graduated college (1 year ago) and have been working as a mechanical engineer now for about 8.5 months. I am currently living in Texas. This is temporary and it is per-diem life (no rent or car payments) and the job will be finishing up in February to April. Our next job is going to be in Phoenix Arizona and will last between 3-5 years. This will also be per-diem life but If I get my own place there I will also get housing per diem not just food like I am now (living with boss currently). 

So my question is, I have about 100k in school loans, should I save every dollar I can to put towards down payment and renovations (just do minimum payments for loan) for when I get to Arizona and buy house...or should I look into what the market is, how much the house will be, and kind of budget a way of saving just enough to have x$ for renovations and nonpayment and try to cut down on my loans as much as possible. 

My thoughts on this are leaning towards save as much and continue with minimum payment, it is not going to be long enough to make a huge dent in my loans. But I am open to other viewpoints on this. 

Also if anyone is from the Arizona area please feel free connect with me. I would like to learn as much as possible about the area!!

Thank you!

[Ryan Swan]

@Adam Sherwood househacking (aka renting by the room is a great strategy). With an influx of people and limited rental options, you'll have no shortage of qualified tenants who would love to rent a room. I have several clients from BiggerPockets that are renting their house by the room. You'll easily be able to live mortgage free, and possibly even cash flow a little. One thing to note is the lender will not be able to use the future possibility of room rental income to qualify you for the mortgage, so you'll have to be able to qualify on your own.