re: Buying vs Renting .

I'd say you're in a pretty good financial place at 28 given the provided info. It's time to start putting some money into retirement though. At $1700/mo extra you could easily swing putting into a 401K up to employer match (at a minimum) and fully funding a Roth IRA at $5500/yr. With 48K after closing, moving and furnishing the house you'll still have a large chunk of money for an emergency fund.