Buying a House?1

1John and Linda are worried about their future.2They both have good jobs, but are concerned about the economy.3Of the two of them, Linda is the most worried. 4She wants the security of owning her own home. Her husband disagrees. As a result, they often fight about money. They live in a nice apartment, but the rent goes up every year. So now they are trying to decide whether or not to buy a house.

Linda wants to buy a house, but John is against the idea. He thinks prices are too high, and he doesn’t want to be trapped. 1If they owned a house, it would be more difficult to move somewhere else if things changed. 2For example, what would happen if he lost his job? 3If he lost  his job, they might want to move to another city or country. If they owned a home or flat(公寓）, it would be more difficult to move.4If they decided to move, they would probably have to sell. If prices had risen, they would be okay. In fact, they might even make a profit. However, if prices were down when they had to sell, they would lose money.

（He thinks prices are too high.)

Buying a House?2

1Last week John got some bad news. 2His company is downsizing(缩小规模） and moving its head office to another city. 3It’s moving because it can no longer afford to do business where they are now. 4Expenses are too high, especially salaries, so it’s more difficult to compete with other companies. In fact, several other companies will be moving out too. Office space is expensive in the area, along with the cost of living for employees. As a result, it’s becoming more difficult to hire good employees. Nobody wants to live there unless their salary can support a good standard of living.

（It’s downsizing and relocating（搬迁） its head office to a less expensive area.)

With all of these changes, John thinks there’s a good chance that  he will be transferred to the new head office. This could happen fairly soon. If so, it would be foolish to buy a house at this time. Linda still disagrees about buying a house, but she is willing to wait a year to see what happens. She hopes that they won’t have to move, but they may have to unless John is willing to change companies. She would prefer not to move, because she doesn’t want to lose her job.

(There’s a good chance they’ll have to move.)

Now they have to consider what they’ll do if he’s transferred. John has to decide whether or not he should begin to look for a new company. If he could find another job in the area, it would put less stress on his wife. If they stay and can wait for a while, maybe housing prices will begin to come down. If prices don’t come down, then he and his wife will continue to disagree about buying a house. Sooner or later they are going to have to make a decision and stop fighting about it.

(He’ll have to decide whether or not to stay with the company./There’s a good chance he’ll be transferred, so it would be foolish to buy a house at this time.)