I'd have to agree with Hoch on pretty much everything there, and there's also the fact that you're going to have to pay for Windows as you're not a qualified AC fitter - and that's not going to be cheap, especially as it will be an out-of-the-pocket expense. Honestly, it all seems like a lot of uncertainty, especially as you've probably not got that much job security, so if you lose your job, you lose the house as you probably won't have anything else to fall back on. Probably best just to rent a small apartment - and in doing that, I'd definitely advise finding somebody that you can live with incase !@#$%^&* goes pair shaped. I don't really know what the situation is where you are, but you can actually find some good places in kinda !@#$%^&*ty areas - that's how it is in London anyway. If the area you live in doesn't bother you much, anyway. -Lynx