I've been doing some thinking. (Run!!! Get out now!!!!) Jas and I are not happy in our rental house. 

It's older than we initially thought.

If one too many things are plugged in to various outlets, a fuse blows. And blows. And blows. It doesn't even matter if you unplug that one thing. It will blow four to five times resulting in me scurrying down two flights of stairs to reset the fuse box. Anger always ensues. Not to mention the possibility of a FIRE. We hired an electrician to take a look and of course the whole house needs to be rewired. FYI- if you build on to a house, make sure the electrical stuff can handle the add-ons.

We have a pool but will have to pay for a pool fence in order to make it kid safe. Hint: this cost about $2000 in Florida and I'm sure the price is inflated some here in DC. The owners will not pay for this but we can take it with us when we leave. Oh, it will only benefit us if we have a pool again. Otherwise we'll have a random pool fence in the garage.

Carpets are old and need to be replaced. Obviously the owners aren't going to do that. It's a rental. 

So I keep thinking that if we're going to be here for 4 years it makes sense to be happy in your house. Right? We have considered (seriously) looking for a foreclosure home to buy, fix up a bit and then possibly sell or rent when we leave here. There are some great deals out there. -I've been looking nonstop for two days at houses online. I just feel bad for taking advantage of someone else's misfortune. Is that crazy? It's a great time to buy. And I'm a sucker for a great deal. I usually buy shoes or bags but I can make exceptions for houses too.