56k? Whoa cheap, where do you live?

While renting and owning may cost the same, or with something that cheap, renting may cost more than your monthly mortgage payment - you've got to think about other things.

Are you stable in your job or do you feel like you may want to up and quit in the next couple of years, maybe move to another city, or part of town. What are the condo fees going to be? How stable is their reserve fund? If the condo needs major repairs, are you covered or are you going to end up paying a lot more? Taxes? The resale value? I doubt you really want to live there indefinitely.

Can you hear your neighbors? Cause that's really annoying and more so I'd think if you actually own the place. What's the pet policy like? Yes, condos have pet policies.

And the boyfriend issue? What if that doesn't work out? Will you be able to manage the costs without him?

Your mortgage - look at interest rates, pre-payment options and skip payment options should you need that, processing fees, how flexible the payments and frequency is, maybe you'll want insurance, what's their customer service like?