Buy the house; condos are a bad investment in my opinion and financing is more abundant for the 4 bedroom home.

Jarrod,You do not give your location, which might have some bearing on my answer; however, I would not ever consider renting out a few rooms of my house as a source of extra revenue. You don't want the problems. Have you considered duplex's that would allow one purchase for multiple units and allow for separate living spaces?Terry

Jarrod, that's a good question. I think you'll find several different opinions here as "investment advice." While financing is more readily available for single family homes, depending on your future plans and geography, condos can still be a great investment, but choose very carefully when you do; look at how rentable the condo might be later, or how quickly/easily it might resale later on...your realtor can help you with this analysis. I, personally, would not suggest trying to rent rooms as a source of income unless you're very comfortable with the people you're renting them to; from an income tax perspective, you could also be opening up some issues you don't want, or might cause problems later on for loan qualifying purposes. Buying a multi-unit property, like a duplex or 4-plex is probably a better approach, and it would also make life easier if you're going to "move up" your residence and keep it as an investment; multi-unit homes aren't usually as easily resold either, but they can make for a "cash cow" investment.