Chad Ochocinco -- Not Buying a House in New England

Chad Ochocinco is fired up about moving to New England now that he's a member of the Patriots ... but he's not exactly ready to make a long term commitment when it comes to buying a place.

Sources close to the wide receiver tell TMZ ... Chad plans to rent a townhouse for now and wants to see how this year goes with the Patriots before he plunks down a chunk of change on anything substantial.

According to our sources, Chad doesn't need anything too fancy and would rather spend his time traveling back to Florida to see his fiancée, Evelyn Lozada.