[elmo]

If you search this site for attics, people will typically tell you to avoid it if you can. It's going to impact your signal strength to some degree. It's also going to have some multipath and signals will bounce around as well. Sometimes it works out though. But no one will really recommend it. You already have some signal issues with some elevation changes; an attic will just add to that. However, if you really want to do that, it's really simple enough to try a temp install. If it doesn't work, you go up on the roof. A question is, can you get the antenna into the attic and easily orient it in any necessary direction required? Framing often limits movement, unless you have a design like hip roofs that can leave a large open space.

As for antenna cost, divided by the cost of monthly cable, it easily pays for itself very quickly. Just don't buy based on marketing hype. If you just want those channels NE of you, I'd suggest a decent directional UHF/VHF-Hi antenna. The smallest I'd go would be like a Winegard HD7694p, but if in the attic, I'd probably want something bigger, like the 7696 (if you can find it - might be discontinued) or 7697. Bigger directional will get you more gain. There's two clusters of channels NE of you, so you'd aim in the middle of that group to find the sweet spot. Just 30 degrees of beam width should cover it. FWIW, I have a 7694 on the roof that reliably picks up some 2Edge 25dbNM signals about 30 miles away, w/o a direct aim, maybe about 10 degrees off since I'm splitting two clusters that are further apart than yours.

Again, the bigger you get, the further distance the antenna can pick up.