There is a stress in renting too. You never know if your landlord might want to change things resulting in a request for you to move out. eg he wants relatives to have the apartment, etc.
This is something that is definitely overlooked in these discussions. I'm in the US, not living in SF or NYC but in a city growing fairly rapidly and closing on a house in a few weeks. I know that my mortgage won't increase (property taxes excluded), and I don't have to worry about a landlord deciding he wants to redevelop the property or just raising the rent enough that I'm forced to move - both of which are happening with regularity in my area.
I don't think home ownership is a decision to be made lightly and I disagree with the idea presented in the article that it should be done to make money, but there are definitely numerous benefits and the idea of a mortgage being somehow evil just because it's debt is extreme. As another commenter mentioned, debt is a tool which can be used poorly or wisely.
No landlord would want their family renting the place in lieu of real tenants. Real tenants pay, on time. Family likes to take advantage of you (ie. they find excuses to pay less or not at all).
Family is a convenient way to push out tenants in many cities, though. Even cities with strong tenant protections often have exceptions for evicting tenants in order to allow family members to occupy the rental.
This is less of an issue if your landlord is a giant faceless soulless holding company that operates many real estate businesses. Though such landlords have their own problems.
I don't think home ownership is a decision to be made lightly and I disagree with the idea presented in the article that it should be done to make money, but there are definitely numerous benefits and the idea of a mortgage being somehow evil just because it's debt is extreme. As another commenter mentioned, debt is a tool which can be used poorly or wisely.