[est31]

Yes, you must consume housing. But if you can't pay off your mortgage in a reasonable time frame (10-15 years), "owning" it doesn't give you any security, at least against sudden job loss. If house prices crash and you lose your job, you might be kicked out of your rented apartment, but that's it. At least here in Germany, if you were in the same situation as home owner, you'd lose your house and have to pay back the debt resulting from the lower house prices (unless you file for bankruptcy).

[cesarb]

> But if you can't pay off your mortgage in a reasonable time frame (10-15 years), "owning" it doesn't give you any security, at least against sudden job loss.

If you're still paying your mortgage, do you really own your home?

[wallacoloo]

> If you're still paying your mortgage, do you really own your home?

You own your home in this scenario just as much as the entity on the other side of the equation owns the income stream from your mortgage.

A mortgage is a collateralized loan. You agree to give up ownership of your collateral if you fail to meet the terms of you contract. So yes, you own the home now, subject to constraints.

Ownership is almost always subject to some constraints. Nobody says “do you own your home even though you can be taken out of it (and jailed) if you refuse to pay taxes on it?” even though that’s arguably a more extreme condition upon your ownership. While I am sympathetic to conversation about the broader meaning of ownership, this “mortgage => !ownership” thing is a tired meme.

[WanderPanda]

You're right the bank owns your life, your ability to create value. What a terrible place to be in