| On an excel spreadsheet level I would agree, but this ignores a couple parts of renting reality that are awful: - You can have the property sold out from under you, and you have to scramble to move. This one is the worst in my mind. - Rulesets for rentals are often more restrictive compared to home ownership. Pets, parking, HOA rules, etc. - Quality is often lower in rentals. Sometimes by more than you would expect. Appliances are a great corner to cut by rental properties. The owner occupied places I've bought had vastly better quality appliances, and I can tell the difference. To get equivalent level in my city, you'll be paying much more. - You determine the quality of work in your place. Renting insulates you from the cost, but often this means your landlord sends someone with duct tape to fix a window instead of weather stripping or replacing the window. It's hard to compare like for like, but these are very real problems. I've had a few friends forced to move, and for some it's been more moves than years. Fine if you live out of a backpack+laptop, but the logistics of renting are a huge pain. Recently, I've noticed an uptick in this behaviour last two years due to landlords flipping their properties, and the subsequent owners out of state. This is definitely worse, I see a pattern of task rabbits and other bottom tier services replacing local work. Leverage is the magic in mortgages, and everyone along the way is getting their cut, the city, the real estate agents, etc. There are a ton of misc expenses in the transaction. Property tax is kind of rent junior edition. There are negatives to owning, parking a bunch of capital, can't escape longer term negative neighbourhood problems, you're responsible for fixes. For all the investing advice you see, you cannot live in a bitcoin/stock account, etc. You have to live somewhere, why not have more control over it. |