[Justsignedup]

- Mortgage payment is always WORSE in the short term compared to rent payment. However rent goes up, and unlike mortgage is not fixed. So while I may be paying $1000 in mortgage but only $800 in rent, in ~ 10 years I will be paying $1000 in mortgage and $1300 in rent. And in 20 years, etc.

- You are correct about investing in properties as pure long-term investments vs stocks/bonds/etc. While mortgage may seem better, it is a singular point of investment, while stocks/bonds/etc allow you to diversify.

[mrmirz]

In my analysis I did include a 3% inflation rate for rent increases as well as property tax increases. The analysis is looking at the long term 30 year outcome of taking the net balance you have renting and putting it into a higher return investment. In many cases you can do better even though you're making rent payments.

[jareds]

Mortgage is not always worse then rent. I'm saving about $200 a month including taxes by having a Mortgage instead of renting a comparable place. It depends on the area and what you are looking for.

[mrmirz]

The article is using median numbers. There are of course regional differences in real estate investment and I was thinking about doing a follow up article on that specifically. I tried to somewhat address this by saying

"There are many mistakes that people could make that would cause their real estate investment to be a less than favorable one. Rushing into home ownership, buying in a region that is failing economically, getting sucked into a loan that is less than optimal, or even being uneducated or less informed about your options could result in a negative outcome."

Saving $200 on your mortgage!? Where do you live?

[jareds]

In a Suburb of Detroit.