[DamnYuppie]

Those fees, by comparison to home purchases, are very minimal. The doc fees to buy a house in the US alone runs well over $1300, that doesn't even include paying for points or inspections. You have the same type of fees to rent in the US as well, credit checks, deposits, pet fees, and move in fees for certain buildings depending upon access and parking.

[walshemj]

but that is amortized over a much longer time frame than renters

[DamnYuppie]

That is probably true yet that time frame is on average 4-7 years, not the 30 years most people think.