LogFAQs > #939100477

awezomerobot posted...

In the longer run it'll end up cheaper to own a home.

Not always, but generally yes.

People tend to underestimate how much their house actually cost them. When they sell it they often look at just the purchase and sale costs and say "I made 50k!", not counting interest payments, property taxes, renovations, etc. It's generally much closer to break even than people think (the last few years notwithstanding where housing prices in many areas have skyrocketed).

People also don't take into consideration that renting tends to be far cheaper (I admit, this is really region dependent), and if you use the excess money to invest, you can sometimes end up further ahead by renting a cheap place. If my payments are 2k a month less and I invest all that money, if I can get 5% return on it, that investment portfolio will be worth well over $1,000,000 after 25 years, likely ending up with more money in my pocket than if I bought a house.

But houses are much much safer investment tools, and kinda force people to invest their money, so it's the right fit for a lot of people.

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Assassins do it from behind.