Spaceman Spiff
Well-known member
Have you ever done the calculation over 40 years where the house is paid off after 25 years vs a rent that increases slowly during 40 years?This.
@SoITNutz. I did a quick calculation and in city taxes and condo fees alone I pay off 4 months of rent. It's like living mortgage free for 4 months. All 5 appliances are included and if they break down the owner has to pay for new ones. Any problems I call and someone comes to fix it for free. There are lots of ways I'm not paying as much as an owner would and I save that extra money.
The key in renting long term is to save and invest diligently. The average appreciation on a house is 4-6% per year. Invest that extra money in various ways and you'll probably get 5-10% on average and I'm being modest.
The only losing situation is if you rent and don't save then yeah, I agree with you, at the end of 20 years you're broke and still have monthly payments for the rest of your life.
The only factor you have to consider is the personal satisfaction of owning a home. There's an intrinsic value to that that you can't pop into a comparison formula.