Originally Posted by Trip7

Right now the math strongly favors renting. Nobody really owns their home. The Bank does and even after you pay it off the govt owns a portion of your home. If a house paid off home owner does not pay property taxes the homeowner will quickly be relieved of their ownership. So it's just a simple math problem to figure out if renting vs home ownership costs. Another issue is hardly anyone, especially young people, factor in the costs of maintaining a home extends far beyond mortgage payments. Water heater failure, furnace goes out, roof needs replacing, Renovations, Lawn care etc etc. Homeownership can eat up valuable time and money