One key variable worth adding to the Rent vs Buy discussion is price point. The equation looks much different when your options are renting a $250,000 house for $2000 or renting a $1,000,000 house for $6000. In the lower price points buying is often a better choice, but the flexibility of moving is appealing. In the higher price points where renting is "cheaper", the intangible value of control has more value. Do you really want to get all settled in to your dream home and have the landlord non-renew the lease so they can sell or move back in in? Oddly, buying and living in a "rental" house is a great first move. When it's time to upgrade, you keep it as a rental with your original owner occupied 30yr fixed rate mortgage. Where it goes sideways is when people try to keep McMansions as a rental and have a million dollar asset renting for $6,000 a month.

The first year snapshot looks good on the rent vs buy comparison. Add in a few years of inflation and the rent increases much more than your PITI because P&I are fixed, only TI is subject to inflation. One of the reasons real estate investments are so forgiving is that inflation can solve most problems as long as the asset has fixed rate debt.

Finally if you have a large enough portfolio of rental property and a way to claim RE professional on a tax return you can W2 above $500K AND be in or under the 24% marginal tax bracket.

*No actual comments related to Captain upgrade times were included in this post.
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