On Thursday, 13 June 2013 at 23:19:03 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
Again, we were talking about the financial pros and cons of buying a house vs renting. The utility issue is therefore moot.
The utility though is mathematically equivalent to the house cutting you a check each year for the difference of property taxes, insurance, and repairs and rent though. Which is virtually guaranteed to be a positive number because the landlord has to pay all that too, and presumably wants to turn a profit on top of it.
It is fair to balance that against the downsides of mortgage interest and equity loss, but even if we assume 100% of the principle is just flushed down the toilet, it is quite possible for the utility to still be worth it in dollar terms, especially over 30 or more years of living in the house.
Maybe not as big a gain as stocks or whatever, but also very low risk. Even safe stocks can dip right when you want to use it - imagine wanting to retire in 1930 - but you'll still be able to live in your house (and if it burns down, at least you have insurance so that isn't a total loss either).
