Because in the long term you spend dramatically more money. You will constantly have to move when rent increases. You will raise a family with children never having a single frame of reference for what "home" is or was. You are at the mercy of the market. You own no land. A sub-commoner among commoners.
> Because in the long term you spend dramatically more money.
Doesn't matter if I don't have the cash on hand to afford to replace a dead AC unit in addition to having to make a mortgage payment that month. A fixed monthly rent payment is easier to budget for than having to worry about every unplanned maintenance emergency, even if the rent payment is larger over the course of decades.
I looked up my friend's post about his AC problems... he was looking at $3-6k when his compressor died ($6k for a new unit; if he can just replace the compressor, $2k for parts, another $1k for installation), and that was after his AC broke three times the previous year.
We live in Texas. Air conditioners break all the time because the massive heat we get in the summers (100°F for several weeks isn't uncommon) places a huge strain on the AC.
> You will constantly have to move when rent increases.
I've lived in the same place for a decade. My salary has risen with rent.
If I ever move, it'll be because I want a change, not because I'll be priced out of my current place.
> You will raise a family with children never having a single frame of reference for what "home" is or was.
See above. Also, I'm childfree (I've even chemically sterilized myself), so I'll have no children to raise in any kind of home. On top of that, I've seen homeowners who sell their home and move every few years because they keep taking jobs out of state.
> You are at the mercy of the market.
So are homeowners. Remember the subprime crisis a decade ago? Remember all the people who ended up with underwater mortgages because their property values fell? Can you imagine being stuck with owning a home that's worth significantly less than what you owe after you've lost your job and can't find a new job that pays enough to afford your mortgage payment?
> You own no land.
That's an awfully medieval way of thinking, and it doesn't apply to the modern world. You could say the same thing about people who own luxury condos in New York and San Francisco.
"You own no land" is just as relevant to me as "you own no cattle".
If one has a problem replacing an AC and they own a home, they're just bad with money. I live in Arizona. I understand, it's called an emergency fund.
Most people do not want to move frequently.
I think you'll also find most people do not want to be childfree.
Homeowners are not at the mercy of the market. People paying down a mortgage are not true homeowners. They are paying off a mortgage.
"Modern world" or not, "serfs" still exist, and they certainly exist in the perception of others looking outward onto other people's lifestyles.
You can absolutely say the same thing about people who own luxury condos. They're being luxury charged for something they don't own.
You don't own land? You don't own a house? What about a car? You lease that, too? Lifestyle choices stop being lifestyle choices when you can't afford the alternatives.
