02/09/2026
Renting is not cheaper especially these days, nothing is good to constantly pay, that never becomes yours!
When I bought my house in 2000, my neighbor scolded me.
She had been renting since the 1960s and she assured me housing was overpriced & it was much cheaper to rent.
She was renting from the same man for 30+ years.
Five years later, her landlord died and his son sold the house within two months. She had 30 days to leave the house she had lived in for 30+ years.
Given that she moved to a one bedroom apartment, I'm going to guess she was not investing any rent differential in those 30+ years.
The new owner put $50k into it & sold it for three times what I paid for mine.
Currently, mine is now roughly four times what I paid for it and if I modernized the bathrooms, probably five. (Mine is smaller.)
Her house? At least six times.
But if I die tomorrow, the nieces will own it free and clear. They won't have to rush to empty it out. They won't have to scramble for a rent payment because I died on the 28th and the rent is due on the 1st.
Yes, if you're younger and you expect to be moving for work or traveling a lot, renting is better.
Also, unlike sixty years ago, your landlord is more likely to be a private equity or a national corporation. Your rent is going to be driven by algorithms. You can be evicted in some places without notice. Your rent can be raised without notice.
Your landlord can declare bankruptcy and the bank evicts you.
Yes, there are housing bubbles. But unlike stock market bubbles, you still have a roof over your head.
Don't despair because you can't afford your dream house. Get something smaller, maybe older and learn basic maintenance. Equity is INVISIBLE SAVINGS, it looks meaningless until it doesn't. Look and see if your county has a first time homeowners program.
And if you’ve got the credit, try for the 15 year, instead of the 30.
Yes, there's maintenance and property taxes and insurance. Those things exist when you rent as well. Only you don't see them because you're paying them for your landlord.
(Bridget Collins, Facebook Post, January 2026)
