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[quote=Anonymous]When I read your post, OP, I had to double-take and check my history to confirm that I had not actually written it. We are also between houses and living in an apartment right now. The ease and convenience can't be beat. I've told DH that I'm not interested in buying again unless we're in a well-managed condo or townhouse. No more SFH for us. Too much work. I'd rather eat brunch.

The outstanding question though, is whether it's worth it financially. There are probably a lot of factors that would go into that equation, including private information about your specific financial picture. It also depends a lot on the market you're in. I once lived in a market where rents were so low that I would have been able to save more - without even considering investment gain - than I actually gained in equity on the house I bought and then sold. In other words, I would have ended up with more than I got in equity if I had simply saved the difference between rent and mortgage in a 0% interest savings account. But, this will not be the case in all markets.

The other thing to consider is age. Most 30 years mortgages front load the payments to the bank so for the first few years, your payment doesn't actually get you much equity. At 30, this does not matter so much. At 50, it may or may not make as much sense.

FWIW - my father owned multiple properties and on paper had millions, but they were heavily mortgaged and after he passed, I inherited almost nothing. My mother rented and was at the low-income side of the ledger for most of her life. (She only cracked $50k a year when she was in her 60s.) She liked to invest what little she had though, and when she passed, I inherited over $100k. Real estate isn't the only way to make your money grow.[/quote]

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