As a technologist who is a part-time real estate investor, this article, like many others, fails to take into account the context of the situations that people can face. There are plenty of situations where buying is better than renting, and plenty where renting is better than buying.
One major concept that breaks the traditional buy/rent arguments is that today we have the internet which creates a new type of opportunity: to work in a different city than where the company is physically located. This greatly changes the dynamic and enables new types of opportunities. Want to see the world? Then don't buy because you could live in 10 countries over 10 years for the same price (or maybe even cheaper depending on where you would have bought).
Point being, there are times where buying is the responsible decision, but renting can also at times be the smart decision. Don't let articles like this influence your decision. Make a spreadsheet, really dig into what are the pros/cons. I've helped many friends do this, and sometimes buying was the right decision, and sometimes it wasn't. What are your life goals? What are your investment goals? There are so many variables at play.
Do what's best for you. I rented for 12 years before I bought. If I had bought earlier, I would have been less likely to move...moving helped me advance my career more quickly but meant I rented longer. In the long run that was the right thing for me as I was able to buy a bigger place in a more expensive area (NYC vs Dallas). For others that might not have been important or necessary. Just because one person has a negative experience doesn't mean that you will to. The responsible thing to do is to understand what _you want_ and make sure you're making the right decisions to make that happen. Buy or rent based on that, not the other way around!!!
> As a technologist who is a part-time real estate investor, this article, like many others, fails to take into account the context of the situations that people can face. There are plenty of situations where buying is better than renting, and plenty where renting is better than buying.
I think the article very adequately explained exactly what you're talking about. Did you read it all the way through? It's pretty long, but she definitely covers how individual situations vary. Her whole point is that buying based off of a cliche is wrong, and every person owes it to themselves to analyze their own situation to make that decision.
Sure everyone should take into account their own situation, but assuming that most situation are going to pay the minimum each month...the author's math is very misleading.
One major concept that breaks the traditional buy/rent arguments is that today we have the internet which creates a new type of opportunity: to work in a different city than where the company is physically located. This greatly changes the dynamic and enables new types of opportunities. Want to see the world? Then don't buy because you could live in 10 countries over 10 years for the same price (or maybe even cheaper depending on where you would have bought).
Point being, there are times where buying is the responsible decision, but renting can also at times be the smart decision. Don't let articles like this influence your decision. Make a spreadsheet, really dig into what are the pros/cons. I've helped many friends do this, and sometimes buying was the right decision, and sometimes it wasn't. What are your life goals? What are your investment goals? There are so many variables at play.
Do what's best for you. I rented for 12 years before I bought. If I had bought earlier, I would have been less likely to move...moving helped me advance my career more quickly but meant I rented longer. In the long run that was the right thing for me as I was able to buy a bigger place in a more expensive area (NYC vs Dallas). For others that might not have been important or necessary. Just because one person has a negative experience doesn't mean that you will to. The responsible thing to do is to understand what _you want_ and make sure you're making the right decisions to make that happen. Buy or rent based on that, not the other way around!!!