Don't Buy Stay Renting...Thoughts?

[Ankesh]

Hi Duane,

Thanks for starting an interesting thread.

Here is the gist of an article I had read long time back. A research was done on businesses that had closed down.

Businesses that rented space and had closed down made losses. But businesses who owned their shop and had to close down didn't make losses. Because their property appreciated and made up for any loss.

The ezinearticles article you linked to says:

while shockingly the average return of investment on a house is ZERO!

Thats not true for all the regions and all types of real estate.

Prices of ground level shops or road-side real estate almost always appreciate well above the rate of inflation. So do houses in a growing city.

So - should you buy or rent depends on:

1. Your purpose
2. The timing
3. The location

my two cents - you should own something.

if home ownership does not fit your personal situation, max out the 401k plan at work - you own that.

buy a quality used car instead of a brand new one with the $500-600 payments - you own that.

anyone reading posts here has at least a passing interest in an online business, even if it's just selling on ebay to earn $300 mo. - you own that.