The questions line up like:
1. Is owning better than renting?
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Question #1 is so open ended its not even funny…You will need to put that with a bit of context. Let me ask this question, Is Married better than single?.
The answer for the question is “DEPENDS”. Depends on do you have kids? are you planning to relocate? what is the condition of your rental? If you are married, does your wife wants to buy? etc etc?
Get a decent rental place if you have to, life is too short. While you have to concern about the price of the house you buy, a house should never be an investment. Personally I am in the process of buying, because after waiting for 2 years Morgan Hill-Temecula did not go to $75/sqft so I settled because the PITI+HOA+MelloRoos is about $200/month over renting. Sorry I lost it, I just feel bad about you living on the boat….