[quote=irondoc]
Do you think there is any good reason to buy a home versus renting?
If renting is the universally “better” solution, who should be owning the dwellings that are being rented?
Is there a “prime” time in life to purchase a home?[/quote]
I don’t think renting is universally “better”. It really all comes down to which is cheaper at the time. Buying a house is one way to hedge against inflation (if you buy w/ a fixed rate). When you buy a home and plan to stay in it for a very long time, you’d know exactly what your monthly payment is for the next 15-30 years. While rent, it can go up and down. However, if inflation continue to average out to be ~3% each year, that’s how much you can expect rent to go up by on average. There’s no one prime time to buy a home for everyone. Everyone is different and have different plans, but for me, the prime time is when I can easily afford a home, ready to settle down, and it’s cheaper to buy the place for cheaper than it cost to rent a similar place. Also, I have to keep in mind as to when I want to retire. I want to have a paid off house by retirement.
