Serious question - why does everyone act like renting is throwing money away but buying is always smart?

I bought a house in Austin 4 years ago and the foundation cracked, the AC died, and I had to replace the roof. Total cost was around $28k. My friend rents a place down the street and her landlord fixed everything in 2 days for free. I'm not saying buying is bad for everyone, but I think the whole 'renting is a waste' thing gets repeated way too much without looking at the real costs. Anyone else stuck paying for expensive repairs they didn't expect?

2 comments

2 Comments

jakeb2511d agoMost Upvoted

Respectfully disagree with the whole renting vs buying thing being one sided. Yeah repairs suck and $28k is rough, but in 4 years you probably built like $60k in equity while your friend's rent went up twice. Nobody talks about how your mortgage payment stays mostly the same while renters get hit with $200+ increases every year or two.

betty_palmer11d ago

And that's exactly what people miss when they crunch the numbers... I've been in both spots and the rent increases really sneak up on you, @jakeb25. My mortgage has barely budged in 7 years while my buddy's rent jumped almost $400 total in that same span. You can't put a price on that kind of stability, even when a big repair bill comes knocking.