not as bad as NYC or SF, but housing prices are a serious problem.

With all the talk about the disappearing middle class, there still are a lot of people out there willing to start a bidding war over a $400,000 cottage.

you get nothing but temporary housing when you rent. At the end of the contract you have nothing to show for it. I flushed money down the toilet for too many years to do it again.

Renting in LA was only a temporary necessity until I could save a down payment (that wasn't for an $800K fixer upper), and get on down to San Diego... where its still on the pricey end compared to national levels, but the same quality place is about a 30% discount vs LA.

edit: Some how that article says LA and SD are comparable... absolutely not true. After years of searching for homes in both cities

If you're renting and you suddenly get transferred somewhere else, you don't have to worry about what to do with your house.

If you're renting in what looks like a good neighborhood but turns out to be a crappy neighborhood, or if your residence has too many issues, you can get out of Dodge real fast. You can't do that if you've got a mortgage in that neighborhood.

Also, if you have a mortgage and you have to move when the market is down , you can lose a lot of money if you're forced to sell.

And then there's all that interest that has to be paid with a mortgage.

And if you are buying, you have to pay property taxes and upkeep while the deed is in your name.

you're essentially receiving a 35 cent tax deduction for every dollar you're paying the bank.

or a deduction from your income?

Due to my situation, I've never had to itemize deductions, so I don't know how that works.

You get to deduct mortgage interest on Schedule B.

However, depending on how much your house payments are and how much you have to spend maintaining the house, it may not be worth it. Need a new furnace or a new roof? Ouch!

One of my Portland friends bought a house, spent $12,000 remodeling the basement as a possible room to rent out (no renters ever materialized, since it was not an area that renters would think of looking in), and then lost her job and was forced to sell when she had only $18,000 in equity. This is someone who (along with the mass media, banks, fly-by-night finance companies, realtors, my relatives) was urging me to buy during the housing bubble. I'm glad I did the math and decided against it.

The only way I would buy at this point would be if I had enough cash in hand to cover all or most of the purchase price. Since this is unlikely, I don't mind being a renter.

luckily, I have not (so far) had to travel around for work.

I consider that something to show for it.

to be any more of a "waste" than the grocery money that puts food into my stomach.

Either mortgages or rentals.

Maybe people should always be safe and secure wherever they are until they decide to walk away and be somewhere else.

Some people should never own a home. Look at the interior of someone's car before letting them buy a house in the city or suburbia. Even someone driving a beater should be keeping it clean and tidy. I'm not talking meticulous car worshiper here..... just neat and tidy. If the car looks like it hasn't been waxed or vacuumed since it came off the showroom floor and the windows are so filthy you wonder how they can see out then they'll do the same thing to a house. You can bet it won't be year before the poison ivy overgrowing their house and yard will be a menace in the whole neighborhood.

The worst are the slobs who think it's still the 1930s and they should hoard all the trash and dead cars and appliances in the back yard (or worse the front porch). It's one thing out in the country... but in the city or suburban area it's just rude.

Those people should rent.

And yes I'm a judgmental witch in this regard. I'm an accountant that does a lot of real estate work. I've seen what people who don't want the responsibilities of home ownership do to neighborhoods.

So there

People kept shit strewn about there as well.

Slobby slobs will slob regardless of rent or own.

Which reminds me some investors that care more about being slum lords should not be owning property either.

Yes I know.... Wickedy witch am I.

Most judgmental people aren't. But then again, being self aware and choosing to do nothing about it makes it worse, IMO. Shame.

Think of interest as "rent" of money from the bank and property taxes as "rent" from the city. Payments to equity is the equivalent of a non-liquid savings account and should be disregarded.

Typical home: 1.2MM

Interest (rent from bank) @ 5%: 60,000
Prop tax 1.25% (rent from city): 15,000
Mortgage Interest deduction above standard @40%MTR: 17,000
Total yearly cost (rent equivalent) to own: 58,000
Total monthly cost: 4,800

Ave. rent: 3,700. It's over a 1,000 cheaper to rent in my neighborhood/mo.