> So to figure out the overall value of the investment... The value of an investment has nothing to do with how much use you get out of it. You're conflating i

> So to figure out the overall value of the investment... The value of an investment has nothing to do with how much use you get out of it. You're conflating investments with assets. The value of an investment is how much you can sell it for and how much money it bring you (dividends, etc). The value of an asset is how much value you're currently getting out of it. The fact that you'll have to pay money for rent is immaterial. You can count that as paying rent to yourself by owning a house. The equation is simply costs should be less than outlay. If rent <= property taxes + interest on down payment + property taxes + amortized closing costs + opportunity cost for not being able to easily move + repair costs - tax benefits, you win. Otherwise, you're losing.