It's a lot less work if you own your own house. You catch things that are broken early, so the repair is like a squirt of caulk instead of a whole new window f

It's a lot less work if you own your own house. You catch things that are broken early, so the repair is like a squirt of caulk instead of a whole new window frame. You can spray the wasps when the nest is small... not when it's grown so large an exterminator says, "Sorry my insurance won't cover me going up on a ladder for a nest that large... you'll have to call someone else..." Ha. I really like doing home repairs / minor home improvements for myself. It's satisfying work, and on average I probably spend less than 2-3 hours a week on maintenance. I love doing yard work, I find it really relaxing. Mow the lawn, trim the trees... that sort of stuff. When you do it for yourself... you do it right, and you stay ahead of the entropy. With rentals you're relying on the tenant to report issues, and contracted help to take care of things... and they don't ever do as good of a job that you can do. Nothing I hate more than riding some handyman to re-do something the third time because he slopped it together... but it is what it is. If you do buy a house, make sure to ask if it was a rental before you buy it. And regardless, DO NOT skimp on the home inspector... a good home inspector will spend a full day in your house, and charge you around $500-750 (that's in Texas, you can adjust for where you live). They will find all sorts of stuff that will save you money and give you negotiating power. But yeah on the whole I really enjoy owning my own house. Just not so much renting... I bought when the value was like 1/2 what it is now... very tempting to sell the rental property... but it's been going up 10%+ a year... and I haven't had a tenant's lease end at a good time to sell (March - June are good times to sell in Texas, probably other places too... July - August are good times to have people sign leases). Anyway I tell myself to just wait it out and give it a little more time... You always have to work for the money. (=