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> which would often easily amount to less than rent. Hang on a minute there. Big citation needed, or caveat for which locality you're talking about. In LA or

> which would often easily amount to less than rent. Hang on a minute there. Big citation needed, or caveat for which locality you're talking about. In LA or SF, for example, the interest + property tax + upkeep + HOA fees + closing costs + etc. very often run significantly more than rent on an apartment. And that's after the huge assumption that you can even afford the up-front cost needed to buy a house in the first place.

smallnamespace 9y ago
> the interest + property tax + upkeep + HOA fees + closing costs + etc. very often run significantly more than rent on an apartment Yes, but rental prices also change over time, whereas your mortgage payment doesn't (although the tax deduction falls over time, and your locality may up your property taxes, but these are fairly minor components). If you have reason to believe that rent will continue to increase (either around CPI, or in the case of the Bay Area, 10%+ per annum...), then by all means buying a house now (which produces an infinite stream of rents) allows you to profit off that view. Another way to view this is that you are acquiring an rental inflation-indexed asset and a nominal liability, so you will profit if inflation is high enough.
- dawhizkid 9y ago
  ~72% of rentals in SF are rent-controlled units (capped increase at < 3%/year) As someone who doesn't plan to indefinitely stay in the Bay Area, I'm very happy renting a rent-controlled unit. https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-San-Francisco-apartments-are-under-rent-control https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-San-Francisco-apart...
deleted 9y ago
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