> - “I don’t want to pay those high real estate taxes.” Renters still pay the same real estate taxes, it’s just baked into the rent and can’t be deducted from t

> - “I don’t want to pay those high real estate taxes.” Renters still pay the same real estate taxes, it’s just baked into the rent and can’t be deducted from taxes. It's quite common to rent a house when it is worth X, and for that rent to remain nearly the same even if the house becomes worth X+Y. Due to common restrictions on how much rent can be increased year to year, the taxes on the house can (and often do) grow considerably for the owner, while the rent stays nearly the same. In this very common scenario, the taxes are not at all baked into the rent and the owner starts to lose out until you move and they can raise the rent considerably for a new renter. In other words, renting does in fact protect renters from a rise in property values when real estate tax enters the equation. The flip side, of course, is when property loses value, the renters potentially lose out since they continue to pay based on prior taxes. I should add that the pros and cons are often local to the country you live. In many places, Germany for example, mortgage tax is not deducted from income tax. Which is perhaps why half the population in Germany rents a house for most of their lives.