I bought a house 5 years ago for a couple of reasons. 1. I have to live somewhere. 2. I was tired of living in an apartment, and my mortgage is less than what

I bought a house 5 years ago for a couple of reasons. 1. I have to live somewhere. 2. I was tired of living in an apartment, and my mortgage is less than what rent on a comparable house would be. A lot times I see people mention that you are better off putting the money into an S&P 500 fund. However what they don't account for, is that you have to live somewhere. So you either pay rent or pay a mortgage. Also you don't have to put down 20%. With an FHA loan you can do as little as 3%. You will have to pay PMI, but if you in a market with decent appreciation you can get rid of that in a few years. I agree that buying a home is not for everyone. If you like to move around or don't think you'll be saying in an area for 5 to 10 years, you are better off renting. Also if your financial position is not where you can afford to deal with unexpected repairs, you are probably better off renting. I also don't think you should buy a house as an investment. That just leads to over extending yourself. Instead you should buy a house because you want to live there.