Yeah I know. The point is the comparison is not really mortgage vs rent. From a purely financial perspective you're paying mortgage + owning costs + rent opport

Yeah I know. The point is the comparison is not really mortgage vs rent. From a purely financial perspective you're paying mortgage + owning costs + rent opportunity cost + liquidity risk. If you can pay a mortgage most likely you can pay a rent, and it's going to be way cheaper if you factor everything in. And in both cases you can be evicted if you don't pay anyway.