First my bias: I love owning real estate because I’m naturally insecure and place a high value on control. Whimsical landlords are one of my least favorite thin

First my bias: I love owning real estate because I’m naturally insecure and place a high value on control. Whimsical landlords are one of my least favorite things. They can cripple your financial plans. (So can not planning for house expenses.) I feel very strongly that your house shouldn’t be considered an investment, and that ideally you should buy a house you enjoy enough that even if the price dips you’ll still feel good living there long enough to pay the mortgage. Bonus: for me having a good place to live pays off because it makes earning extra money far far easier. Long after I made enough money to retire I ran side hustles because did I mention insecure ;) Also you probably know this, but it’s ALWAYS better to buy the worst house in the best neighborhood rather than the best house in the worst neighborhood. Much likelier to preserve most of its value in a downturn and to recover afterwards.