But if you continually put the difference between the mortgage payment and the rent into an investment it could work out better. You're not accounting for it's

But if you continually put the difference between the mortgage payment and the rent into an investment it could work out better. You're not accounting for it's possible time value. Again, no absolutes here, it depends on the numbers. The difference you're investing will decline as the rent rises but at the end of 30 years you could well be in the same position as the guy who bought. On the other hand, on a fixed-rate 30 year mortgage, the 30 years is the amortization, not the number of years the rate is fixed, which is typically 5 years I believe, after which it resets to the market rate. If you were disciplined you could adjust the mortgage - rent gap every 5 years based on the interest rate.