Why are you attacking mortgages in the same paragraph as payday loans?! They're substantially different things. Owning your house isn't a bad thing if you can

Why are you attacking mortgages in the same paragraph as payday loans?! They're substantially different things. Owning your house isn't a bad thing if you can afford it and its value doesn't tank. The buyer is largely responsible for those things. Further, most homeowners treat their homes as an investment. They do what they can and trade up when they can afford [to mortgage] something better. When they retire, they trade down and release 50 years of equity. Yeah pensioners with money. That sounds horrid. The UK's housing issues are far more to do with the inadequacy of rents. Soaring rates (underpinned by flat welfare rates). Unfair terms. Agents that lump on their own hidden fees and arbitrary terms. In more than one case in my past, my rent has been substantially more than the equivalent mortgage would have been.