Last we checked, there were 112 comments in response to Susan Fornoff's article from Saturday's H&G. In Want a life of leisure? Be a renter, she details how she and her husband sold their Alameda townhouse and became renters. They figure that since they only plan to be in the Bay Area a few more years, they'll end up saving money...
This worked for them because they made a big profit in the first place due to the California housing market. They have the money now to buy any time they want, wherever they want. If you aren't going to settle down and have the discipline to save then buying isn't always the best short-term solution.
But most people don't have the discipline and some of us don't want to move. For us, buying may be a great way to invest our cash, even if it does mean upkeep. But I don't live in an earthquake zone (although I do live in a very hot r.e. market) And I live in an area with old and not so plentiful rental stock. Every apartment I rented before buying had a lot of problems and cheap and reluctant landlords who could rent whether they kept up the place or not. I'm happier keeping up with things on my old house because I know it's up to me, and I will enjoy any improvements I make until I decide to leave. I had one landlord who decided to make improvements in my apartment, and then he declined to renew my lease and moved in himself!
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