^^^ That may be so, but I also see wayyyyy more "renters" go hoping in and out of leases since they really have nothing big to loose.

I have 7 rental properties. I have 2 that just became vacant this week because of dead-beat renters that can't afford $750/month. If they can't afford $750, they certainly can't afford a house...very true. But that has nothing to do with maintainance, and everything to do with being dead-beats.

Think about it; how many more "renters" do you see staying in the same place more than a yr or 2 at the most. I'd venture to say atleast 75% don't. If you had the same percentage selling their houses to "move", I'd be a multi-millionaire now. There are far more hoppers and people constantly moving in and out in the rental world than there is in the owner world.

My point is that IF some of those renters stayed put in one place for as long as most homeowners do, they'd see problems too. If you compare a new house to a new apartment complex, I'd be willing to bet you'd see much more "maintainance" issues in the apt complex since people there take far less care of the place since it's not theirs.

My house is 4 yrs old and I've been living in it for 3 of those years. The only major expenses I've accrued were all voluntary so far. Fence, widening the driveway, finishing the basement, etc were all voluntary. I had to fix little things here and there but nothing major yet. So I don't see how so many people talk about all these "hidden" costs. If you buy a POS, then it's expected and usually the price reflects that. If you don't do preventive maintainance, it will also eventually show. But that's not the house's fault, it's the negligent owner.

It's just like the old car debate of lease vs buying, except homes usually appreciate vs car's that depreciate. For some people it's better to lease for their own reasons, but for the majority of people leasing is merely renting and you'll never "own" anything. If that's your choice, cool. I just have an issue with anyone that puts out info that is clearly incorrect and skewed. If someone doesn't want to buy it's cool.