If you own your home you have the peace of mind that you can live in your home for as long as you desire.
On the other hand, if you rent your home you are at the mercy of the landlord as to how long you can live in your rented home.
“If you own your home you have the peace of mind that you can live in your home for as long as you desire.”
If you can pay your property taxes and the government doesn’t seize the land for eminent domain to make a highway or low-income housing or the neighborhood goes to crap and you run the chance of getting killed.
I read stories everyday of older people losing their house because property taxes continue to rise to force occupants to sell to make way for new development.
"Desire" is the key term. If someone decides to start blockbusting your neighborhood, you may take a loss or become a prisoner in a bad neighborhood.
On the other hand, if you rent your home you are at the mercy of the landlord as to how long you can live in your rented home.
True but having an easier ability to leave if the landlord changes or the neighborhood sours may be the better option.
As a comparison, a major factor that led to increased automobile quality was the growth in the percentage of vehicles leased. American car manufacturers in particular rolled out absolute junk to customers for years because they could get away with it. As leasing increased, manufacturers could no longer afford to roll out lemons because lessees would just keep sending them in for repair, hand back the keys at the end of the lease, and go with a different brand on their next lease.
The same could be said, not only of rental properties, but of entire towns. Many people watched their parents or grandparents get stuck with property in a dying town, and are determined not to face the same fate.