I was pro-rent for a very long time, and very recently bought my first house. I'm still not used to the idea of owning, and I can definitely see the pros and cons, but I think I'm leaning right now toward owning being a better proposition (who knows, the whole experience might change my mind).

What talked me into buying was when someone explained to me that if you buy a house and live in it a few years and then sell it for the exact same price you bought it for, it's basically like living rent-free. The only cost is the taxes, which depending where you are, is not that insurmountable. Where I bought, it's only about $3,000 a year. A total of $9,000 over three years. Combine that with about $10,000 of closing costs to buy and sell, and you're looking at $19,000.

Whereas if I were to rent something at, say, $1,000/month for three years (and that's cheap where I live), that's $36,000. I'd be paying $17k more to live in a crappy cheap apartment!

I could take that extra $17k and put it in the stock market and get the best of both worlds. Or invest it in the house and boost its value.

There are pros and cons in each scenario, I know. I have quite a bit more responsibility each month, but half my mortgage comes back to me at tax time.

Anyway, this was the argument that flipped my switch to buy (and depending on where you live, this is a good time to do it).

Can't help but notice that the one clip you used out of the whole 100 meter long photo happened to feature the girl with by far the biggest boobs.

Of course... I would notice that.