Course 9110 lessons

Renting vs. buying a home

A decision-framework guide to renting versus buying, weighing the true all-in cost, the price-to-rent ratio, and how long you'd need to stay for buying to actually win.

Renting vs. buying: framing the real decision

Most people compare renting and buying by holding up two numbers side by side: monthly rent versus monthly mortgage amortization. Whichever number is smaller feels like the winner. That comparison isn't wrong, exactly, it's just incomplete, and this course exists to fill in everything it leaves out. Part of why the shortcut is so tempting is that a monthly payment is the one number that's immediately visible on any listing, while the rest of the true cost only shows up once you actually go looking for it.