Honestly, it depends on your situation and location. Most people see rent as throwing money away. I can give you my personal situation that would show you how renting is better for me. I am actually in the process of selling my place, in order to rent to save money.

I am a single mother. I don't require a large house. My place is currently too big, so that means larger utilities. Here where I leave, utilities are much cheaper in town: water, electric and phone. The electric in one town near me is 50% less than my current carrier.

My mortgage is 385.00 a month. Of that, about 120.00 a month is interest currently. My insurance is 110.00 a month. So by carrying insurance and having to pay interest, I am losing 230.00 a month. I could save at least 100 a month on my electric bill during the hot summer, and at least 200.00 a month during the winter time. When you rent, there is no maintenance. If it's an apartment, there is no grass to mow. With a home, there is always something to replace or going wrong.

My internet is 70.00 a month because there is no broadband in my area, and I have to pay for satellite. High speed internet in town is about 40 bucks a month. Plus, there would be less driving for me. Given all of that, I save money by renting. I can get an apartment in town that is big enough (not government assisted) with all utilities for about 350 to 400 a month.

I am much better off to rent, but the cost of renting here is cheap. Add it up and see which is cheaper. I can live off the interest I pay, maintenance on the property, insurance and utilities. Stuff I can't keep.

Hi @kerryk! I have read an article at moneycentra.msn.com that says that it is smarter to buy a house than rent one.
Buying a house is one of the smartest financial decisions a person will ever make. This is according to the Federal Reserves. It conducted a Survey of Consumer Finances and consistently they found a huge gap between the wealth piled up by homeowners and those accumulated by renters.

You will see the figures below on the average net worth of homeowners vs. renters.
---quote---
Annual income Owners Renters
$80,000 and up $451,200 $87,400
$50,000 to $79,999 $194,610 $25,000
$30,000 to $49,999 $126,500 $10,600
$16,000 to $29,999 $112,600 $4,240
Under $16,000 $73,000 $500
---end of quote---

Home owners builds wealth in two ways. These are by forced savings of paying down a mortgage and through appreciation which is the increase of home values over time.

If you rent, you will always be poor said David Bach, the author of Smart Women Finish Rich and the upcoming The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner. The longer you rent, the more likely you fail to buy and you fall further behind each time.

I think most people say it's better to buy, and in general they're right. For what it's worth, I personally own my home.

However, renting can make lots of sense in certain situations. That's why I disagree with people like David Bach who are always dead set against renting.

Let's compare real estate to cars. I personally will never ever ever be too rich to lease a car. Leasing means that you don't have to sell your car when you're done with it, and selling *really* sucks.

Real estate isn't that much different. If you don't want to live in a place for an extended period of time, going through the process of selling it isn't worth the effort. Renting means you can hand the place back when you're done. No paying a commission; no putting on a show. It is physically impossible for a renter to get stuck with a building they don't want (as long as they're not on a long term lease of course), but it happens to home owners all the time.

When it is cheaper to buy, than to rent: BUY

When it is cheaper to rent, than to buy: Rent and invest the difference.