The military aspect of owning a Primary residence

You would think on a real estate site a lot of people would support home ownership.  Yet everywhere you look, there is a post about the money saved from renting, a book reference describing a house as a liability, or a discussion on the freedom renting offers.

First, let me caveat that every market WILL have some impact on this decision, however, in most cases, I tend to believe that ownership is an advantage.  Lets look at some of the common reasons people prefer renting:

-Insurance, Maintenance, and Taxes

This one puzzles me, especially on sites specializing in real estate.  Is there anyone not paying a insurance and taxes?  Whether it is obvious, such as in a NNN lease, or just a standard rental, that cost is definitely built in.

-Savings

While renting can be initially cheaper, that isn't always the case.  Some of the comparisons I see are down right awful.  If you are comparing large luxury house to a simple apartment, you really aren't comparing apples to apples.  There is nothing wrong with buying the nice big house, just understand you are paying for that luxury and those typically are not ideal for use as future rentals.  Time has to be a consideration here as well.  Assuming the use of a fixed rate mortgage, that payment is not going up over time.  Ask yourself how often your rents are raised.  Consider what it will cost 10 or 20 years from now and when that payment will go away.

-A house is a liability

If it is not generating income (multi-unit and room rentals work wonders) I complete agree, but you still have to live somewhere. For me, real estate is a long term game.  There is no end state to renting.

-Flexibility

Renting definitely offers maximum flexibility.  This should absolutely be a factor when deciding to buy or rent.  Still, a house does have the ability to be sold and if you buy your primary with the same criteria as your rentals, you don't have to sell- you can rent!

-Down payment

This can be a barrier to ownership and is an upfront cost.  There are numerous ways described on BP to reduce or eliminate this cost.  For military members in particular, there is the VA loan covers all of the financing and allows several other costs rolled into the loan as well.

There are likely several other big criteria that I likely missed, but hey, that's what we have the comments section for!  Yes home ownership may require some additional work, but it also allows you to have more options and control (you lease will be renewed if you choose and you can paint it that ugly pink color).  Below are few more advantages that home ownership may offer:

Equity

Not only are you going to eventually pay off the house, you can net a profit when you sell at a later date or have the ability to generate down payments for other properties from cash out refis or HELOCS.  If you buy a property with multiple exit strategies, you never need to worry about selling for a loss.

Appreciation

This gift can be hard to calculate or evaluate, but typically is the most rewarding in desirable areas that don't normally offer some of the other returns.  This return is absolutely not guaranteed, but you can usually count on at least an insurance hedge as the cost of everything is always going up.  Listen to your old Carlton Sheets tapes where he talks about rents one day reaching $1000 in some neighborhoods.  And if you experience a large chunk of appreciation, you can sell and get a capital gains exception on your primary residence.

Additional Benefits of Owning

This includes tax write-offs and tax free income that you typically realize as a homeowner. 

Additionally, while it can be tough to make these purchases moving around in the military, there are a lot of built in advantages. The desirable neighborhood you choose to live in is usually the same spot where thousands of your co-workers would like to rent. Not only does this keep your rentals close to you, it allows you some of the advantages of renting to other military members. Living off base for military members actually entitles them to more money that can typically be budgeted to pay for your expenses.  In addition to military friendly loan programs, buying a home as a future rental allows you to lock into better rates than you would receive buying to rent right away.

I think this write up sums up my view- let me know what I missed, where you stand on this, and most importantly why.