Dallin, sorry you didn't find the example useful. Note that this is not a made up exercise, but a real life decision I'm facing and how I'm thinking about it as an experienced real estate investor. The numbers are from research and experience. I have made several assumptions but tried to explain them in the article. It absolutely makes sense to buy sometimes, especially for non-financial reasons. I wrote another story about how I needed a house in Austin for 6 months and instead of renting I chose to buy. Why? Because I knew I would turn it into a rental after living in it for 6 months. That is what made it a good investment. But it wasn't a good investment while I was living in it, only after I turned it into a rental.

It's hard to go into too much detail here, feel free to send me an email at howtobuildyourark@gmail.com if you want to continue the discussion. I have dozens of articles explaining different parts of this discussion in more detail as well if you are interested.

I always support that everyone has to make their own decisions as every situation is unique. I have never said "you should always rent" or "you should always buy". I don't believe that. But I do try to get people to think differently about what they are doing, because most people just do what they see others doing or their parents, people who are not wealthy, and so they have the same mediocre results.