Yeah, it's basically like insurance. You're not hit with a sudden $10k+ bill, you just have a rent that has ~$100 a month factored in for maintenance costs.

Also with renting, one should be careful to avoid arguments at equilibrium. E.g. not all landlords seek the same profit margin and rent increases don't track improvements perfectly. Comparison shopping and moving opportunistically, one can stay ahead of the curve. Other people already financed the improvement ts you're enjoying!

The property group takes on risk if something like a roof needs replacing unless they just keep a lot of cash sitting around for just such a thing. They may also have access to better loans but I have no idea for sure.

I don't want to keep a pile of cash around waiting for housing emergencies (personal emergencies are a different thing), and I certainly don't want to sell stocks to fix a roof if my roof fails during a recession.

What is it with US roofs? Are they really all terrible, you're the third person in about 10 posts to be scared about massive costs to replace a roof.

setting aside trees, fires etc it hadn't even occurred to me that a roof may need replacing, aside from maybe the occasional tile.

Many US dwellings use asphalt shingles, which wear out. Slate roofs may last for hundreds of years, but they are pricey and I'm not sure how they stand up to golf ball hail.

A 15 year roof replacement is BS. It's more like 30.