I'm convinced renting is the best thing for old age.

The reason I say that is because 9 times out of 10, from what I observed, old people who own end up living in squalor because they lose the ability (financial or otherwise) to care for their house. Maintenance ends up being deferred indefinitely. At the same time senior apartments are incredibly affordable, at least in my area.

Sure, that's not every old person, but I see it enough that it's concerning.

P+I is just a part of the cost of owning a home.

Property tax? Do you really own something that someone else can take away?

And why would renting not work in old age? It works fine, its a value exchange and the money that ive saved for my old age in various investment vehicles will typically outperform most real estate investments.

A lot of things are missed if you just compare hard numbers. A home brings distance from neighbors and size of place means you have privacy and a place to stretch out. Most apts are built on top of one another and price is high per square foot.

I also have an asset I can sell which doesn't exist when renting. Property taxes are generally lower relative to where I could rent and simply don't enter into it.

More important to me, a bought house is my home.

> Property tax? Do you really own something that someone else can take away?

That applies to literally everything in the world, and therefore is pointless to bring up here.

For many people, it's mostly the bank's though, eh? ;)

I think you're joking, but just in case you're not (and for those reading): when you use a mortgage to buy a house, you own the house completely, and the bank owns it not at all. It's your property. That's why you can use it to secure the loan of the mortgage.

If you fail to satisfy your mortgage agreement with the bank, then yes, they can take the house from you in a foreclosure. But until then, it's yours, not theirs.

The point that was attempting to be made, which I agree with, was along the lines of the bank having the power to take it back means that they ultimately have control, regardless of the technical legal terms that indicate that the homeowner owns, well, the home. You REALLY own it after the mortgage is paid off and the bank has no interest in it. Same thing with vehicles. They're leinholders, which the first Google result defined as:

    A lienholder is a lender that legally owns your property (a car, for example) 
    until you pay it off in full. The lender — which can be a bank, financial 
    institution or private party — holds a lien, or legal claim, on the property 
    because they lent you the money to purchase it.

https://www.allstate.com/tr/car-insurance/learning-about-lie...

Edit: legally they DO differ, but they're the same in that they allow the lender to take back the property in the event of non-payment. Therefore, even though you might legally technically own a property with a mortgage, the bank still has the ability to take it away from you, so do you REALLY control it? https://www.quora.com/How-do-a-lien-and-a-mortgage-differ

The bank can't take your property unless you fail to meet your obligations, which means you, not the bank, are in control of the situation.

I understand the point being made. It's a commonly held opinion, and it's fine for inspiring people to get out of debt, but legally it's not correct. Your home is your property, even with a mortgage.

Also, a foreclosure is not the only way to lose your property. Stop paying your taxes and see what happens. Even unpaid unsecured debt (like credit cards) can lead to your home being taken in some situations. Or the government can take your property via eminent domain.

So there is no such thing as REALLY controlling property, in terms of excluding any way it can be taken from you. But you do have specific legal rights to your property, and those apply to mortgages too.

> Renting...generally doesn’t work in old age

Can you expand on why this is the case?