Thank you for bringing this up, Zero.
This is a major reason as to why I'm reluctant to buy a house in my current location, let alone a fleet of rentals. It brings up another good topic -- how normal should debt be, and how much debt should be considered normal?
I know debt is impossible to avoid, but I've finally got to a point where I don't have any student loans or car payments left. I understand the point of buying a home and building equity, but I also see it as legally agreeing to allow a bank to put a giant noose around my neck. And the more properties I would try to buy (even if I had the money to do so, lol,) would just be all the more nooses I would be piling on.
And what is becoming of all the landlords now in the aftermath of covid, when the government said it was ok for people to not pay their rent? I'm not trying to be insensitive to anyone who lost their job and couldn't pay, but there's always a trickle-down effect. The landlords rely on that income for their own livelihood as well, so what happens when it comes to a screeching halt? I sure wouldn't want to own, say, 5 rentals and then not have anyone paying anything on any of them for even one month, let alone an extended amount of time.
Even the Bible says the the borrower is servant to the lender. Right now, I'm not a slave to any bank or institution, and it's a good feeling. I don't have to worry about anyone coming and taking something away from me because I missed the payments. The costs I would otherwise spend on a house (taxes, HOA, landscaping, maintenance) all go into investing for the future instead.
I know it sounds crazy, but now that I've experienced something different, I even hate the psychological burden alone of being in debt.
As has been mentioned before, I really do think the rent vs. own debate is highly individual. I'm in a situation right now where I like knowing that I can literally be there for friends and family in a relatively short amount of time. I don't have to worry about how long it will take for a house to sell.
My situation has been very fluid over the past several years, and I've come to rely on the flexibility when family members had surgery or other issues where they needed me to move to be with them. Perhaps it's one of the reason God has kept me single.
Funny thing -- none of us who have answered this thread have attempted to answer the original question of what age a person should be looking at buying or owning a home. But I appreciate the discussions we have going, as I think it's been very informative for most everyone.
One of the reasons I've been open about stating my own position is because I want other singles to know it's ok to be in a different position or of a different mindset than everyone else around them. Buying and maintaining a home is a lot harder when it's just one person doing it.
Not all of us might be cut from a potential home-owning cloth, and that's ok.
After all, God has individual callings and directions for each of us.