Why Buying a House Might Not Be Such a Good Idea After All

I know, I know. I'm a heretic. How could I possibly be so misled/crazy/plain stupid as to suggest that buying a house might not always be a good idea? Isn't buying a house the American Dream and the Holy Grail of financial security? Please don't stop reading. I'm not going to say you should never buy a house, just that it shouldn't be an unconsidered, default goal for your life. Let me see if I can explain my position. Then you decide if it makes any sense. How you might lose more money owning instead of renting I know that most people believe that renting is throwing money away. But that's not always true. Back in 1988, my husband Jon and I believed that "responsible adults" who planned to have children were pretty much obligated to buy a house as soon as possible. So we bought a basic tract home for $76,000. In 1996 we sold that house for $115,000 (just over 50% more than we paid for it). It looks like we "made" $39,000 on th...