Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Renting: 'Nuff Respect Due

I've always been of the mind that unless you're 100 percent sure you can commit to buying a house you can afford, with a fixed mortgage and 20 percent down, you should rent. There are too many toxic products out there to lure cash-strapped buyers into financial misery with as it is, and still not nearly enough education and knowledge among the masses. But it's too easy to classify people as stupid renters and gullible buyers. Everyone has a different situation, and different circumstances.

With that said, David and those like him who have sounded the warning bell about housing were dead on the money, so to speak. Prices are too high, demand is slumping, foreclosures are on the rise, and everyone from Ben Bernanke to the Lereah himself has been forced to concede that the downslide is "substantial." If it hadn't been for people like David that challenged the common wisdom of "Renting is a waste of money--you should buy," we'd have a lot more F%$ed borrowers.

So, ignore the haters and listen to the fans, David. You're doing the right thing.

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It was an exciting moment early on in the history of this humble blog when we got quoted in the New York Times last year. Well, I'm happy to say that my colleague David Livingston, aka the legendary Bubble Meter has surpassed all expectations with his mention in the WSJ about renters riding out the housing slump. I've always been of the mind that unless you're 100 percent sure you can commit to buying a house you can afford, with a fixed mortgage and 20 percent down, you should rent. There are too many toxic products out there to lure cash-strapped buyers into financial misery with as it is, and still not nearly enough education and knowledge among the masses. But it's too easy to classify people as stupid renters and gullible buyers. Everyone has a different situation, and different circumstances. With that said, David and those like him who have sounded the warning bell about housing were dead on the money, so to speak. Prices are too high, demand is slumping, foreclosures are on the rise, and everyone from Ben Bernanke to the Lereah himself has been forced to concede that the downslide is "substantial." If it hadn't been for people like David that challenged the common wisdom of "Renting is a waste of money--you should buy," we'd have a lot more F%$ed borrowers. So, ignore the haters and listen to the fans, David. You're doing the right thing.