Big Ben vs Indy or Brees vs Rams ? <| sep |> First off , don ' t tell me what I know and don ' t know . I have owned two houses and am getting ready to buy a third . One was relatively normal , but we still gutted kitchen , bathroom , and installed hard wood floors . Second one was a complete gut job and home was originally built in 1957 . We replaced EVERYTHING . Which yes , was expensive , but we knew that going in . We didn ' t have to get it . Second , your information on new home inventory is admittedly geographic specific , but is across the board false . Plenty of new homes to get into in most parts of the country , but it ' s also irrelevant . You can get a good home that ' s not brand new . Again , just get a home inspection . Homes are not a surprise , barring mechanical failure on an appliance or hvac system , you can see issues coming . Lastly , if you rent , you are paying replacement costs anyway , it ' s built into your rent . So you are paying the repairs , you just don ' t see it . On top of that , someone else is getting the asset appreciation . If you are moving in 3 years or less , renting makes total sense , but to rent your whole life cause you don ' t know how to budget for a potential repair is financial stupidity writ large .