Renting vs buying. Picture this, you put $50K cash down on a home. A year later, the hot water heater goes out & there's a massive flood. Your home owner's insurance just ended flood coverage in your state and you forgot to get a secondary flood policy . Now you gotta deplete your savings to cover damages. But, aye! You own a house! Your sister rents, vacations 3x/year, and saves her money. You borrow from her because the bank won't give you a loan because your debt/income ratio looks janky.