[Sylvanfan]

I am one month away from having two kids, and have two big dogs. For me to rent a comparable property I would be locked into a lease paying 2000 bucks a month, and my land lord would still have an element of control over my life My mortgage with property taxes is 1600 per month and tied up 100 grand of my money when I bought it.

If you have a family it's tough to live in a box on the street, or in a VW Westfalla. You can live like a miser in a crappy one bedroom by the tracks and make your kids grow up to hate you while you save your millions I guess.

Fact is people require a place to live. If you treat your house as an investment go in knowing that it's risky. I treat mine as a necessity if life and was willing to spend a bit to get some everyday comfort for myself and the rest of my family.

I have investments which have lost value too. It's when you are in a position where you have to sell something to cover a debt....that's when you get in trouble. Case in point my sister in law and her husband have split and he's ting to build a bunch of rental properties and has been told he needs to pony up 400 grand by Wednesday....money he doesn't have in liquid for right now.