You said before that it would not be a financial positive. Then you show renting is a $13k annual positive. I think that makes perfect sense. Am I missing something here? That is exactly why you would do it lol. It isn't right in some circumstances but renting can make sense financially depending on where you want to live.
Here's my view: Yes, $13K is a financial positive. Ok.
But to make that $13K net, I have to pay a landlord, perhaps put up with a lot of restrictions (can't change the kitchen, layout, rip out something that displeases me, some places you can't even bang a nail in the wall),
rely upon someone else to fix things,
maybe with the insecurity of having to move even if I don't want to.
I'm not new to renting. I've been a landlord (and still am) and when we lived in France we rented; $7200 USD a month.
I just don't view the positives ( a mere $13k) as outweighing a lot of the negatives.
Therein lies the problem. Just because you don't view the same thing the same way as other people doesn't make it wrong.
I'm not sure it's a problem. I never said it was wrong, just a point of view I don't understand or perhaps don't fully appreciate. Like 52 flavors of ice cream, there are things I like and things I don't like but it doesn't make it wrong. If you feel that that renting is a good deal for you, have at it.
Maybe here's the thing for me: I'm living in my great-great grandfather's house. My mom (age 88) lives my great-grandfathers house. People around here don't move much. Most folks in my neighborhood are 3rd and 4th generation owners of the same house they grew up in. One moves out when the funeral director comes and hauls you away.
Maybe the roots are going down too deep for me to grasp a more mobile demographic.