<prompt> Human: This is more like a ELI5 question since I dont live in the US. But I would like to move there in the near future. I see people pay mortgages for their housesapartment for like 20 or 30 years. Probably 99 of houses after 30 years of use need a serious renovation, especially in the bathroom and kitchen. The renovation will cost you probably between 10k to 30k. Also I assumed when you bought the house, it was newly built. If it was already 20 years old then I dont think you can live in it at all 30 years later.So my question is youve paid monthly payments for a house and then you have to pay for these renovations. How is it worth it to buy houses like this? Isnt it better to rent a newly builtrenovated house every 5 years?In my mind, its only worth it to buy when you have cash ready.Edit: btw, you probably need to do these renovations every 10 years, not 30 years.  <response>: The ELI5 answer is this: after 30 years you own the house outright and get to sell it for full value to the next buyer; this usually allows for breakeven or a profit. 