<prompt> Human: Flair: planningSince were getting married we obviously plan on living together soon. She is convinced that we need to rent an apartment first then progress to buying a house. We plan on staying in the same area and arent looking to move out of state. Edit: Thanks for all the responses! Glad to get some different insights. The future is always unclear so I guess it may not be best to jump into a big commitment like a houseAssistant: Its not. Neither is better or worse. There are advantages and disadvantages to owning or renting and it depends on a variety of factors like five-year plan, job security, housing prices, etc. For a long time, people were told that owning a home is better because you build equity whereas renting is throwing your money away. However, buying and especially owning a house can be incredibly expensive for the ill-prepared. Besides the down payment and mortgage, theres insurance, property tax, maintenance, and repairs. Utilities will be more expensive. And if you dont like your neighbors or neighborhood and want to move, its vastly more complicated and expensive. So sorry, your fiancee sounds reasonable here. Rent for a while to build your savings and take your time before committing to a home purchase. Human: This is the impression Ive always been taught. Its always made sense to own something I can sell later, but reading a lot of the comments here it sounds like renting isnt the worst idea. Thanks for the responses!  <response>: Owning something you can sell later is great, but your choice isnt own a house vs dont own a house - its buy a house vs dont buy a house. Of course having assets is good, but that doesnt mean buying assets is good. 