[napscoordinator]

Oh gosh. Really? You compare yourself to a renter who does not have anything to show for it at the end. You are better off.....you lower your taxes every year until the deed is paid and then get to sell the home for a MUCH higher price then you paid for it (if you wait at least 30 years). If you are jealous of renters then you are CRAZY! I would never want to rent. By the way, the rents go up every year too. I know in Annapolis you are paying rents around 1600 dollars and that is for a small apartment. I am paying around 2300 a month for my house....yep more but at least it is going towards something. My Mom’s home in Pennsylvania has a tax of around 2000 a year....I should be so lucky.

[Gaffer]

...you lower your taxes every year until the deed is paid and then get to sell the home for a MUCH higher price then you paid for it (if you wait at least 30 years).

That used to be the case before the last housing bubble. Young DINKs buying $1M houses making interest-only loan payments on a 100% loan. Doable monthly payments coupled that are way way better than a comparable rent, with 1/3 return on interest payments each year through deductible taxes, building equity all the while. 5 - 10 years later cash it out with a good sized appreciation in selloff... That stopped and will never return again. Banks aren't loaning anywhere near 100% (or over like before) nor are they selling off their loans to some government backed bundled derivative concoction.

[dfwgator]

As a landlord I can tell we factor in the cost of the property tax into the amount of rent we charge.