So let’s talk about the army of internet financial influencers who keep yelling that buying your main home is a terrible idea. According to them, you should always rent, keep renting, and definitely never own the roof over your head. Their logic usually sounds like this: “What if I need to move across the country tomorrow for a massive opportunity? I don’t want to be stuck with a house for months.”

That sales pitch sounds smart until you realize one tiny detail. These same influencers are out there building empires of rental homes. They want you renting because it makes them rich. Not you. Them.

The Convenient Myth They Keep Repeating

The script goes something like this. Buying a home ties you down. Renting lets you be nimble. You might need to move. You might need flexibility. Homeownership is a trap. Renting gives freedom.

It sounds great if you don’t think very long about it. Because the twist is that most of these influencers are not renting their own homes. They are out buying apartment complexes, single family rentals, short term rentals, entire subdivisions in some cases. They are collecting rent from people who listened to their advice.

One of the loudest examples is Grant Cardone. For years he pushed the idea that no one should buy a primary residence. Then he bought his own primary residence. Why? Because homeownership actually works. It always has.

Billionaires Somehow Can’t Float A Mortgage For Sixty Days

The argument about needing flexibility in case you have to move across the country tomorrow deserves a slow blink. The average home in the United States sits on the market about fifty to sixty days. Here in Central Indiana that number is 16 days. Just over two weeks. Are these influencers so wealthy and powerful that a single mortgage payment during a move would destroy them, yet somehow they can buy entire apartment complexes? These are the same people raising capital to buy thousands of doors. But one house payment? Impossible.

This is where their narrative cracks. They are not worried about flexibility. They are worried you will stop renting from them.

Renting Lets Them Build Equity While You Build Nothing

When you rent, your money disappears. Not metaphorically. Literally. You pay someone else’s mortgage, someone else’s property taxes, someone else’s future wealth. When they tell you to rent, they are saying “give me equity instead of building it yourself.”

When you buy, every payment chips away at your loan and builds ownership. You gain equity with every month. You get something back if you ever sell. Even if the home only increases in value a small amount, you walk away with something. Renting never gives you a check on the way out. Your landlord keeps the check. You keep the memories.

Owning Actually Protects You More Than Renting

Everyone loves painting buying as some terrifying black hole of responsibility. Yes, you take care of repairs. Yes, you mow your lawn or hire someone. Yes, you deal with the occasional surprise like a cranky water heater.

But renting has its own surprises.
Rent hikes. Sudden sales. Lease non renewal. Landlords who “aren’t available this week” when your AC dies. In many cities rent increases are outpacing home price appreciation. The freedom these influencers promise is often an illusion.

If you want to understand what owning really costs beyond the purchase price, the detailed breakdown at hidden home buying costs is worth reading. These aren’t secret fees. They’re normal parts of the process. And even then, ownership still wins long term.

The Most Honest Question: How Long Do You Plan To Stay?

This question matters more than any influencer rant. If you only plan to be somewhere twelve months, renting makes sense. That’s not controversial. Short timelines tilt toward renting because you don’t have enough time for equity to grow.

But if you plan to stay five, seven, ten years, buying usually beats renting by a mile. You stabilize your housing cost. You enjoy appreciation. You build equity.

If you need a clear step by step look at how long the buying process actually takes, the guide at home buying timeline walks through the full journey without any influencer fog.

The Real Reason They Want You To Rent

Let’s pull the curtain back. Influencers telling you to rent forever aren’t really concerned about your flexibility. They are concerned about their deal flow. The more people who rent instead of buy, the more demand for their properties. The more of your money becomes their equity.

If they can convince you that buying your own home is a “bad investment,” they get to position themselves as the “professional investors” who should own everything. They buy the assets. You pay the mortgage. They keep the appreciation. You get a rent reminder email.

This has always been the game. They just packaged it into a TikTok sized philosophy.

Buying A Home Is Not About Perfection

You don’t need the perfect down payment, perfect credit score, or perfect market conditions to buy a home. Waiting for perfection keeps people renting way longer than they ever planned. Meanwhile home prices move, rents move, and you stay in the same situation.

Buying is about readiness, not perfection.
Readiness means you can afford the payment. You want roots. You want stability. You want to stop bleeding rent every month. If you want a quick way to check your actual budget range, the numbers inside how much house can I afford are a solid place to start.

Let’s Be Honest: Movement Happens, But It’s Not The End Of The World

You might need to move someday. Great. People sell homes every day. It takes a little time. You may pay a few fees. You may break even or make a profit. But you walk away with something.

Compare that to renting. You leave. You get nothing. Maybe you lose a deposit. Maybe you deal with a surprise rent increase during your final months. Maybe you scramble for another place.

The influencer logic that “you might need to move so never buy” is like saying “you might need a new car someday so never own one.” It’s silly. It collapses under the slightest weight.

Why Most Normal People Should Ignore Influencers Entirely

You are not trying to build a 3,000-unit real estate empire. You’re not trying to syndicate deals. You’re not trying to be a landlord forever. You’re trying to build a stable life, in a stable home, while growing long term wealth without running a full time property operation.

Buying your main residence is still one of the most accessible paths toward long term financial stability. It gives you control. It gives you ownership. It gives you a real asset. And it gets you out of the cycle of paying someone else to get richer.

The Part They Don’t Want You To Notice

The influencers who preach “never buy” often quietly end up doing exactly what they told you not to do. Because at some point even they realize renting long term is a losing game when you have the income to buy.

They buy because owning works.
You should consider buying for the same reason.

Rent if your timeline is short or your situation is unstable. But don’t rent because someone with a private jet says “renting is the move” while signing closing papers on their own multi million dollar home.

The smartest move is the one that builds your wealth, not theirs.