Five Myths About Home Ownership

Everyone wants to own their "own place", but is it all good? Of course not, here are five truths that I have realized.
Can you add more?
 
1. Housing is a great long-term investment...

2. The homebuyer tax credit makes buying a house more affordable...

3. Homeownership is good for society because owners make better citizens.
...there's no overwhelming evidence that higher homeownership rates make for better societies. Austria, Germany and Denmark all have ownership rates in the low 40 percent range, meaning that just over two-fifths of all housing units are occupied by their owners. This is well below the 68 percent ownership rate in the United States, but those countries don't appear to be suffering a shortage of civic-mindedness. At the other end of the spectrum, Spain's ownership rate tops 80 percent, but no one seriously claims that this makes Spaniards better citizens than Americans.

4. It's safe to buy a house with a very low down payment.

5. Owning a home is cheaper than renting one because you save on rent.