“You’re not a failure if you rent,” Ramit Sethi, a self-made millionaire of Indian heritage and star of Netflix’s How to Get Rich, remarked while expressing his “most controversial money opinion”: property is overrated.
“I’m tired of America’s blind obsession with homeownership,” Sethi told CNBC Make It, adding that while homeownership is a costly investment that should not be taken lightly, the belief that property is always a good investment has become a “religion” in the country.
“That simply does not make sense, especially now, when the price of housing has skyrocketed and the effect is to make people feel like failures, especially young people, people without money, and minorities,” Ramit Sethi told the outlet.
Multiple newspapers estimate Sethi’s net worth to be between $20 and $25 million. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
He has lived in several of the most costly rental markets in the United States, such as San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. “I chose to rent in all of those locations.” And I made more money renting than I would have if I had owned,” he explained to CNBC Make It, referring to the possible return from selling a home.
Sethi also told the outlet that, while renting is frequently a less expensive alternative than owning, people usually claim it’s like “throwing your money away” because the money is going to a landlord rather than an investment. However, this does not take into account the genuine costs of ownership, such as mortgage payments, closing charges, homeowners association fees, utilities, and maintenance.
