Home Sweet Home

 

gage, come close to the cost of renting an adequate apart-ment. Property tax, insurance, utilities, upkeep, and let us not forget time, add up to a hefty annual cost—an often underestimated hefty annual cost.

"I don't want to belabor this point. I do think home ownership is an excellent investment—one of the best. But excellent and perfect are not synonymous. I just want to inform our young friends here, especially the single ones, that renting is not throwing your money away. Look at Clyde, that slothful soul. He's rented all his life, and because his monthly costs to rent have been substantially less than his costs would have been to own, he's been able to spend more on other things, and he's been able to save more than ten percent of his income."

"Even though I do believe in real estate, I'm happy to hear you say all this, Roy," Tom admitted. "The investment merits of home ownership appeal to me, but I hate fixing things, mowing the lawn, wallpapering, and all that domestic junk. And I don't really need the space. Plus, if I bought even a small house on my salary, I'd definitely feel the pinch. I could do it, but I wouldn't have much money left over for traveling and golfing . . . and girls."

"Yeah, your fantasy life is pretty rich," Cathy teased.

"There you go," Roy said to James Murray tri-umphantly. "A perfect example of someone who is better off renting. Don't worry, though, James. Now he'll have more money to buy bargain properties with his brother, so you'll still make money from him."

"It may interest you to know, Roy, that with half of my commission from Tom's deal, I had their driveway repaved," James Murray bristled.

"It's true, Roy," Tom verified. "I don't mean to blow his