Come on, fellow Mustachians! There is NO QUESTION of what the answer would be for a Mustachian:
LOVE WINS - follow what brings you Happiness!
Don't forget that Pete himself focuses on Mustachianism as a LIFESTYLE BLOG. Of the many tenants of a Mustachian life are:
* Early retirement
* Financial independence
* Frugality and simple living
* Anti-consumerism
* The philosophy of happiness
etc.
Yes, I realize there's a LARGE VOCAL contingent of Mustachian's who agree with the thinking "It makes more sense to rent than to buy" in most real estate markets. But the intangibles aren't accounted for in that discussion. In my case, and possibly yours, Happiness is the biggest intangible. By BUYING/OWNING, I feel like I'm investing in myself. By RENTING, I felt as if I was giving money away to someone else who was generating cash-flow to fund THEIR path to FIRE. (and I'm correct in that assumption)
If owning a home involves using OPM (other-peoples-money / a mortgage), so much the better! Think of a mortgage as 'paying your future self WITH INTEREST', that interest being the average 3-to-5% annual home appreciation, and the home mortgage tax exemption...
I thought of my mortgage as investing in 'real estate bonds' with a 3.75% interest rate (my mortgage interest rate). Now I borrow on investment real estate, and the mortgage notes are paid by the renters.
If you want more information on the many Mustachians who are using REI (Real Estate Investing) as a way to generate income, and accelerate FI, you should move to the Landlording forum, and read, read, read (starting with the book recommendations list - my current favorites: "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor", and "Landlording on Autopilot").
My next book will be... [well, who knows what it will be - young adult fiction, financial self-help... who knows...] but it *might* be:
"The Millionaire Property Manager" - how to use real estate investing, and maintenance - for your investments, and for out-of-town investors - to achieve financial independence. MANY things work in your favor here, REI Depreciation being the main one (depreciating the purchase price of rental houses over 27.5years as a way to cut your tax burden). Give yourself the title 'property manager' [it's just semantics] "working for the nameless/faceless corporation" (LLC) that owns the properties (even if the LLC is a pass-thru company owned by you). Even if your home mortgage is your ONLY real estate investment... realize that generations of people have used real estate investment as a way to diversity their investment portfolio.
Best of luck, and let us know what you decide! MFB