Ask the Finance Expert

Rent or Own?

MyHomeIdeas (MHI): Would renting a home make more sense than owning in this economy?

Farnoosh Torabi (FT): Home ownership is a fantastic long-term investment. If your purpose in buying a home is to live in it for many, many years and you have the financial ability to do this right now, go for it. There are actually a lot of great deals out there.

If you are purely interested in making a short-term return on a real estate investment, know that the days of flipping houses in six months or a year for a fat profit are long gone -- at least in most areas.