Why Grant Cardone and Ramit Sethi Say Renting Is Not a Waste of Money
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
Edited by
Cory Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
You may have been taught to believe owning your home is always the better answer, but Grant Cardone and Ramit Sethi disagree.
Cardone, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of private equity real estate firm Cardone Capital, and Sethi, a personal finance expert, podcaster and author, believe there’s nothing wrong with renting. Keep reading to find out why they don’t think it’s necessary — or always even a good idea — to own your home.
Grant Cardone
In April 2024, Cardone shared seven reasons why he believes renting is better than buying in a post on X. This included having the opportunity to live in an amenity-rich apartment building, paying less in rent than a mortgage, no downpayment, short-term commitment, living in a community of like-minded people, no maintenance costs and no insurance and property taxes.
Essentially, he believes people save money in a variety of ways by opting to rent instead of buy. Not only that, lifestyle benefits he noted — including apartment amenities and living as part of a community — could make for a better quality of life.
Ramit Sethi
In sharing his position on renting, Sethi highlighted the value attached to it. He noted that people don’t say you’re throwing money away when you dine at a restaurant, but shared his confusion as to why this theory doesn’t generally apply to real estate, in a post on his website.
He described the value of renting as having a roof over your head, in addition to having a landlord to deal with any paperwork and maintenance issues that arise with the home. Comparing this experience to a restaurant, he said the actual rental home is like a restaurant meal, and the work handled by the landlord on your behalf is like the service you receive at a restaurant.
Overall, he said both renting and buying can be a great option. If you need flexibility with your living situation or aren’t financially prepared to own a home, Sethi fully endorsed renting.
If you want to own a home, he said this can be a great way to gradually build equity and wealth. Whether this is a better choice than renting depends on many factors, including the city you live in, your readiness to buy a home and the reason you want to buy a house.
In this situation, he advised running the numbers to see if buying a home makes sense for you financially. Either way, he strongly believes renting is not throwing money away.
More From GOBankingRates
