Remember, if you take a mortgage to “buy”  a house, you are effectively RENTING from your bank – but YOU are taking the capital risk  plus YOU pay for the maintenance and insurance of the BANK’S asset. If you fall behind with your “rent” to a bank, you have less legal protection that you would have if you were renting from a private landlord.

Nevertheless, we Brits continue to be  OBSESSED by “ownership” – or should I say, BORROWING in order to invest in a house. If you think about it, we are doing EXACTLY what the banks are doing – BORROWING  in order to invest – except that they may call it “leveraging”.

However, not all nationalities are the same………

For instance while Brits buy, the Germans rent. A town such as Hamburg has 20% home ownership, whereas the German average is only about 40%.

Ever heard of a German Housing Bubble?

(Germany has the HIGHEST proportion of people renting in the European Union.)