I used to be hell bent on owning a house. It’s the american dream after all. My parents owned once, their parents owned one. It’s ingrained in your brain at a young age that it’s absolutely necessary in order to live a happy life. And maybe even necessary if you want to be a financial success! I know people who expected to retire using their house as pretty much their only asset. I considered this a reasonable thing to do. Lately, I've come to think otherwise. It was probably because I just up and moved to the Midwest on a whim. You can’t up and move when you have a house, unless you want to rent it out, which presents it's own form of complications. How much do I really need an asset that is literally rooted into the ground? How much of the reason I want to own a house is based on propaganda and the fact that so much middlemen make so much money off of home ownership? How annoying would it be to actually have to fix stuff when I know I’m so unhandy / would it ruin my relationship when my girlfriend found me hunched over the sink crying tears of despair and listening to Tori Amos? Those are all questions you need to ask before you just rush out and buy a home. On the other hand, REIT’s are a great option if you still want real estate. CIM (NYSE:CIM) has been looking particularly enticing and could be a decent option for people who don't want to be rooted in one place but value real estate as an investment.