Let's thank the landlord.

Every time somebody discounts the concept of renting apartments, they trot out the same ill-conceived chestnut: You're just throwing your money away. Really? Last time I checked, houses didn't maintain themselves. Appliances, heating, air conditioning, wiring, plumbing; all become the unavoidable tasks of the homeowner.

Know what else I don't get? The way home owners always speak fondly about their lawns, even though the only times they set foot on them is to cut the grass. Then they'll stare at it mournfully, knowing they'll repeat the same odious task the following week. But people insist on having a patch of chemically-soaked crabgrass between their front-door and the highway. The kids can't play on it, because it'll give them tumors.

People like buying fixer-uppers because they're stupid, and have no concept of what it takes to sit cheek-deep in itchy insulation fibers in a dwelling that's running upwards of three-hundred dollars a month to heat. It's like buying a pet, realizing the vet bills are forcing you to choose between buying puppy prozac or buying food. The only difference is that you can't drive your house out to the middle of nowhere, take aim, and hope it dies quickly and painlessly.

Here's another point that people seemingly overlook: Houses are not guaranteed to increase in value. Repeat: That 30-year mortgage you just signed whose terms you kind of mostly understand, could very well become an albatross. Neighborhoods change, markets are jittery, and job security is an almost laughably quaint notion. Adding new gutters, fresh siding or a heart-shaped jacuzzi don't hurt, but if the last year's housing debacle taught any lessons, it's that cycles built on boom-and-bust will eventually yield both extremes.

My arrangement is pretty rosy: If my toilet collapses through the floor into the downstairs apartment, my landlord will fix it. He won't up my rent, he won't charge me a service-fee. He'll just do it, because my monthly payment includes his services. If my overhead lamps short-out, he'll play electrician, and fix it. If my toaster comes alive and tries to kill me, I'll call an exorcist.

I'd like to see hard, physical data that shows that renting is the comparable monetary waste people say it is. In the meantime, it's time to pay for another thirty-days of the security and peace of mind that comes from knowing that it won't be me minding the boilers in a dark basement during the long, cold winter months.