I've always thought I would own a home — but I love my rental and want to stay. Am I making a huge mistake?

Let’s imagine, for example, that Piper always thought she’d become a homeowner, but she loves her rental and doesn’t want to move. Unfortunately, she’s feeling a lot of pressure from loved ones to buy a place of her own, so she’s questioning her choice.

Fortunately, most experts suggest Piper will be just fine — and she could even end up better off for having rented in some circumstances.

Renting has some big benefits over buying

Despite the widespread belief that owning a home is key to financial success, there are actually some pretty big benefits to renting — both financial and non-financial.

Jules Garcia, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Warburg, told Moneywise that he likes to break it down into three big factors: liquidity, mobility, and optionality. “These three reasons encapsulate a renter’s ability to potentially have more money at their disposal because they are not concentrating a good chunk of assets into one specific investment,” Garcia said.

Another Coldwell Banker Warburg broker, Jacob Wood, agrees. “Keeping your money in home equity for your primary residence, with average long-term annual growth of 4.5% and an 8% exit cost, will rarely pencil out versus keeping it in the S&P 500 with 6% average long-term annual growth and a 2% exit cost, even after factoring in the tax advantages of ownership,” Wood said.

Wood also told Moneywise that “Total ownership-related carrying cost will also almost always be higher than monthly rent for a comparable home,” which is a sentiment echoed by Christopher Walsh, a financial advisor at Capital Choice Financial Group.

“New roof, not your problem,” Walsh told Moneywise. “Broken dishwasher, nope, not you. Busted plumbing, again, taken care of by the landlord. Those numbers are real here. A roof in Phoenix can cost $30,000 to $50,000. Ten to $15,000 for a new air conditioner. Water heaters can be thousands of dollars, and the cost can grow if there’s damage to your home.”

Piper’s not wrong to want to skip out on those costs, or the hassle of arranging repairs, especially if she can remain in a rental she loves instead. “This can definitely make sense if someone truly loves their rental property,” said Clifford Cornell, a financial planner at Bone Fide Wealth. “This could largely be a lifestyle decision that outweighs the financial implications.”

This may be the ideal time not to buy

Of course, there are also perks to purchasing. “There are people I’d point toward buying instead,” Walsh said. “They have assets and a budget to make it make sense. They would benefit from the step-up in tax basis at death. They could use the space, and the sense of ownership may improve upon their pride in their wealth-building journey.”

But even for those who theoretically are better off buying, that may not be the case right now.

“If you rent your home rather than owning it, you may be in luck,” Steven Conners, founder and president of Conners Wealth Management, told Moneywise. “There hasn’t been this much of a rise in mortgage rates since before the financial crisis of 2008.”

Conners explained that a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now offers rates well above 6.50%. “This is substantially higher than what borrowers are used to. Couple this with a dramatic increase in prices of single-family homes in the U.S., and you have a record unaffordability issue,” he said.