Deciding whether to rent or to buy

Some interesting facts about renters: 41 percent of rentalhouseholds rent as a matter of choice, according to a recent surveyby Fannie Mae, which promotes homeownership. In 1999, nearly fourout of 10 renter households lived in single-family homes. Householdsthat rent single-family homes have median incomes of $26,300,according to a report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies ofHarvard University. 5.6 million households with incomes over $50,000rent their housing. On the other end, two-worker households earningthe minimum wage cannot afford a typical 2-bedroom apartment. Therewere 35 million rental households in the United States last yearcompared with 70 million homeowner …