Thanks for your detailed response, Joey.

FWIW, I never said that your primary residence is typically a good financial investment.

It's merely a better financial choice for most people than renting a similar home, and by definition it is never a financial liability (even if it ends up being a miserable investment).

Thing is, if you do the full math (which I did) for the average person (who the data show holds on to the house an average of 9-10 years), they end up somewhat in the red due to those costs you mention (maintenance, repairs, insurance, property taxes, etc.).

However, once you compare it to what their finances would be like had they rented a similar home for those 9-10 years, paying off their landlord's mortgage and covering all those related costs for the landlord through their rent, they'd have been far far deeper int the red.

That's why Kiyosaki is full of it when he calls your primary residence "a liability."