There is a rumor going around that, instead of selling your primary residence now, you can rent it out for nine months first, declare it an investment property, and then deduct the entire capital loss from your income on your taxes.

It’s unfortunate that what could have been an honest examination of the pros and cons of selling now instead turned into a smoke screen of nonsense. There are legitimate reasons to sell in a declining market. Selling to rent instead being first and foremost among them.

For better or worse, things have changed, and our perception of what success is should be changing with the times. If the worlds youngest billionaire, and now “Man of the Year” can build an empire and change the world from a rented house, you shouldn’t feel bad because you decide that home ownership isn’t the right thing for you.

There is still very little housing that’s a good deal to buy in the San Francisco area. You can rent the equivalent of the vast majority of houses for sale there much more cheaply than the monthly cost of owning the same thing. Most owners in the SF area are losing hundreds or thousands of dollars per month compared to renting, and prices are still declining as well, to add insult to monthly injury.

Buying a home in the next 12 months seems to be a highly speculative move especially in California even with lower home prices. It is amazing (although not surprising) that none of the potential options for a housing recovery include renting.