I'm not a all confused. Smoke and mirrors are wasted, if there are any. Too much complex terminology has the same effect. I tune it out. When financial advisers suggested that I invest in complex financial instruments which they could not explain in simple, declarative sentences, I sent them packing. Maybe that's just me, but my still-solvent acquaintances did the same thing.

Reality check: Most people who post on here are not financially naive and have done their homework before investing their money or they would be back in the states wringing their hands in despair over their losses instead of dining out around Lakeside.

Furthermore, this thread has turned into a pointless pizzing contest. I suspect Hound Dog was having you on with his example. At least, that's how it came across to me, so I wouldn't take any of it too seriously. I don't.

The question of buying/renting has engaged the interest of many so-called financial experts since the dawn of private property.
There is no answer, since none of us has the necessary crystal ball to predict things like my first home that I bought in Larkspur, CA for 10K back in the sixties turning into an 800K property before the bubble burst. If there were such prescience, we'd all be a lot richer. As it is, most of us who knew when to bail did all right.

Meanwhile, the water is rising. This morning, it was up to the level of the worthless boat parked near the Ajijic pier.
Have a fine day.