Rent Your Way to Retirement With a 'Rental Mortgage'

Renting is too often considered a stepping stone for people busy saving up for that prototypical American dream: homeownership. But what if we looked at renting as a sound investment choice, rather than a runner-up prize? There's a new school of thought doing just that.

With the disillusionment brought by the recent housing crisis, more people are choosing to rent homes rather than sink money into what can be a risky investment. (How times have changed: When your grandparents scrimped and saved for their first home, the mortgage term "underwater" hadn't been coined.)

This new group of "lifetime renters" are breaking new ground in the housing sector, making the conscious choice as 20- and 30-somethings to ignore the advice of their parents and the National Association of Realtors and settle into a long-term rental.