Just out of curiosity, because I am researching the hell out of this thing...
If you look at it from a rent point of view, let's say you rent at $1000/month to make the math easy. At the end of 3 years you would have put $36k into rent (or $48k for 4 years).
Even if you sell 3-4 years down the road for the same amount you bought, wouldn't it be worth it even factoring in closing costs, fees, interest, etc?
You get tax benefits, the difference, and you don't live in a shitty crash pad while you are home.
Please tell me if this argument is flawed. Just the way I see it I guess.