The control benefit isn't just psychological; it can have real financial consequences. If you own your home, you can't be told by a landlord that their pet policy has changed and you will have to move out. You also can't have your landlord sell the place where you're living out from underneath you and inform you that the buyer doesn't want to rent the place out any more and you will have to move out. Both of those things have happened to me, and at pretty short notice (about a month to find a new place and move both times), and they were significant costs that I did not expect to have to pay.