All of which come back to the same situation: someone does not wish to, or simply cannot, buy something, and they feel they deserve to possess it anyway.

No, piracy happens when people feel they have the right to possess something they were unwilling or unable to pay for.

Actually, owning a house is an asset.

Most of us don't own houses. We hold mortgages. Mortgages are liabilities.

Why is enjoying your home/being happy with it and putting some thought into its future marketability/planning for your financial future mutually exclusive to you? My wife and I just bought our first house. We looked at a lot of homes, and of course "do we like it" was one of the main considerations in our decision…