Absolutely not. You can borrow money for a house (and just about anything else while you're working) but you can't take a loan for retirement.

Also:

>I'm just thinking my rent money gains me absolutely nothing. Its a full net loss.

That's not true. It buys you housing.

>Whereas my 401k(all index funds) will return what like 10% at best per year over my lifetime?

Which adds up to a LOT of money by the time you retire.

>I'm spending 20k/year on rent, so why not just take the 401k hit but actually contribute to a mortgage instead of just pissing money away in rent?

Rent isn't just 'pissing money away' and houses have a lot of costs that will also feel like you get nothing for, like taxes, insurance, maintenance and repairs, etc, etc.

You may find these links helpful:

• 401(k) Fund Selection Guide
• 401(k) FAQs
• "How to handle $"

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Never take money from your 401k. You didn’t even mention that you’ll have to pay a penalty/taxes to withdraw from your 401k so you’ll be taking out far more than you’ll be using.

Also, stop thinking of rent as throwing away money. It’s money that buys you housing. You can be much more flexible renting too. Move to a different neighborhood. Move to a smaller place to save money. Buying a house can be a hindrance in many circumstances and can come with many additional expenses. Just go to a home improvement store on the weekend and watch all the happy homeowners throwing away money on plants, mulch, ceiling fans, French doors, new knobs for the cabinets.

Never take money out of your 401k. If you can find a scenario worse than that, it would be during a market downturn, like now.

But I agree with you, get out of rent. It's a zero-sum game. Even if someone tries to justify it to you, in the long-run, you never win.

you will lose a significant chunk of your down payment when you buy only midway through the crash.