Buying A Home Or Private Renting? Which Is The Best Option?

leslieknope wrote: »

http://www.houseexchange.org.uk/ look to see if you can exchange with someone up north that wants to move down here?

Yes I have heard of that website, but my HA uses Homeswaper. And my housing officer told me the only way I can move through the HA is through Homeswaper. As that's the website my HA uses I was told. So I don't know if my HA will let me exchange from another home exchange site.

Now that I am here in Liverpool I have been able to see think more clearly and to be truthful, I don't really want to move up here. Because I don't know the area as well as I thought I did.

And I don't want to go into private rented accommodation now because I know it is not secure. The landlord or letting agent can throw me out anytime or simply not renew the lease at the end of the 6 months. And there is nothing I can do about it.

But in a HA flat that won't happen. And my HA knows I have MH problems and they are understanding.So I don't have to hide anything from them, my mental illness I mean. As long as I pay my rent and don't break the tenancy agreement my HA will never throw me out. I can stay there for the rest of my life if I want to.

But a private landlord or a letting agent might not be. so understanding. And there is always the worry that the landlord could sell the property or will evict me.

I think it is very difficult with a letting agent as there is the possibility if they found out I have MH problems they might not understand or like it.

And as I and other people have said they can evict me anytime if they want to. Even though I am no longer on Housing Benefit, some landlord might consider me to be DSS because I am on DLA and CTB ESA so they might not want me because of this.

Just because I got my inheritace does not mean that a private landlord or letting agent will take me on as a tenant.

It's true I have got the money to pay them a deposit and rent up but a private landlord or letting agent does not have to take anyone on they don't want.

Many still want references and Guarantors even if you do have the money to pay. So it's not so easy to get a private flat. I might not be able to get one. And given the restrictions I have put in place such as, I want to paint and decorate and no Prepayment key or card gas meters.

There is a possibility that I might not find a private flat anyway or might not be able to find the right one.

Or I might end up with a landlord or letting agent that does not maintain the property or one that interferes with me. Such as a letting agent or landlord that wants to come round and inspect the property every month or so.

Or a horrible letting agent or landlord I might not get on with.
As well as the risk of being thrown out.

So I think I am better off staying with my HA as people here have advised me to do or getting a HA home exchange if I don't want to buy a place. Because a HA or Council flat is safer as I have a secure tenancy. As well as the fact that as a Council or HA tenant you have more freedom to do what you want such as decorate and put new carpets down.

So your place feels more like your own home.

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Spread the money between the best paying banks. If the account is variable interest they wouldn't know for sure how much you would earn. No idea why your bank wasn't more helpful.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest

I have my savings in both Nationwide Building Society and Halifax Bank. But the staff in both banks refuse to tel me how much interest I will be paid. They won't tell me it is against their policy. They will only tell me how much per cent they pay depending on what account I have,that's all. Nothing else.

There used to be a time when you had my amount of savings you could live off of the interest. But not anymore. The interest banks pay is very low. Only about £300 which is nothing. And often not even that if you have a regular saving account. You only get about £10 for the whole year. That's all they gave me.

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

First thing to do is go home asap and stop wasting your money on Premier Inn rooms!

Yes your right. I have been here 2 weeks and I am here until Friday. My first Premier £291 for 4 night. My weekend stay in the Manchester one was £196. The one in Birkenhead was £300 and this stay for a week here cost me £656.
So I cannot keep on staying in hotels like this as that will eat up my inheritance.
I think there is no pint in me staying here any longer because it is costing me a fortune. So all I am doing is spending my money and I am getting nothing out of it.
I cannot stay up here in Liverpool for weeks and weeks hoping I will get a place. As that will eat up more of my money.

I did not have to stay up here for so long.
I could have just stayed at home in London and just phoned up the letting agents from home. Then made an appointment to view a flat or to meet with the letting agent.
Then it would not have cost me so much money.
I could have just booked a hotel for about 2 nights and come up here the night before I was to view the property.
Looked at whatever flat the letting agent showed me then gone back home the next day. But I did't but I should have done.
Then I would not have spent so much money on hotels which may I add is a waste of money. And a waste of time as I have not even been to a letting agent.

But then there is another reason for that. I don't think I want to go to a letting agent as I don't want to get a private flat because I now know the risks of doing so.

I used to be in a private flat years ago from 1996 when I left home to 2005. And it was terrible. I never know the landlord it was managed by a letting agent who did not maintain the property.
I would phone the letting agent up and they would send cowboys round.
Who would put tape or Plasticine round leaking toilet pipes instead of replacing them.

They would paint of damp walls they would not even plaster.
I had rotten windows, damp walls and broken floorboards.
And I had to get in and pay private plummer and builders because the workers sent round by my letting agent did botched jobs.

The place was falling apart and I had water coming in through the ceiling from the burst pipe in the flat upstairs.

Then when I went to Environmental Health in 2005 the letting agent threw me out.
And the council with the help of my CMHT Social worker put me in a temporary flat for 5 years.

Which was with a private landlord but the letting agent was supervised by the Council.

But although the flat was nice as it was a new build like my HA is, it was in a rough area. And the neighbors were not very friendly and the letting agent did not understand my OCD. As I kept phoning them up and going to the office with the same thing.
So the letting agent would not have any conversations with me when I phoned them. Every time I had to report a repair I had to talk to the receptionist because the letting agent would not take my calls. And I hated that.

Then after 4 years the Council with the help of my Ex-Social worker found me this HA I am in now. Which is permanent and I have an assured tenancy for life.And life has been a lot better for me here.

My HA is not that bad, and I have only had to wait a few hours for the water pump to be fixed. And the leak on the gutter is OUTSIDE the building not inside. There is no rain coming in my flat so it is not an emergency.
And my HA have been trying to fix it, they have sent workers round several times.The only reason they don't do that job right away is because they have to hire a cherry picker for the workers to get up on the roof. Because of health and safety rules.
But they always come to fix things when I ask.

And my flat is a new build so I don't get many repair problems anyway. But when I do they fix it.

Oh and another thing- If I were to go into a private flat and I did become homeless due to the landlord evicting me.
If I could not find another place in time I would have to go back to the council.

And they would most likely put me in another temporary flat.
And the rent in a temp flat is twice as much as normal private rent. Because the Council lease the flat from both the landlord and the letting agent.


And as you know I don't get HB now because of my savings. So if I did end up in a temporary flat I would have to pay as much as £2000 a month out of my inheritance,even in Liverpool, and I won't like that.

In my last flat which was the temporary flat for 5 years the rent was £250 a week which is about £1500 per calendar month.
But then I was on HB and they paid. But I am not on HB now.

So I should think my self lucky that I am now in my HA flat that I am in. As the rent is only £603 a month which is a lot lower than private rents in Essex and the South of England.

Private rents here are around £900 or £1200 a month, so what my HA is charging is very low for this area.
So I should be forwarned not to go into private accommodation.

Norman_Castle wrote: »

http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/compoundinterestcalculator.php#form2

Yes I have taken a look at the link you showed me and I used that calculator.

Nationwide my bank said they can offer me a Loyalty Saver. Which is like my regular savings account in that I can draw money out whenever I want to without any restrictions.

Nationwide pay 0.75% interest rates for a Loyalty Saver. It used to be 0.95% but their interest rate has gone down.

So what I did with that calculator is I put in the amount I might want to invest 50k. And I calculated how much interest per year and also in 10 years time I would get if I did not withdraw any money.

Where it said income I put in 0 because as I am living off of my savings, I am taking money out not putting money in.

Here are the results I got.

Interest Calculator results:


Year Year Deposits Year Interest Total Deposits Total Interest Balance
1 £0.00 £376.41 £50,000.00 £376.41 £50,376.41

2 £0.00 £379.24 £50,000.00 £755.65 £50,755.65

3 £0.00 £382.09 £50,000.00 £1,137.74 £51,137.74

4 £0.00 £384.97 £50,000.00 £1,522.71 £51,522.71

5 £0.00 £387.87 £50,000.00 £1,910.58 £51,910.58

6 £0.00 £390.79 £50,000.00 £2,301.37 £52,301.37

7 £0.00 £393.73 £50,000.00 £2,695.10 £52,695.10

8 £0.00 £396.69 £50,000.00 £3,091.79 £53,091.79

9 £0.00 £399.68 £50,000.00 £3,491.48 £53,491.48

10 £0.00 £402.69 £50,000.00 £3,894.17 £53,89




So if I put say 50k in a Loyalty Saver for a year without drawing any money out I would have £376.41 interest added to my savings.

And if I did not withdraw any of the money for 10 years I would get £402.69 interest added to my savings.

Which is not very much is it?

So in a years time I would have 50k and £3000 and in 10 years time I would have 53k. Which is not a lot of interest at all considering the amount that would be in there.

It certainly is nothing like I would have expected. I though maybe I would get £1000 or £2000 a year interest at least with the amount I have. But they don't pay that not even with Bonds.

And as I am going to be drawing money out to pay bills and that the interest will probably be less than what I have calculated as I am making regular withdrawals.
Because the £214 a week I get from my benefits does not cover everything. It covers my £603 a month rent but my bills come to about £250 a month and I also have to buy food.

So I will still have to draw some of my money out each week or month to live. Not as much as I thought I would have to. Because I use the £854 a month I get from my DLA and CTB ESA to pay my rent and some of my bills. But it does not cover everything.

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

Barbara, I tried to send you a private message but you don't allow them.

I think you should delete your current location from your posts.

Well I have looked at my profile settings and it says I have allowed everyone to send me a private message.

So you should have been able to PM me.

But I have added you as a contact now so you can try again.

And nobody here knows my real name. Ann Barbs is only a username I made up but it is not my real name.
So there's no way anyone can identify me.

Yes I am staying in Liverpool but people don't know which part of Liverpool. But they don't know which part of Liverpool. Liverpool is very big and there are hundreds of Premir Inns here. So there is no way anyone online can find out where I am staying.

fairy_lights wrote: »

Ann, given that you're struggling to co-ordinate your stay in Liverpool with trips to view rental properties, do you really think you would be able to cope with the process of buying a house?

To be honest with you, no I don't think so.


I don't think I can cope with the stress of moving from Essex to Liverpool either.

Moving house is stressful anyway but a move to here which would be long distance would be even more stressful.

I have talked to some local removal companies where I live in Essex and they have given me quotes.

First of all if I was moving to Liverpool from Essex they would have to take all of my belongings and furniture out of my home the day before. Then keep them in storage over night. As I cannot drive and don't have a car I would have to get the train up here to where ever my flat was in Liverpool.

Then spend the night in my new flat, then the removal company would have to deliver my furniture to me the next morning.

They estimates the one removal company have given me is £3000 that's what it would cost both to pack, move and store my furniture and belongings them transport them to my new home where ever that is in Liverpool.

Even if I got a furnished place I would still have to have a removal company. To transport my cloths and other things. Because you are restricted to so much luggage you can take and carry on the trains.

So a long distance move such as this is going to cost me about £3000 or £2000 if I am lucky. That's for starters.

Then there is the deposit for a private rented flat which could be as much as £2000.


Then if I were to be evicted from my private flat I would have to find somewhere else and that's more deposit money.
And as people have said and I know myself, I could find myself moving from flat to flat every 2 years. Because either the landlord is selling the property or he simply wants me out.

That would stress me out and would also eat up my inheritance more quickly, if I had to keep on paying huge deposits.

As for buying a place the big problem is I don't know enough about Liverpool to know my way around it.

I thought I did but I don't.
I have been here several times over the years but only on short visits as a visitor.

It takes several weeks, if not months to get to know a city as large as this.

But of course I cannot stay here in hotels for months and months or I will eat up all my inheritance.

Even staying here for 2 weeks has cost me some £1400, these hotels are not cheap.

Okay I could have got cheaper accommodation at the hostels they have up here.
But they are not very nice.

There are 2 hostels here that are youth hostels and back packers hostels.

They charge about £20 a night but that's if you sleep in a dormitory with other people which is horrible.

They also do private rooms which are about £45 or £50 a night for a single room on your own. But you don't get the comforts of a hotel. They have only got showers not baths.
And 1 youth hostel has no hot water it goes cold after 5 minutes in the shower.

And the Wifi is never working properly. So I would not be able to use my laptop.
So you can understand why I don't wanna go there.

And the bed and breakfasts are not very nice either. The landlady's are horrible and they want to go in your room every day. Which I don't like because I have got money in there.

That's why I am staying in a proper hotel.

But to buy a place first of all I would have to get a solicitor. But it would probably have to be one in Liverpool. As a solicitor in London is not going to know about properties up North.

Then there is the getting to the letting or estate agents. To do that would involve several trips to Liverpool and stays in hotels-Again.

Then there is getting a hotel for the days I want to come here.

Often hostels and hostels here are full up because this is a busy city and there are always tourist events on.

I always book a hotel before I come here.
Because if you come to Liverpool without pre-booking a hotel fist you won't get one.

So if say I was to view a property next week for example. I would have to pre-book a hotel for that date and sometimes they have not got any rooms.

So that's another problem with viewing propertes-getting a hotel when you need one.
If I could not then I would have to postpone viewing with the estate agent.

And that's also a problem with private rented. Because even if I find a flat I like on Right Move. By the time I have booked the appointment with the letting agent. Then tried to book a hotel for the date I need to come up here_which is sometimes difficult-The flat is gone.

But I have not even got that far as I have not been able to get to a letting agent.

So to be really truthful I don't think I can cope with a long distance move to Liverpool, and I don't know the first thing about buying a place. What you have to do and all that. I just don't know.