FTB - Wanted to buy... but now considering renting...what do you guys think?

mickym

wymondham wrote: »

At Last! - a sensible 'first time buyer'. Doing 100% the right thing.:beer:

Its nice to hear such positive messages.

Ive seen someone close to me go through reposssion years ago... and i dont want the same thing happening to me.

However... I want our hard earned cash to go the right way towards our and our future family's security... i dont want to throw our cash away. (I can appreicate that renting isnt dead money as you HAVE to live somewhere)

Ideally we want to buy our own place.

My only concern is that I havent been able to save a vast amount, despite being the main earner.

Im not one of these people that go out and buys flash stuff, but most of my money over the years has gone on holidays abroad.

I dont get myself into massive debt,and like to grab a bargain.

I do however have a large petrol bill for my communte to work, and have to keep the car on the road (nothing flash!). Once we get a place my employer has said he is happy for me to work from home for most the week, thus saving me on petrol bills.

Im sure once we have our own place, our frequency for eating out at restaurants etc will fall as we will have our own place to spend our time / cook etc.

pinkshoes

To buy a house, you need a 10% deposit saved up, so if you only have £8k, (£1k for stamp duty, £1k solicitors fees), then you would need to save a lot harder!

Your salaries would allow you to borrow perhaps £120k to £160k, so you ought to look at doubling your deposit before thinking about buying.

wymondham

mickym wrote: »

Its nice to hear such positive messages.

Ive seen someone close to me go through reposssion years ago... and i dont want the same thing happening to me.

However... I want our hard earned cash to go the right way towards our and our future family's security... i dont want to throw our cash away. (I can appreicate that renting isnt dead money as you HAVE to live somewhere)

Ideally we want to buy our own place.

My only concern is that I havent been able to save a vast amount, despite being the main earner.

Im not one of these people that go out and buys flash stuff, but most of my money over the years has gone on holidays abroad.

I dont get myself into massive debt,and like to grab a bargain.

I do however have a large petrol bill for my communte to work, and have to keep the car on the road (nothing flash!). Once we get a place my employer has said he is happy for me to work from home for most the week, thus saving me on petrol bills.

Im sure once we have our own place, our frequency for eating out at restaurants etc will fall as we will have our own place to spend our time / cook etc.

here's to you looking at the market, seeing what is happening and making a sensible decision to wait ... most don't do the research.... you'll come up trumps in the end, especially if you save in the meantime...

mickym

pinkshoes wrote: »

To buy a house, you need a 10% deposit saved up, so if you only have £8k, (£1k for stamp duty, £1k solicitors fees), then you would need to save a lot harder!

Your salaries would allow you to borrow perhaps £120k to £160k, so you ought to look at doubling your deposit before thinking about buying.

totally agree with you there.

We were looking at the shared ownership schemes... but as i say...they made them very conveluted, confusing and choosing the best one seems to be a minefield.

Only just this minute checked the prices of shared ownership properties and they are definately over priced compared to buying out right.

We could buy a 3 bedroom solin 'old build' house for the value they put on a 2 bed new build.

We are in our early thirtys and dont want to leave it much longer to have kids... hence wanting to move out. We realise that this will impact our saving potential but will at least allow us still to get on with things.

Any of you out there been long term renters? If so, how do you save/invest for the future?

Thanks for all the feedback its much appreciated!

obsessed_saver

embelliss wrote: »

£650 seems resonable for 3 bed semi, but remember there will be bills on top of that. I currently rent a 3 bed terraced, at 550, and with bills added on it comes close to 900 a month.

Well, this is a good point, but don't forget that it applies even if you buy your own home, so it's not really a point to consider when thinking renting vs buying.

Plus you have to have building insurance if you own the place.

izzybusy23

mickym wrote: »

My gf and I have saved approx £8k to go towards buying a house.

We earn approx 40k a year as combined salary.

We both live at each others parents houses. We are 30 and 33 and are eager to get a place of our own to get on with our own lives and look to starting a family over the next few years.

Due to the current climate we are thinking of putting off buying for at least the year.
We have had the opportunity to get a shard ownership place...but the deals in place seem conveluted and not without their pit falls.

Now , in our region a decent (not too posh, just in an ok area) 2 bed flat/house goes for approx £600 per month. We have seen a 3 bed semi going for £650 a month, and its close by our travelling routes and nr the other halfs gym. Does this seem an excessive amount to pay for rent?

Now ive always been an advocate of buying over renting... but my mind is changing as if we were to get a mortgage we would be probably paying in the region of approx £1050 at least a month, and thats with interest rates staying firm.

Im thinking it would be good to get used to living as if we were paying a mortgage (pay the £650 rent and save the £400 at least a month and put it towards a bigger deposit)

Id really like to get your guys opinions on this... so all feedback appreciated.

Ive put in an appointment with the Estate Agent to give us a look around the rented property we have spotted so would appreciate also the important questions we need to ask.

Big Thanks!

Sounds like a very sensible plan! Me and my husband are renting and plan to do so until 1) we have enough of a deposit saved up to put 20% deposit down and 2) we feel comfortable with the repayments that we take on.

Good luck with your plans!

Ps: £650 for a 3 bed semi sounds a good deal to me as I pay £575 on a 2 bed terrace

Pps: long term renter (3.5 years now) and saving has been hard for me as I have a young daughter so a big chunk of money goes on full time nursery fee's. But this will stop in August 2009 so can put a further £400 a month away after that.

mickym

Im wondering... is it common for potential 'renters' to put in an offer for the monthly rent charge?

Was wondering if its considered rude....or just simply laughable?

dwsjarcmcd

Perfectly acceptable practice, particularly if you sign up for 12 months instead of 6 months. Nothing to lose!

sooz

I expect tenants to haggle. I will lower my asking rent once only. I won't go lower.

However...since I know & expect people to haggle, I ask for more than I want to achieve

mickym

so on a advertised rate of £650 it would be acceptable to try for £600 per month?