Rent or purchase - young family

roadsidetree

Hi,

Our situation is this -

- We were renting in North East England (furnished) till Dec '05
- Moved to South East (Herts) to have our first child (she was born on 2nd March '06 )
- Currently we are living in my partner's parents house
- I have a full time job. At the moment, my partner is not employed.

And now we want to move out from there. But the question is - whether to buy or rent

I understand that this forum deals with house buying, selling etc. But I would very much appreciate if someone could advise please

seraphina

If you can stick living with your partner's parents for longer, do it and save every penny you can.

We are in Herts at the moment too, but renting is about 300 pounds a month cheaper for us, looking at a repayment mortgage on a similar property. We also don't have to worry about the expenses in keeping up a house. Our letting agency / landlord are good and have fixed any problems very quickly.

Renting gives us flexibility and a lot more cash in the pocket each month - we are using the cash to clear our debts and save for a large deposit, whilst enjoying a good quality of life.

I for one do not understand the headlong rush onto the property ladder - it is a place to live for your family, not an investment to pay your pension etc. I see any gain in house value as a bonus.

roadsidetree

seraphina,

Thanks for your response

We actually prefer the rental route as well. It is just that I have been going around estate agents and also checking online for affordable rental properties and so far majority of them are way beyond our budget.

If push comes to shove, is there anyway we could solicit any assistance from council in finding us a rental property?

mummytofour

depending on your income you get get some housing benefit, even with a private rental, contact the local coucil.