Renting a house: A good or bad move?

Craig_MGR

Hi there, I have just put a deposit down for a cottage I will be renting from mid July. The rent is £540 a month. Already I am sick of hearing people say it is "throwing money away" . The house is located in a lovely village between Leicester and Melton Mowbray.

Details-
- Two double bedrooms
- two bathrooms
- two reception rooms
- kitchen ( fairly modern)
- Large garden to the front and sides and parking .

To buy a similar house it would cost £170,000 (at least) . I only have £15,000 saved up and i'm single , 23 and earning £23k a year.

How is anyone expected to get a mortgage, if I could it would be on something rather grim in Leicester.

What are peoples opinions on renting?

I would post some pictures , but it won't let me

theartfullodger

Well, that largely depends on if house prices go up or down... and will they?? "F*** Knows"....

Cheers!

Lodger

Dave101t

my brother rents, and pays more than that, but i expect with your council tax and bills it will work out as 700/ month.
the only problem would be if you did it for life, as you get no asset as a benefit, but for a few years, even up to 10, id love a cottage like that!
you could easily rent a double room at 300/month (all in), thereby saving you around half of the monthly bill.
i live with my gf who owns her own house, i would never, never consider getting a mortgage, id move in with my mum 1st! (which, is what my other brother has done, and he is 30!

ps, take a few women back to that place and you wont be single for long

Craig_MGR

It is like a dream house . Yes renting the spare room is something I could consider. Even on my current wage, I can save around £5000 a year. Being a teacher means that I will work my way up the pay scale each year too. I'm also a very frugal person e.g If I use half a jar of pasta sauce , I freeze the other half. That is just one example

ps, take a few women back to that place and you wont be single for long

You read my mind

bumpoowee

At your age, being single, renting is definitely the way to go if its at a reasonable price. You get much more freedom with less responsibility. When you settle down and know where your life is heading it is more appropriate to buy a house. You have the rest of your life to do that.

What you should also take into account is that mortgage holders 'throw money away' on vast amounts of mortgage interest and you also don't have to pay for any maintenance on your home if you're renting it.

Ignore the losers who think the only thing that matters in life is buying houses and making money out of them, there are much more important things in life to worry about.

Dave101t

interestingly, the uk has a fixation on buying property, in Germany over 90% of the population rent long term.

BenL

Sounds like a good deal, is it parents or older work colleagues saying you are throwing money away?

They are probably in denial that in general house prices including theirs are falling each month by more than what you are paying in your rent and you aren't paying a load of interest to banks on a mortgage.

Renting is great, you are young and are just about free enough with a tenancy contract to get up and go at shortish notice to move elsewhere if work takes you or if you fancy it.

You might meet a partner who lives a distance away as well and move closer or jsut fancy a change. Can't do that easily with owning a home.

No large upfront mortgage arrangement fees, solicitors bills etc for you to pay at the moment.

Enjoy yourself at 23 before life catches up with you.

I bought young but sold up and have been renting for 2 years now. No DIY and trips to B&Q/IKEA, weekends are for playing out all over the country.

23K x a sensible 3.5 times = £80K then say use £10K of the deposit = £90K all in for a place.

Just under a 90% mortgage, the equity could be written off by the end of the year. Mortgage hard-ish to come by at the moment.

pah to responsibility.

Something goes wrong with the boiler, landlord sorts it, tile falls off the roof, landlord sorts it, leaky plumbing, landlord sorts it. (and pays for it more importantly)

Enough time for houses in the future. There isn't any rush, especially in the current climate.

GrammarGirl

Craig_MGR wrote: »

Yes renting the spare room is something I could consider.

Careful with this though - in most tenancy agreements this is classed as sub-letting and not allowed.

I've rented for nearly 5 years (am also 23) and won't be buying for another good few yet. Ignore those who say it's throwing money away - the definition of 'throwing money away' is spending £100k+ on a house before you really want/need one or can afford one.

bandraoi

Craig_MGR wrote: »

Hi there, I have just put a deposit down for a cottage I will be renting from mid July. The rent is £540 a month. Already I am sick of hearing people say it is "throwing money away" . The house is located in a lovely village between Leicester and Melton Mowbray.

Details-
- Two double bedrooms
- two bathrooms
- two reception rooms
- kitchen ( fairly modern)
- Large garden to the front and sides and parking .

To buy a similar house it would cost £170,000 (at least) . I only have £15,000 saved up and i'm single , 23 and earning £23k a year.

How is anyone expected to get a mortgage, if I could it would be on something rather grim in Leicester.

What are peoples opinions on renting?

I would post some pictures , but it won't let me

Yes renting is throwing money away, but so is paying the interest on a mortgage.
You need somewhere to live whichever path you choose, and you will have to throw money away on it!

Interest @4% on 170K would be - £566 a month.

sirhan_sirhan

GrammarGirl wrote: »

Careful with this though - in most tenancy agreements this is classed as sub-letting and not allowed.

Most ASTs might well state this, but it does not stand up in court.

I would recommend that all Tenants, and prospective Tenants, read through the OFT guidelines on unfair contract terms:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf

It is amazing what some LLs and LAs try to get away with.

Hope this helps.

theartfullodger

Brilliant Sirhan! Didn't know that existed (And I'm a Landlord [- well, what is expected from them eh??] -, done an RLA training course & had some from Shelter).

Thanks! (Thanked..)

Cheers!

Lodger