Just not earmimg enough

Gemmzie

This once again goes back to the way young people are pushed into debt as soon as they turn 18 with student loans.

The mentality of, to get a good job you have to go to uni, which means student debt of £30k then you can spend the rest of your working life paying it back. Oh, and you aren't even guarenteed that well paid job you've taken a degree for.
A few of my friends are currently on gap years, most working to have a holiday in the summer - not even working towards uni. Only one of my friends is savvy enough to be actually saving for uni living, and has been since she was 16. It's just borrowing all the way.

Everyone seems to be stuck in a middle ground at the moment, and I'm not entirely convinced that this is a good thing. Just breaking even every month, dipping into overdrafts seems to be the norm now.

Mrs_Sparkle

ZTD wrote:

I would never claim it was black and white, but there is this link as well as the last one (did you read it?), and then this graph.



As with all leverage, you roll the dice and you take your chances. I'll probably have a rather bigger go in the next trough.

It only looks about 6 years from peak to trough, so not too long to wait.

OK, but I found your statement "If your mortgage isn't significantly cheaper than buying then you should be renting." pretty black and white. It's not always that simple.

Yes I did read the link you posted and I recommend others read it too- it makes interesting reading. I don't believe everyone has a "right" to home ownership and indeed in other countries it's not seen as a "must-do" as it is in the UK. For the record, I've done both and will continue to do whichever suits my circumstances at the time. I've owned 3 properties with a couple of years break between the 2nd and 3rd where I went back to house-sharing/renting for financial reasons. I wouldn't hesitate to drop out of the ownership market again if I needed to.

I just don't think you can say that if your mortgage is more than rent would be you should ALWAYS switch to renting. People should make a considered decision according to their personal circumstances. My mortgage is £1400 a month and I could rent a similar house for approximately £1100. Yes, of course I run the risk of negative equity but personally I'm prepared to take that risk- others might not be and that's why you can't generalise.

happygal_3

We bought our house two years ago when renting and buying in the same area were roughly the same price, but now to rent a house on our estate is around £525/550pcm and our mortgage is £381 pcm so I think we have done the right thing, house prices on our estate have also increased by 30k over last 2 years.

There seems to be so much pressure in every part of life now - to have the most up to date phone/car, holidays abroad etc and I can't see the point at the end of the day it doesn't make you a better - or happier person.

seven-day-weekend

Everything is so expensive in the UK.

Here in southern Spain we live on just over £7k a year - my husband's teacher's pension. We have other income of £2.5k a year but we try to save that.

There is no way we could have afforded to take early retirement and continue to live in the UK. It's one of the reasons (but only one) that we are here!

yung

seven-day-weekend wrote:

Everything is so expensive in the UK.

Here in southern Spain we live on just over £7k a year - my husband's teacher's pension. We have other income of £2.5k a year but we try to save that.

There is no way we could have afforded to take early retirement and continue to live in the UK. It's one of the reasons (but only one) that we are here!

I took early retirement just over 2 yrs ago and still better off living in Uk.

Mrs_Sparkle

seven-day-weekend wrote:

Everything is so expensive in the UK.

Here in southern Spain we live on just over £7k a year - my husband's teacher's pension. We have other income of £2.5k a year but we try to save that.

There is no way we could have afforded to take early retirement and continue to live in the UK. It's one of the reasons (but only one) that we are here!

The weather must be a big incentive too! Lucky you

bobbadog

I just read in the Metro that the average wage in the US is 18k for men and 12k for women (in pounds, not dollars). That seems quite harsh.

I don't think it's a case of people not earning enough, really, more that we have screwed up ideals and lack of discipline that makes most of us spend over our means. I read on here about people on benefits who have more take home money than myself, and they seem to have the same standard of living as me. Mmmm.

ftbworried

There's a much more pressing negative aspect to renting than 'throwing your money at someone elses mortgage' that people hardly ever talk about on here and that's the lack of stability.

I used to live in rented and was (in my biased opion ;-) ) a great tenant, I paid my rent every month without fail and looked after the place. However (as with most lettings) it was a 6 month AST contract. At the end of this I asked for another 6 month tenancy but the letting agent said 'ah no, once you've had your 6 months you go onto a month-to-month contract - this is standard with all our properties'.

I had two choices, to move somewhere new to get another measly 6 months of guarenteed accomodation (and having to 'find' ANOTHER £600 deposit) before being put in the same situation again, or stick the month-to-month thing out where i was for as long as the dreaded letter didn't come through the door. I stayed, but every letter through that door made the blood rush to my head. Even if you stick to the terms and agreements of your contract, an AST tenant can be out on their ear with only 2 months notice at any time for no reason other than on the landlords whim.

Yes, my mortgage is expensive, but as long as I keep paying it no one can through me out or move me on. It is something that matters a great deal to me, I now feel settled and secure. Tenants have very few rights in this country, and maybe that's one of the most overlooked reasons why people struggle and save to buy.

I don't care about the monetry value of my house. To me, it's my home.

Lara44

Where I live in London the mortgage/renting logic is completely reversed. Many people who think it is still cheaper to buy will be shocked by the fact that the 2 bedroom house I live in costs £1100 monthly to rent, but would cost £2400 monthly to buy.

I am happy to rent because it means I can live in this nice house at a reasonable price instead of some tiny shoebox on the outskirts of the city, which we would struggle to afford on a combined income of 28k.

iolanthe07

I just read in the Metro that the average wage in the US is 18k for men and 12k for women (in pounds, not dollars). That seems quite harsh.

I lived in the US for five years and found prices there generally much lower (except car insurance!). I lived very well in California on 16k (pounds) in 1999, (though, true, I had no housing costs.)