Rent rather than buy

KarrieBee

OH and I have been looking (somewhat unenthusiastically) for a house to buy in the area we currently rent. Not really seen anything which grabs us and have decided to kep saving and wait for a while

Our rental property only has one double bed and a study and the living area is open plan, there is no garden and only a shower room not a bath.
To be honest it is too small but when we moved here we only had a month to find somewhere. And it is quite expensive as we moved pre crunch!

In our village (which we like a lot) we have seen a house which is only £25 more a month in rent, has 3 beds, 2 reception rooms, ensuite, garden. They are happy to have pets and are looking for long term tenants.

So to get to the point - does anyone have experience as longterm tenants? It would be great to have a family size house as we are hoping that will happen soon.
Or are we crazy to rent somewhere new, would it be better just to put up with our tiny house, keep saving and keep looking?

I reaslise this is pretty subjective but all advice welcomed!
Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

As the house is only £25 a month more, I'd most definitely go for it. Think of how much better your lives will be with a lot more space. Also think about how much more expensive it will be to run with all those extra rooms which might just put a bigger dent into your savings plans than the extra rent.

Sometimes it's better to take what landlords say about wanting long-term tenants with a pinch of salt. Sometime they say that to secure a reliable tenant and then their circumstances change and they decide to sell. Some have even been known to lead a tenant to understand that it's going to be a long-term tenancy when they're already set on selling but don't want to lose the rental income while they find a buyer. Then you have the hassle of finding somewhere else and all of the moving expenses all over again. Have you asked these new landlords whether they would agree to you signing a 12-month tenancy agreement and would that make any difference to how secure you might feel in the property?

KarrieBee

Thanks B&T
The landlords are keen for at least a 12 month contract. It will be the same council tax band but I do think the bills may be a factor, it is certainly something to look into.
It would be really lovely to have more space as having guests at the moment is very difficult due to the lack of space. And it would be great to have a garden...

Eton_Rifle

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Sometimes it's better to take what landlords say about wanting long-term tenants with a pinch of salt. Sometime they say that to secure a reliable tenant and then their circumstances change and they decide to sell.

From the tenants perspective, this is now happening to a friend of mine. She only signed the lease in July on the assurance it was a long-term let and spent all summer working on the garden and improving it at her own cost but now the house is up for sale because the landlord needs the money and she's upset and angry.

Similarly, as a landlord, I've negotiated discounts and made special provisions for tenants who assure me that they are looking for a long-term lease but move out at the end of the year.

For both, either their circumstances change or they're just lie for their own benefit.
I don't trust anything landlord or tenants say now and don't make long-term plans around them.

KarrieBee

Eton_Rifle wrote: »

For both, either their circumstances change or they're just lie for their own benefit.
I don't trust anything landlord or tenants say now and don't make long-term plans around them.

I'll be sure to approach this with a suitable pinch of salt but to be fair we aren't looking to buy within the next 12 months so we could have the same problem in our current rented property before then.
And we moved in here as a short stop gap solution *cough* three years later *cough*

ilovecheese

If you don't hate where you are living then I would stay put! The gas and electric will cost more, you may find your contents insurance goes up, and if the house is not on a water meter, your water will cost more as well.

One other thing to consider, if you have a nice big house with loads of space, you will probably want to fill it! You will find that you spend more money on buying "stuff" because you have somewhere to put it!

tanjatucker

KarrieBee wrote: »

OH and I have been looking (somewhat unenthusiastically) for a house to buy in the area we currently rent. Not really seen anything which grabs us and have decided to kep saving and wait for a while

Our rental property only has one double bed and a study and the living area is open plan, there is no garden and only a shower room not a bath.
To be honest it is too small but when we moved here we only had a month to find somewhere. And it is quite expensive as we moved pre crunch!

In our village (which we like a lot) we have seen a house which is only £25 more a month in rent, has 3 beds, 2 reception rooms, ensuite, garden. They are happy to have pets and are looking for long term tenants.

So to get to the point - does anyone have experience as longterm tenants? It would be great to have a family size house as we are hoping that will happen soon.
Or are we crazy to rent somewhere new, would it be better just to put up with our tiny house, keep saving and keep looking?

I reaslise this is pretty subjective but all advice welcomed!
Thanks

If I were in your position I would either try to re-negotiate the current rent to a more reasonable level (if you can show LL that you can get a much bigger property with garden etc for near enough the same money they might be willing to reduce in order to keep you) and thus increase your savings more quickly, or move to the bigger place where you will have enough space for your needs and a lovely garden!

You could be given notice in your current place or any other one you may move to, so I wouldn't let that stop me. We have been renting our cottage in a lovely village for 6.5 years now, and while we've had some issues with LL, it wasn't serious enough to make us move in the end.

good luck with whatever you decide to do.

danielwhitehouse

One of my friends who works in London has uber amounts of cash and could buy all the time if he wanted to. He's the type of guy that 'predicted' the stock market crash 18+ months or so ago. He totally swears by renting. I wouldn't buy unless you have to. Besides UK mortgage lenders are only taking offers from people who have £35k+ as a deposit. If you're a first time buyer of course..

moneybagsuk

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, rents - and he's worth billions:

http://blog.zoopla.co.uk/