Pitfalls to going into rented

clutton_2

you can offer 6 months rent in advance upfront, and may be able to negotiate a discount in the rent ......

mrsS_2

hi- have done this myself twice.

make sure you get the removal company to quote for both moves at the same time as they will give you a big discount on the second move.

Sisyphus

1 downside might be that there might be fewer properties to rent than there are to buy where you live, limiting your choice. The opposite may also be true. There are also not that many good tenants competing for top quality homes, which gives you a little room to negotiate rents. Certainly worked for me, I managed to knock off £30 a week from the asking price on the rent because they liked the look of us.

The quality of some rental properties may be poor. I have always rented from landlords who had previously been the occupiers of the dwelling. They have a stronger emotional attachment to the place so have all been good landlords.

Another downside is that you are locked in for 6 months/ year. But after that renting gives great mobility.

I have never been asked to leave a rented property in 15 years, either abroad or in the UK. On the contrary the type of landlord I mentioned above tend to love stable tenants.

Financially, you are probably selling close to the top of the housing boom and you are most likely realising a good profit.

When you come to buy in the future you may be able to negotiate a big discount if you are 'chain free'. This may pay off a big chunk of the rent from the intervening period.

In the meantime your deposit is earning interest.

In many cases including mine rent is cheaper than mortgage interest. It also means I get the utility of living in a nicer area than if I was to buy today.

Edit: One further downside for some maybe a certain social stigma with being tenants rather than owner occupiers. I find this a positive as it is a quick way for me to weed out time wasters from real friends and interesting people.