When people talk about throwing money away renting...

AnnaV

Are they perhaps forgetting the money you 'throw away' buying?

• Lost capital (if house value goes down)
• Interest
• Stamp duty
• Estate agents'/solicitors'/surveyors' fees
• Mortgage arrangement/repayment fees
• Paying the plumber/electrician/for the new boiler/etc yourself
• Maintenance

Just food for thought. It's not as clear cut as some people think

tamarto

The point is at the end of it all you are left with something if you buy, what have you got at the end of the day with renting?

• Lost capital (if house value goes down) - still have the house
• Interest - still have the house
• Stamp duty - still have the house
• Estate agents'/solicitors'/surveyors' fees - still have the house
• Mortgage arrangement/repayment fees - still have the house
• Paying the plumber/electrician/for the new boiler/etc yourself - have the house and a new boiler etc that is yours.
• Maintenance - To upkeep your house which yup you guessed it you get to keep at the end of it all.

Of course there are pros and cons for both but you do end up with nothing if you rent, fact.

twirlypinky

I've had to rent in the past and i just told myself each month that i was paying for a roof over my head in the same way that i paid for the water in the pipes and the food on my plate.

DVardysShadow

tamarto wrote: »

The point is at the end of it all you are left with something if you buy, what have you got at the end of the day with renting?

Of course there are pros and cons for both but you do end up with nothing if you rent, fact.

If you buy with very little equity and values go down, you can be left with substantially less than nothing if you buy, fact.

kit77

I agree. Was a home owner for 12 years and for the past year we have been renting until we see something else to buy (moved areas).

I was very worried about falling off the propert ladder but actually I am very happy.

FIL constantly goes on about us throwing money away on renting but there's pros and cons with both but at the moment we are happy to keep renting and it's nice not to have to worry about where to find the money IF anything goes wrong.

However we will buy again as I don't think we would be happy renting forever as we would like a house we owned for when we retire but thankfully that's not for a good few years yet.

tamarto

DVardysShadow wrote: »

If you buy with very little equity and values go down, you can be left with substantially less than nothing if you buy, fact.

You are still left with the house though. It doesn't just vanish in a puff of smoke once the mortgage is paid.;)

Orpheo

tamarto wrote: »

The point is at the end of it all you are left with something if you buy, what have you got at the end of the day with renting?

• Lost capital (if house value goes down) - still have the house
• Interest - still have the house
• Stamp duty - still have the house
• Estate agents'/solicitors'/surveyors' fees - still have the house
• Mortgage arrangement/repayment fees - still have the house
• Paying the plumber/electrician/for the new boiler/etc yourself - have the house and a new boiler etc that is yours.
• Maintenance - To upkeep your house which yup you guessed it you get to keep at the end of it all.

Of course there are pros and cons for both but you do end up with nothing if you rent, fact.

Fiction.

And I'll say it again just so my post has enough characters...

Fiction.

Catblue

tamarto wrote: »

You are still left with the house though. It doesn't just vanish in a puff of smoke once the mortgage is paid.;)

If you have a mortgage, you have to remember that the house belongs to the bank. If you cannot keep up with the repayments then the bank will take it off you.

You can still end up with no house and a shedful of debts even if you "buy" it.

tamarto

Catblue wrote: »

If you have a mortgage, you have to remember that the house belongs to the bank. If you cannot keep up with the repayments then the bank will take it off you.

You can still end up with no house and a shedful of debts even if you "buy" it.

Obviously but if you do what you are supposed to and pay the money you chose to borrow and the end you are left with a house/flat/pile of bricks which is still something. Hense why i said once the mortgage is paid.

I personally don't think renting is throwing money away but i do 'get' where the saying comes from.

shortchanged_2

Surely the biggest drawback about renting is that you pay rent until the day you die.

And AnnaV if you read a report that came out a couple of weeks ago it stated that there is a huge portion of rented accommodation that is seriously substandard and many landlords don't give a sh** what conditions their tennants live in.

goldbyron

You have a point in the short term - without a doubt buying is a right old pain initially. However when I am 51 (the year my mortgage will be paid off as I will never extend the term again now) I will always have a place to live in and not have to pay a penny in mortgage or rent whilst renters my age will be paying ever increasing rent and have uncertainty of tenancy (in the UK anyhow). If I wish I could downsize and release equity too - hopefully I will also make money in 20 years off the increase in prices if I downsized as well.