Its Depressing

Hereward

lynzpower wrote:

There was a brill point made by another MSEr ( was it you hereward) that if you rent- and save everything that you would have spent on maintainence, you would be able to buy a property outright in todays market if you had been renting for 20 years. given its not that unusual to spend 5k on a bathroom or 10k on a kitchen this cash can stack up.

I'd like to claim that post as mine, but it isn't, I can't quite remember who did post it. It expressed my sentiment is quite a good way.

alanobrien

dawsonio wrote:

Ive just been reading this thread and before i was desparate to get a house of my own, but after reading this comment ive realised that there is no real need to own a house. Like many of you say the money saved by renting can be saved and you will have a nice cash reserve for the future. Prices are bound to fall in time. Just look at whats happening in America and when they do you will be in an ideal situation to pounce.

If you think about it a £700 monthly outgoing on a 25 year mortgage around 400-500 of that will just be clearing off interest, so if you could rent for around 400-500 you would be best off going for that option.

I know my opinions have now changed when ive actually sat down to think about it.

I would agree with the rental argument if it was ppossible to rent cheaply, however that just isnt possible in my area. An average monthly house rental is around 1k+ so personally i would rather spend that on owning rather than renting. I guess its possible in other areas though.

united4ever

lynzpower wrote:

Well I dunno about this whole retirement argument. Many many pensioners rent adn have housing benefit pay their rent now, hell, my nan had HB pay her rent, when she was recieving her state pension before she passed on

In 40 years when Im looking to retire, things will be exceptionally different. Im ccertianly not going to waste whats left of my 20s worrying about whats going to happen in 40 years

There was a brill point made by another MSEr ( was it you hereward) that if you rent- and save everything that you would have spent on maintainence, you would be able to buy a property outright in todays market if you had been renting for 20 years. given its not that unusual to spend 5k on a bathroom or 10k on a kitchen this cash can stack up.

I woner whether this is a savings challenge for me for the next year at least

Yes, exhchange is a sorre point! Was meant to happen yesterday & didnt - lets hope for monday

I accept your point about saving money on maintenance and as long as you do save the money you save rather than spend it on luxury items you may be able to buy in the future with savings made from renting instead of buying.

I disagree with your point about retiring though. It may be far away but it's almost inevitably going to happen (unless you die young). I think it's something we have to prepare for. The prospect of becoming 70+ and still having to pay rent of hundreds a month is scary - how would you survive since your earning power is likely to be lower at that time of life. For me this is one of the reasons which makes buying favourable to renting even if it's expensive for the first 25 years, the very long term gains seem worthwhile. And I think to dismiss old age as too distant is short sighted.

kriss_boy

Dead_Eye_Jones wrote:

Yet I imagine you are looking to buy a swish place in a nice area on your own on a starter salary. Soz chap but its just not possible. Why would you think it is possible??!

I appreciate the advice but its not like Im looking at anything fancy.

Im looking for something really small like a flat. And the cheapest flats going, ones which arent in streets where your car WILL get broken in to every week are approx 70K.

Plans of buying something with a partner went out the window last month when we split. 2 years together! Im over it though :cool: :rolleyes:

I have the skills to do up a property as I have experience in completely renovating 3 houses with my parents and brother.

Problem is to get a small property with a garden that needs work.. its still approx 80K

Whats the point in saving up too.. by the time I save 5K houses will have gona up by 6 or 7K.

lynzpower

kriss where are you looking?

wolvoman

trets77 wrote:

if it is any help to the OP you can blame one set of people and one day in recent history
The was day September 16th 1992.
And the people were the Conservative government

"Black Wednesday" caused a sharp downward movement in the housing market that has been adjusted over a smaller amount of time than would otherwise have been a gradule adjustment. prices went up so fast in the very late 90's and early 00's because they were artficially low when the ecomony improved. of cause wages and inflation of other things have not.

An interesting manipulation of history...!
House prices fell generally between 1989 and 1995, yet the biggest proportion of that fall was well before Black Wednesday in 1992. Black Wednesday had very little impact on the house price trend at the time.

As to the point about prices being artificially low - at the bottom of the trough in 1995 prices were only slightly below the long term norm of avg price vs avg salary. Nothing spectacular about that.
And anyway, how can anything that is priced by a free market be 'artificially' low?

kriss_boy

lynzpower wrote:

kriss where are you looking?

Fife, more specifically Kirkcaldy, Kinghorn or Burnistland. The south of Fife has some pretty rough towns with cheap property but who would want to live their.

Infact I think Lochgelly in Fife was on the news recently as the having the cheapest houses in Scotand (perhaps UK)!!

lynzpower

nogarden on this but its fixed price at 62 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6096303.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

or this at 67 also fixed?
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-5472573.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

Mrs_pbradley936

It is without doubt the money supply which controls house prices. Before the 1980s and Mrs Thatcher there were controls on financial activities and movements of money. For instance, lending to consumers was controlled by the government: the terms of hire-purchase agreements for retail credit was subject to government control. If you are in your 20s or 30s now you will have no idea how hard it was to get yourself into debt!

The only thing I have to say about renting v owning is over the long term. I am one of four siblings and three of us bought in our 20s and my other sister rented and still does (with a HA). We three are now paid up or almost there and have the freedom to downsize and buy a place abroad or move to the other end of the country if we feel like it. My sister will have to ask for a transfer if she wants to move and may be asked to downsize even if she does not want to once her children leave. Over the years she might have been about £20 - £30 a week better off than the rest of us but now I think she is much worse off financially because she does not have a house almost paid for. We bought our first home in the mid 70s for £10,800 and the house I am in now is probably worth £500K. My other sister and my brother are in a similar position.

pawpurrs

I dont understand, a 70k flat is easily affordable on that salary?!?