House ownership - Selling yourself into a lifetime of servitude

StevieJ

debtistheft wrote: »

Funny, but ask yourself if German people are suffering from having an economy that isnt based in property and debt? Are they back in the middle ages?

You are so deeply embeded in the system that you cant see any alternatives and you feel threatened if others suggest alternatives.

A post from the other day suggested that most Germans wanted to buy not rent but they couldn't afford it

kittykitten

I'm going to show my ignorance here and risk getting shot down. But firstly let me state that I certainly don't think that renting is a bad thing, I completely understand that people have the right to choose how they wish to live and different circumstances mean different choices can be correct.

But in my situation I don't see why there would ever be an advantage in renting, vs a mortgage. I'm probably coming at this from a very biased standpoint, as I've just had an offer accepted on my first house. I'm well aware that it could all go horribly wrong yet, and it is not certain I will ever live in this house until the day we complete. But assuming we reach that day, situation will be as follows:

my mortgage is a 30 year mortgage, although I have just calculated that overpaying by £50 per month would knock 5 years off. But assuming I just pay the standard mortgage amount, it'll take me until I'm 57 to be mortgage free. At the moment I'm single, with no intention of changing job, having children, or anything that would involve needing to move in the next few years at least. So for the next 30 years I'll pay my mortgage payment monthly, which is actually slightly less per month at the moment than it would cost me to rent an equivalent property. But buying does mean that by the time I reach me retirement I won't have rent to pay. I could decide not to bother buying, and rent instead for the next 30 years. But, if we agree that renting would cost me the same amount per month, how am I expected to cover my rent when I retire?

To me that is the single advantage of buying over renting, it should mean a more comfortable retirement for me.

worried_jim

I am nine years into my mortgage. Rents next door are £800ish pcm, I have never paid this much on my mortgage, currently just over £600pm. I don't foresee a time where I will be paying more in mortgage costs then in rent so I see every monthly payment as a saving. Plus in 16 years I will own outright and be mortgage free. I do appreciate that I have been fortunate in buying at the right time and been able to afford it, I have to admit I was only able to do so as I bought my first house in 1998 for £50k and never lived in it, just rented it out which covered the mortgage and gave me a profit of just £35 per month, but I sold it two years later for £100k so I made 100% in 24 months and ploughed the funds into this place. I have done all right out of property and expect to continue to do so no matter what happens to the economy.
I did rent for six months in 2003 and every month that £650 felt like £650 going down the drain. I guess it is just what you feel comfortable with, the notion of free- ness and no permanent roots or tied down to bricks and mortar for 25 years.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

debtistheft wrote: »

Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom. ~Merry Browne

A witty saying proves nothing. ~Voltaire

ukcarper

What do you all think is debtistheft is a completely new troll or a reincarnation of an older one?

purch

Call me naive, but it's pretty obvious that he just stumbled upon this forum and made 70 plus posts in 24 hours by pure coincidence.

Similarly the person who signed up with the username realrewired also only found this forum today. :eek:

Pimperne1

The very sensible and astute comments by home owners on this site must surely guide any person who is unsure whether it is better to buy or rent down the buying route (even if not in this fairly uncertain time then surely when the economy becomes more stable). If you cannot reach that conclusion from the comments on here then you probably shouldn't be considering committing yourself to anything more risky than buying a car (ever).

Having said that, surely the people recommending renting on here are doing so somewhat tongue in cheek?

lazer

Personally - I'm buying to get security.

I don't want to rent and be at the whim of a landlord for the rest of my life. I would prefer to live in my own house, be able to decorate without permission, make alterations I want and know that no-one will be able to come in and say we need you to move out next month!

ninky_2

the two people i know who work in the city advising on economic trends and the like both rent and have done for many years as they consider property over valued and their investments are better elsewhere. that said they earn heaps - and big bonuses - have no children and don't intend to do so - so their lifestyles and outlook are different to people who are tied to their homes and responsiblities of family.

worried_jim

ninky wrote: »

the two people i know who work in the city advising on economic trends and the like both rent and have done for many years as they consider property over valued and their investments are better elsewhere. that said they earn heaps - and big bonuses - have no children and don't intend to do so - so their lifestyles and outlook are different to people who are tied to their homes and responsiblities of family.

Fair point but if you have only got say £950 per month for housing and you rent you won't have anything left over for investing anywhere and I bet that when these people retire the first thing that they will do is to buy a house or two. In fact I'd be surprised if the didn't own elsewhere (France) and just rent whilst in London.