Rent or Buy

rambo29

I'm in a situation where i am living back with parents (moved back after split with ex) and after i have paid bills and board to parents i can save £400-£500 per month and still have money left over for socialising and anything else i may need.

My dilemma is do i save up for a deposit to buy where i will own the property and do what i want to it but could get expensive if things went wrong or do i rent a property where evreything is taken care of buy the landlord regarding things breaking in the property but can't change anything to property as i wouldnt own it.

The prices for rent and mortgage payments for the types of property i have been looking for are roughly the same.

If anyone else is in this situation or has been then any information or advice would be grateful.

Carl31

im pretty sure most, if not all, of people that live in houses have faced this situation
It depends on circumstances and what suits you. You can save for a deposit, how long will that take? do you need to move out now, im quite sure living at mum and dads is financially the best option, but not necessarily the most comfortable
If you feel the need to move out now, then renting is your option. Lower risk and no maintenance is traded for the investment potential. In terms of cos overall, i think its marginal overall.

rambo29

It would take about a year to save up what i need but i do find it difficult at times living at parents as i have a small room that also has my daughters cot in for when she stays over. This is making me think more about renting

Idiophreak

Nobody can make this choice for you...you have to weight up the pros and cons yourself.
* stability of home ownership vs flexibility of renting
* unknown maintenance costs vs fixed rent
* pay your mortgage vs pay someone elses
* risk losing serious money vs lose money every month
* freedom to change house vs following landlord's rules

Personally, I knew enough people that had been treated horrifically by a sequence of landlords and bounced from pillar to post - I never really considered renting when I moved out...

cattie

I would never consider buying a property as a single person unless you have at least 6 months salary as savings behind you, Preferably a 12 months cushion to fall back on.

There is always something to fork out for when you own a property & it can be an expensive business. You always have to be prepared for emergencies that may well be costing a couple or more thousands of pounds at a time. A property that isn't well maintained will lose value.

If I were in your situation, I'd rent & try to save in the meantime. Perhaps you will decide at some future point to buy a property, perhaps when there is a partner to share the load, but perhaps you will be happy to continue renting for the foreseeable future. The choice will be yours, but there is no need to feel rushed into it at the moment.

Owning a property isn't the be all in life as some people seem to think. Buying places when they have no financial cushion, just barely scrapping by & praying that an emergency won't crop up, always just a hairs breath away from repossession should an emergency occur.

Life is for living, not merely existing on a day to day basis, so don't tie yourself down to the biggest financial commitment of your life until you feel you can comfortably cope with it.

SuzieSue

There are too many variables - it depends how difficult it is to stay living at home, how secure your job is, how easy it would be to get another job if you lost yours etc.

If it isn't too bad living at home, I would stay there as long as you can and save as much money as you can even if you eventually decide to rent. Once you have saved up a large amount, you can see what house prices have done and then make a decision.

Obviously, in the long term it would be much better to buy (you don't want to be paying rent when you retire), but buying isn't for everyone and has lots of risk attached if you lose your job etc.

You now have the chance to save a lot of money to set you up for buying or renting so I would make the most of it if it isn't too unbearable. That was the only way I was able to buy my property and I don't have any regrets for living with my parents for a few extra years to save.