To buy or not to buy, that is the question!?

Ducky1984

Hi

I'm in a bit of a predicament at the moment, unsure of whether to rent or buy. I have just got myself a new job with promotion, but need to relocate to north London from our current home in south London.
My partner is on the hunt for a new job and the majority of the jobs are likely to be nor London/ m4 m40 corridor.

Two years ago I bought my flat and renovated it. After having a series of agents round it would appear that I am in the fortunate position of having made a handsome profit on the property.

The predicament is whether to buy again or rent in the mean time until we have a better idea of 1) the area we like 2) where my partners job will be. We have looked into both resale and new builds.

My hang ups are that renting is a waste of money and comes with its own drawbacks; I'm a rennovator at heart and love to DIY etc. I'd prefer to buy and my partner to initially rent. Any advice?

mrsmchapman

If it were me I'd compromise, and rent for a little while, until you know areas and property prices better and then buy.

Daisy70

I went for the rent for a short time option, you'll have a better idea of location and budget after a while.

hazyjo

Can't see the point in buying now. What actual reason do you believe there is to buy now? The renovation thing is fine, but what happens when it's all renovated? You can't be decorating or renovating ALL the time, so you might as well rent first and have something to look forward to later down the line!

You could buy something that ends up being two miles in the wrong direction to the tube/train line you want. What's the point of that? You need to know which stations you both need to get into (or driving routes). It might be that moving out to say near Reading makes sense, or living in North London. You won't know for a while.

Jx

new_home_owner_3

If you knew the area i would say buy, but it sounds like a lot of ifs and buts, i would rent on a 3 or 6 months ast, and then decide where you want live and where the best location is.
You could buy and it could be in completely the wrong place, you say renting seems a waste of money, but if you move to a place what you dont know and it turns out to be a !!!!!! hole you will be in a right mess and it will probably cost you a lot more to move again.

LittleMissAspie

Stay in your flat for a short time, still paying mortgage and increasing your equity. Commute across London for jobs and buy in a year when you have a better idea of location and more equity to put towards the new place.

BlueMonkey77

I agree with the others here. It would make sense to rent first as neither you nor your partner know where the new job will be. The train station close by could be the wrong line you need as hazyjo and new_home_owner say. The area could be awful. One word of advice from an old property developer, be mindful of what the estate agents say. They will say what you want to hear so you will sell your property. The recent report from the Halifax indicates that prices are to rise for 2013, so if you can hold on to your property, you will yield a greater reward if you sell it in a years time. The agents will not care if you could make more on it in a years time, what matters to them is their portfolio and more pressingly their commission. So, if you can afford too, hold off selling yours whilst renting it out and rent somewhere for you and your partner to live. I hope that helps somewhat.