Is it worth buying again or just rent

tamiami

I really don't know what to do.


We own a house that we rent out, and we rent in another part of the country. My tenant has given notice and I really can't decide whether to just sell the house or get another tenant.


We will never go back to that house and there isn't much, if any equity in it.


I love the house we currently rent and am happy to rent for the rest of my life, at least if we do want to move there are not many costs involved and it is simpler.


Do I really need to own a property? My parents are old school and always brought me up to save and buy a house, but to be honest I really can't see if it's worth it nowadays.


Any advice would be appreciated.

chrishar

I am interested in your views, being happy to rent. Does this mean you're happy to work forever, do you have any retirement plans?

As for the house, seeing as there's little equity in it, then the bank owns it and you are just paying the bank interest via the rental income.

It sounds like you should sell the house and carry on living where you are if you are happy there.

tamiami

I make a little bit out of the house I rent out but it is too far from where I live now to maintain, so I have numerous insurance policies and maintenance contracts in place so that I don't have to do anything.


I just can't decide whether to keep that house until it is paid off or sell it and maybe buy something smaller to rent out, or just not bother buying again.


The house we are renting is lovely but in a few years time when the kids are grown up it will be way too big for us, so I was thinking then could rent a small bungalow or maybe move around as we please.


We do have a pension in place and would be able to live a normal life, I just can't decide whether owning is really worth it.


I just wondered if there were any guys who only rented and if they regretted not buying.

chrishar

In your situation I would say sell the place 1. because it's a long way from you and 2. prices are so high right now take the equity out and run.

Then in a few years you could re-invest the money into buying the smaller property in the new area you talk about once the kids are grown up.

Or you could buy a smaller place where you live now, but somewhere you would consider living in eventually, just rent it out in the meantime.

Soleil_lune

chrishar wrote: »

I am interested in your views, being happy to rent. Does this mean you're happy to work forever, do you have any retirement plans?

As for the house, seeing as there's little equity in it, then the bank owns it and you are just paying the bank interest via the rental income.

It sounds like you should sell the house and carry on living where you are if you are happy there.

Where on earth do you get this idea from that if you decide to rent, that you will have to work forever? You're no more likely to have to work any older an age if you rent, than if you buy. Every single person I have ever known who rents their property, retired at the same age as people who were 'homeowners.'

This thread is going to be swarming with people very soon, who will be telling the OP that renting is dead money, they are inferior human beings for not being homeowners, and only the most intellectual and industrious and decent citizens buy their property. Whilst people who rent are brain-dead, lower class benefit scroungers who will have no hope in old age, and may as well hang themselves on their 59th birthday.

We have bought AND rented, in the past and for the past 3 years or so have been renting a social housing cottage on the fringes of a small town, with a (very) low rent, excellent maintenance, great quiet neighbourhood, only 7 properties within 5 minutes walk, and a tenancy for life. I would never go back to buying again if you paid me.

I don't however, go berating and criticizing and mocking people who buy. And there are plenty of reasons to NOT buy this day and age.

As for the OP: sell the house; it's a ball and chain around your neck that is not going to increase in value anytime soon, and keep renting the house you're in. You obviously have your doubts about being a mortgage owner, as you wouldn't have posted here.

tamiami

Soleil Lune, thank you for your post, you have made me feel much more positive.

Soleil_lune

tamiami wrote: »

Soleil Lune, thank you for your post, you have made me feel much more positive.

You're welcome Just do what feels right, and if that's selling your mortgaged home and continuing to rent, then so be it.

There are of course advantages to being a homeowner, but I genuinely believe in this day and age, that it's not always best for everyone. The house prices are astronomical and even though some people say a 'bought' home is more secure than a rented one; it isn't if you become ill or out of work long term, and cannot pay the mortgage anymore. Plus renting brings the freedom that buying doesn't, and of course, you don't have to worry about repairs and maintenance.

As I said, I (and my DH) are much happier renting and will never buy again. I think people who bought pre 1990s are perhaps OK and will endorse buying, but these days, it's not always a good idea. IMO.

As I said in my earlier post though, some people will try to make you feel worthless for renting and not buying, and others seem to have a bee in their bonnet about people who rent, and will try to put you down for it. Don't let them. I certainly don't. I know what works for me.

Negative attitudes (from some,) towards people who rent is their problem, not mine.

dinosaur7

Very many thanks to the OP and soleil lune. As a house owner, I've long had a suspicion that we would have been much happier and enjoyed more freedom had we rented instead, with worries about maintenance or not being able to sell if we want to move.

However, as you have said, 'accepted wisdom' seems to be that buying is best and you can never retire if you're renting etc. etc.
I find it very helpful, and refreshing, to hear a different point of view from people who have personal experience of renting.

I find this thread very encouraging indeed. I have felt that the UK has become far too hooked on 'home ownership' over the last few decades. I, for one, feel very trapped by it, but I've never had the courage to break out of it...but maybe now I will. Cheers!

zarf2007

Soleil_lune wrote: »

You're welcome Just do what feels right, and if that's selling your mortgaged home and continuing to rent, then so be it.

There are of course advantages to being a homeowner, but I genuinely believe in this day and age, that it's not always best for everyone. The house prices are astronomical and even though some people say a 'bought' home is more secure than a rented one; it isn't if you become ill or out of work long term, and cannot pay the mortgage anymore. Plus renting brings the freedom that buying doesn't, and of course, you don't have to worry about repairs and maintenance.

As I said, I (and my DH) are much happier renting and will never buy again. I think people who bought pre 1990s are perhaps OK and will endorse buying, but these days, it's not always a good idea. IMO.

As I said in my earlier post though, some people will try to make you feel worthless for renting and not buying, and others seem to have a bee in their bonnet about people who rent, and will try to put you down for it. Don't let them. I certainly don't. I know what works for me.

Negative attitudes (from some,) towards people who rent is their problem, not mine.

While I agree that there is a snobbery in this country towards renting and your situation does sound ideal I fear it is one in a million compared to the other experiences people have renting in this country.

shoddy BTL landlords who have no idea about tenants rights, coupled with doing everything on a shoe string for maintenance meaning you have to fight for weeks to get anything fixed (you cannot just withhold rent and technically have next to zero comeback if they refuse to resolve the issue). Add to that rip off letting agencies charging a fortune for basic admin and I think it leaves a sour taste for many.

Having rented numerous properties during the last five years (would just get settled and the landlord would decide to sell), its a constant round of distruption/moving expenses and never knowing where you will be tomorrow. Remember once your fixed term ends you can be served a S21 simply to enable the landlord to avoid expensive repairs or if the wind changes...

The longest tenancy I had was 2 years and that was at a push. I am so happy to have bought a place now and dont have to worry about that. I have unemployment/sickness insurance in place to cover the mortgage if something happens so feel a lot more secure than the endless merry go round of renting...

OP, if you are happy to rent then good look but so far I think you may have been lucky with property/landlords and if that luck runs out especially when your older and you have to deal with some of the cowboys I've dealt with then it wont be too good for your stress levels.

trailingspouse

I've owned 7 houses and rented 8. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to both.

If you own the house, you can do what you want to it without having to ask someone else's permission. When we were looking for somewhere to rent we often ended up turning a place down because there was something we didn't like - if we'd been buying we could simply have fixed it ourselves.

If you rent the house you (theoretically) don't have to worry about maintenance, but equally you can't just get something fixed if it needs it.

I think it's about autonomy - if you buy you are much more in control, whereas if you rent you have to ask permission and you can fall foul of poor landlords.

On a slight tangent, I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to downsize when the kids leave home, if you can afford not to. When they come back to visit they are likely to bring partners and kids (and, in our case, a rabbit) with them. If anything we need more space now than we did when they were little, if we want to see them all.

bclark

I assume the mortgage is a repayment one? Do the rental payments cover the mortgage?

If I were you I would just keep it being rented out and then someday the mortgage will be paid off and you will own the whole thing, obviously it's value may well rise too.