Benefits of buying?!

InhaleMood

It's a little of both. I've just been made redundant and so my options are severely limited due to my mortgage. If I was renting I could possibly move into a cheaper place. I also made the mistake of buying a Grade II listed house, so nothing is every easy in there!

I have considered letting it out, but don't have the right LTV to be able to do it unfortunately.

Lord_Baltimore

tanyasharma wrote: »

It's a little of both. I've just been made redundant and so my options are severely limited due to my mortgage. If I was renting I could possibly move into a cheaper place. I also made the mistake of buying a Grade II listed house, so nothing is every easy in there!

I have considered letting it out, but don't have the right LTV to be able to do it unfortunately.

Ah, the extra info makes all the difference. You have to make your judgement based on your income of course. Sorry you lost your job. At the very least perhaps you ought to get a property that isn't restricted by its listing.

JimmyTheWig

varghesejim wrote: »

There is no financial sense in renting when you can buy, provided you do buy sensibly. When I say you buy sensibly-it means you don't buy a new build house at an over inflated price and you buy a nice enough house in a nice enough area.

There's every financial sense to rent if you want to move house every year.

lonestar1

If you sell your house and rent but something happens that means you can no longer work (redundancy/accident or need to provide care for parents etc) you wouldn't be eligible for means tested benefits with large cash savings

fruitella100

For me, being a homeowner is part of retirement planning. When I retire, I don't want to still be paying a mortgage or rent as can't rely on my pension policy/state pension to be enough.

Renting isn't significantly cheaper than a mortgage, so there isn't a big difference in cash to plow into a pension/savings plans.

So my plan is to pay off the mortgage and just have bills/food to worry about on a retirement income.

Also I want to have something to leave to my boy - if I was renting, all that money would be going into a landlord's pocket, rather than building up equity to leave in my will.

JimmyTheWig

fruitella100 wrote: »

For me, being a homeowner is part of retirement planning. When I retire, I don't want to still be paying a mortgage or rent as can't rely on my pension policy/state pension to be enough.

Renting isn't significantly cheaper than a mortgage, so there isn't a big difference in cash to plow into a pension/savings plans.

So my plan is to pay off the mortgage and just have bills/food to worry about on a retirement income.

Also I want to have something to leave to my boy - if I was renting, all that money would be going into a landlord's pocket, rather than building up equity to leave in my will.

But did you read the bit where the OP wants to move frequently?
If you could afford to pay your mortgage and pay solicitors / estate agents / stamp duty every year then I would have thought you'd be better off renting and putting those fees into a pot for your retirement / legacy.

teddysmum

fruitella100 wrote: »

Also I want to have something to leave to my boy - if I was renting, all that money would be going into a landlord's pocket, rather than building up equity to leave in my will.

However, unless you have lots of savings, too, should you go into care, the house will be taken to pay for this. Little savings and a rented home, mean free care.

ognum

teddysmum wrote: »

However, unless you have lots of savings, too, should you go into care, the house will be taken to pay for this. Little savings and a rented home, mean free care.

It also means someone else chooses the quality of care you receive!

lulalola

tanyasharma wrote: »

Hi All,

We have been having a discussion at work about the benefits of buying a house over renting.

To be clear, I currently own a house (bought last year). I do love it, but I'm getting slightly itchy feet. The thought of being tied down here is slightly stifling!

So, I was considering selling my house, putting the money into an ISA and then renting - is that crazy?!?!

This is exactly why I continue to rent even though I could probably afford to buy - my lifestyle is transient and it's just so much easier to move when you're renting. Whilst others my age are saving for a house deposit, I'm saving to quit my job and go travelling. So no I don't think you're crazy - I think you should follow your heart. People will say "but what about when you're retired" etc etc but I say there are no guarantees in life - even if I bought now, anything could happen and I could lose it all by then. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Brallaqueen

I'm sorry to hear you have lost your job, do you have any emergency savings to tide you over in the meantime? Could you rent a room to a lodger for some extra income whilst you job hunt?

Renting is good for a lot of people in a lot of situations, but I would be hardpressed to rent a room to an unemployed lodger even with substantial savings behind them - a landlord would probably be even less likely to.