Advice please...Rent or Buy?

LoubiLou

Hi, my mom is a retired widow and with proceeds from a property sale abroad shes wondering whether to rent or buy?

If she buys she will be mortgage free but responsible for all maintenance on house.
If she rents she will have loads of money in bank gaining interest and someone else will be responsible for maintenance.

I'm kinda leaning towards renting but wondered what other people think.

Pixie5740

If your mum has enough money to buy and be mortgage free then I would buy in her position. Renting doesn't give you the same security as home ownership as she could be served a Section 21 at any time (well not quite any time). You can also decorate your own home how you see fit. No magnolia walls unless your mum really like magnolia walls.


There's no guarantee that a LL will necessarily carry out repairs. There's a recent thread on this forum with some tenant suffering health problems due to mould in their home because the tit of a LL won't fix the guttering.


Not all LLs are bad but if you're unfortunate enough to get a bad one then it can be really stressful.

cattie

I agree with Pixie. My feeling is what is the use of pots of money in the bank & no real security over your head? If your mother doesn't want the headache that can come with maintaining a house, then why not consider buying a flat?

It's what I did when I downsized & yes I do pay service charges, but to me it's worth every penny not to have to personally worry about such things as leaking roofs or have to put any work at in into keeping the surrounding grounds looking wonderful.

I certainly wouldn't want the worry of the landlord wanting me out & having to find a new place, which is one of the big drawbacks of renting from a private landlord.

egoode

LoubiLou wrote: »

......
If she rents she will have loads of money in bank gaining interest and someone else will be responsible for maintenance.......

You are making a big assumption that the landlord would be willing to do the maintenance at a time scale you think is reasonable and to your standards. If she will be mortgage free the cost of maintaining a place will be less than renting and she will have more control over what is done to the place also won't have to worry about having to move because the landlord has decided they don't want her living there any more for whatever reason they dream up.

somethingcorporate

Agree with the rest - buying offers a great deal of long-term security.

LoubiLou

Thanks guys, I suppose I'm worried for her that my dad did everything (physical and financial) for her and she wouldn't know where to start when it comes to fixing problems, other than calling her brother in law that lives an hour away. Unfortunately I can't help her as I'm an hours flight away. I'm also thinking with only approx £600 pension a month and all bills and food to cover I was thinking of having money in the bank as an 'income' for her where she wont have to worry about bills or what she spends each month.

Pixie5740

If your mum rented then that £600 a month would have to cover rent+bills+food. With the paltry interest rates on offer just now I doubt your mum would get much income from her savings.

Argghhh

trying to get decent interest rates is a minefield these days unless you opt for risky investments - my money moves through about 6 accounts with DD in each one to trigger the higher interest rates and allow the opening of regular savings of 250 a month per account to get higher rates still like in HSBC FD etc
renting is dead money and the interest you will get will be minimal with no security either