FTB - to buy or continue renting?

Bvv

A bit of background info: my partner and I both work but neither are on a very high income (combined take home pay about £2.4k/month). In addition to that we're both on temporary contracts, mine finishing in 24 months, my partners' in 12 months (but may be renewed). However, due to an insurance pay out we do have a large savings pot. Nonetheless, we figured due to our insecure job situation buying wouldn't be ideal, if we'd even get a mortgage.

We have now seen a repossessed property for sale, going for exactly the amount that we have in our savings account and thus wouldn't need a mortgage. We realise that there will be additional costs that we need to cover (solicitor, survey, renovating, etc). As long as the additional costs (specifically renovation) would add up to less than £10k we think we could get this extra money together through either a bank loan and/or the bank of mum&dad.

However, due to the sector I work in there is a reasonable chance that we'd have to move in 2 years time after my contract finishes. What is the general consensus, would it be worth buying somewhere if we'd have to move again in 2 years time? As we don't need a mortgage there is perhaps slightly less hassle/risk involved, but it is still quite a big step to make...

sofarbehind

This is a tricky one. Where roughly in the country are you? What are house prices doing there? Would commuting to the new job be an option? If you could potentially commute it makes more sense to buy.


Are either of you likely to get a permanent job in the next few years? If you are then I think I'd just wait and keep the flexibility if renting. Relocating all the time gets to be a pain after a while.

Pete9501

With an election in May and tax rises to follow whoever wins are house prices going up any time soon? I don't know so the safe option would be for you to carry on renting.

The other option is buy the house, do it up and then rent it out in 2 years time if you have to move. However, do you want to be a landlord?

BTW it will cost you £5k to buy and sell even a small house and that is money wasted if you do move in 2 years time.

Bvv

Thanks for the advice. We're based in Scotland and it'd be possible to commute within the Central Belt, although jobs in my sector are fairly limited. However, the flat we are considering is less than 10 minutes from the railway station, which is another reason why it is an appealing option.

As far as I'm aware house prices in our town are on the up, and the area we're looking at is increasingly popular with young professionals looking to buy their first home. Properties with similar specifications (e.g. similar size, gch, double glazing) but that are in a move-in condition tend to sell for about 20-30k more than this one is on the market for. If we were to sell this flat for even 5k more than the current price in 2 years time we'd be likely to be financially better off compared to renting, however, it would to a large extent depend on the cost of renovating the flat.

I think we're going to have a look at the property to try and estimate how much work it needs done to get a better idea of what the total cost would be.

Downsizing__for_sanity

Just a thought - if there aren't lots of jobs in your area and it's not that well paid, would you not consider changing jobs in the future if you had a house you were really happy with, in an area you loved? If it's got good travel links, presumably there would be other jobs nearby even if a different industry. Sorry if it's a bit left-field, as you might absolutely love your job. However if it's not the best wage and it's not so secure, maybe the job could change and the house could stay the same (and you might be mortgage free!)

DFS.

Bvv

Hi Dfs,

it's a very useful point that you make. I probably should have said that I'm currently doing a PhD, hence not well paid. However, if I am lucky enough to find a postdoc, or even a job in other related fields, there is a reasonable chance my take home pay will go up by about 50%. There are a number of universities within commuting distance, but the chance that they have a job in the right field at the right time is somewhat limited.