Should I be looking to buy?

startingout2016

I am 30 years old. On 36k per year. I have savings of £30k.

Currently renting with partner and work and live in South East.

1 bed properties start at £220k, 2 bed starter homes start at £350; where I live and the surrounding 10 mile circumference.

Together myself and my partner would be able to buy a little home together, but we are not ready to do so yet and might not be for a few years at least.

So do I sit on my money and continue renting or should I be buying a flat to rent out?

Guest101

1: how much do you know about being a landlord
2: can you afford both a mortgage and rent
3: can you get a BTL mortgage

student100

What job do you do? Have you thought about whether you want to stay in the South East long term or move somewhere more affordable?

In Yorkshire we are selling our 3-bed semi in Leeds for less than the price of your local one bed property and moving to a 4/5 bed detached with a big garden in a lovely village for less than the price of your two bed starter home. Sure I could earn more money working in the South East, but not that much more!

HappyMJ

startingout2016 wrote: »

I am 30 years old. On 36k per year. I have savings of £30k.

Currently renting with partner and work and live in South East.

1 bed properties start at £220k, 2 bed starter homes start at £350; where I live and the surrounding 10 mile circumference.

Together myself and my partner would be able to buy a little home together, but we are not ready to do so yet and might not be for a few years at least.

So do I sit on my money and continue renting or should I be buying a flat to rent out?

I wouldn't recommend anyone get into the BTL business lightly.

Property can give good returns but also comes with some high risks especially if you only have the one property.

It also costs more to buy a house that you actually want to live in as you will be liable for an extra 3% SDLT on your second property.

My advice....make sure your £30k is earning as much as possible. You can get 6% interest in regular saver accounts and 3% interest in current accounts.

hazyjo

You prob wouldn't get a BTL mortgage anyway. Possibly consent to let, but not a given.


I'd keep renting together. No point in buying if you're not ready. I've always bought so not something I'd do, but the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same


Jx

Bonfire_Bride

Wow...house prices are shocking.

I have a 3 bed semi on the market for 95,000 It is South Wales however. The detached 5 bed we are looking at is 200k. Do you have scope to relocate?

If you are asking questions already, then maybe you have your answers already. Renting can be seen as being dead money but a mortgage is a huge step.

ellie27

Keep saving, particularly if its likely you will buy in the next couple years then you will have a good deposit to put down.

westernpromise

Bonfire_Bride wrote: »

Renting can be seen as being dead money but a mortgage is a huge step.

Why do you say that? For someone who's 30 the lifetime cost of a mortgage is far, far lower than the lifetime cost of renting. One's a cost of fixable amount and duration and the other's a cost of floating amount and indefinite duration.

It's not having the mortgage that's the huge step.

chelseablue

westernpromise wrote: »

Why do you say that? For someone who's 30 the lifetime cost of a mortgage is far, far lower than the lifetime cost of renting. One's a cost of fixable amount and duration and the other's a cost of floating amount and indefinite duration.

It's not having the mortgage that's the huge step.

I agree with this.


It would cost us a lot more to rent our house per month than the mortgage payment


Plus a mortgage does have an end point

cashbackproblems

Huge mistake, firstly BTL lending's rules are getting tighter by the day so you would need 25%+ deposit plus stamp duty. You have missed the boat with that respect

Secondly if you get a BTL now, when you buy your main home in a few years who will be faced a larger stamp duty bill (2nd home) currently almost 20k for a 360k property. So will need about 20k+70/80k deposit assuming house prices haven't increased!

I would either buy now or just rent and keep saving.