Renting vs Buying

room_101

Hi,

I'm moving to Belfast for work and have been looking at 1 bed apartments etc - as I'm a single person in late 30's.

The price of accommodation for a single person is quite expensive. Any decent apartment is £500pcm and upwards for a minimum of 12 months - I don't like the idea of being tied down to renting for this period of time - if I could get a decent place within cycling distance of city centre with a shorter rent then this would be ideal. Can this be obtained or bartered with the agents?
The cost isn't the problem, moreso the fact that it is essentially dead money, which I could put towards a mortgage.

I'm wondering if it is worth considering purchasing an apartment and then if/when I move on switching it into a rental property or selling on. It seems there is still great demand for apartment rentals. I appreciate there is a lot of hidden costs associated with apartments, but just wondering if this is something to think about. I've liveed in Belfast before, but never in an apartment.

My other option is to go into a room share but at my age I'd rather not - I've done more than my fair share of this over the years and would appreciate my own space. At my age, I'm not really in the target age range for this, but there still are a few options there for me.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Heisenbug

Renting isn't dead money anymore than solictors fees, stamp duty, interest, service charges and maintenance all are. You'd need to fully cost out renting versus buying over the time period you're planning on staying. If I wasn't sure about committing to a 12 month lease I definitely wouldn't want to consider a mortgage.

qwert_yuiop

Heisenbug wrote: »

Renting isn't dead money anymore than solictors fees, stamp duty, interest, service charges and maintenance all are.

as well as the occasional property crash.

motorguy

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

as well as the occasional property crash.

If you're buying a home, and not trying to treat it as an investment then a property price crash matters little, particularly when prices at the moment are low.

motorguy

room_101 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm moving to Belfast for work and have been looking at 1 bed apartments etc - as I'm a single person in late 30's.

The price of accommodation for a single person is quite expensive. Any decent apartment is £500pcm and upwards for a minimum of 12 months - I don't like the idea of being tied down to renting for this period of time - if I could get a decent place within cycling distance of city centre with a shorter rent then this would be ideal. Can this be obtained or bartered with the agents?
The cost isn't the problem, moreso the fact that it is essentially dead money, which I could put towards a mortgage.

I'm wondering if it is worth considering purchasing an apartment and then if/when I move on switching it into a rental property or selling on. It seems there is still great demand for apartment rentals. I appreciate there is a lot of hidden costs associated with apartments, but just wondering if this is something to think about. I've liveed in Belfast before, but never in an apartment.

My other option is to go into a room share but at my age I'd rather not - I've done more than my fair share of this over the years and would appreciate my own space. At my age, I'm not really in the target age range for this, but there still are a few options there for me.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

If you dont want a long term commitment yet, then i wouldnt be thinking about a mortgage.

Its no longer as simple as "renting it out" - you need to convert to a buy to let mortgage, and also declare you're a landlord.

Also renting can be problematic in terms of bad tenants, periods without a tenant / income, etc.

motorguy

room_101 wrote: »

if I could get a decent place within cycling distance of city centre with a shorter rent then this would be ideal. Can this be obtained or bartered with the agents?

My son is on his second rental and he found that you really need to be on the ball to get a decent rental as demand for good properties is high.

He got a 2 bed apartment 15 mins walk from Central Station for £640 a month. Comes with secure underground parking and is genuinely beautiful inside.

On properties you'd want to live in, i dont think theres much bartering to be done.

saverbuyer

It's a tough one. I wouldn't buy an apartment but I'd happily rent one. Management charges and rates mean its usually cheaper to rent on than buy.


If you don't have a car then think about subletting the parking space (if it comes with one).


Agree with Paul. City centre, there won't be much bartering.

Beachview_2

Where would be decent areas to rent in Belfast? I don't want anything too expensive, and no studenty areas. I'd need somewhere with safe off street parking.

Would it be possible to get anything near the Boucher area like that, or would I need to go further out?

I'd also be happy to live somewhere outside of Belfast, but somewhere that the commute wouldn't be too bad.

BigAl94

Rent - do not mortgage!

BigAl94

Do not rent anywhere that involves a commute by M1 or maybe even M2 if you will be driving. Look at Ards North Down - good transport infrastructure and rents not as mad as you might think

steveymp

£500 PCM for a nice city centre apartment within cycle distance from work sounds pretty good to be honest, 12 month contracts are pretty standard in Greater Belfast, you can get 6 month contracts in other parts of Northern Ireland, but beware the world ends at the Glengormley

Commuting on the M1 and M2 is a really bad idea and public transport is poor and over subscribed here.