Renting vs Buying

norainbows

Cakeguts it's not about not 'wanting' to save for a deposit, it's about the ability to save for a deposit while paying sky high ever increasing private rental changes. It's not always simply a choice.

Private renting sucks! It's never called home, it is just a house. You are bound by the LL terms, rent goes up every year, no pictures, no pets, no changes to the property, can be chucked out with 2 months notice for no reason, you get intrusive property inspections every 3 months and you never feel safe...... I'm sure I could go on. I've paid more in rent, longer than it would take to pay off a mortgage and have nothing to show for it. But here I am trapped in the private rental market. I know so many renters who have lost their homes time and time again because either the Landlord wants to sell or they want to improve the property and increase the rent by £300 after because rental prices in the area have increased so much.

It's not always a choice.

Davesnave

norainbows wrote: »

It's not always a choice.

I think people choose quite early on in life what level of disposable income they're prepared to accept and how much they'll put themselves out to effect changes if this is not as they'd want.

On top of that is the value people place on having a home of their own.

There are places in the UK where rents and prices are very high, so people without the prospect of a high income will never own in these locations.

There are also places where housing is much cheaper, which gives those with modest incomes more opportunity to buy.

I'm in Devon because the sort of property I wanted to own is much cheaper here than in, say, Surrey. If I'd had less money, I could have bought this kind of property in Wales or Scotland.

If I'd said, "Oh, but I don't want to live out in the sticks, I want to stay in Bristol where my family and old friends are." then I'd have made a choice not to own this sort of property at all.

bopsybunny

Renting has been good to me since I moved out for uni at 18. I've lived in student halls, two big (a 5 bed and a 7 bed!) student houses, a 2 bed city centre flat, and two 2 bed suburban houses over the space of 8 years. Aside from some sub-standard student properties (super cheap - I never had to work while studying!) I've had a pretty good experience and have enjoyed the flexibility of being able to move with friends, then with my partner, and to follow jobs etc. Now we're both in our 'mid to late 20s', we are more settled in our careers and are saving so we can buy a place of our own. We want to live in a bigger and better house (min 3 bed, hopefully 2+ bath, good size south-facing garden, off street parking) which is our dream, and start a family. It would be possible, although rare, to find the type of property we want on the private rental market, but the idea of being asked to move out by a landlord when we start having kids really scares me. Not to mention that the cost of renting such a nice/large house would be astronomical.

phillw

Davesnave wrote: »

I think people choose quite early on in life what level of disposable income they're prepared to accept and how much they'll put themselves out to effect changes if this is not as they'd want.

I don't think people generally sit down and make an informed choice about that.

Most people act on impulses without thinking too much about the long term, because they don't have the experience to draw upon. The people who thanks to random luck do figure it out early become the successful ones.

lookstraightahead wrote: »

I like the idea of buying over a shorter term so you pay less interest. 25-30 years is such a long time not to really own your property.

That is ideal, but no worse than renting. If you work hard and go without to make over payments then you can get that down. It helps if you're lucky about interest rates of course, but my dad got hit with 14% at one point but still paid his off early.

seb345

Hey there, I just joined the forum. I've been wondering the same thing, I mean a lot of people are always wondering whether they should buy or rent but there is really not a right or wrong answer. This is a constant debate: rent vs buy. In some cases it's better to buy (when you are more financially secure, you are willing to live in the same place for an extended period of time) and also it depends on the age (older people like 30s 40s) tend to want a more permanent housing arrangement so they tend to buy) and younger people tend to move around a lot so they are more prone to renting, but the main point is you have to now what works best for you and understand if you are willing to spend money on a house or you'd rather pay monthly rent.

Crumble2018

Buy every time for me. We were forced to sell our first home due to financial issues, and rented for 3 years. I hated it. It never felt like home for me, and I was very unhappy. We were lucky to get a small windfall which mean't we could put down a 5% deposit, and bought a flat last year. Our mortgage is £200 a month MORE than our rent was, and money is now pretty tight, but we're so much happier. I think it's a very personal thing. I know lots of people who are perfectly happy renting, but it wasn't for me.

PasturesNew

As I see it, the illusion of "choice" is more easily exercised by those with more money.

The insecurity - and expensive cost of perpetually moving - for poorer renters just chews up their entire disposable income year after year.... with the constant fear hanging over them that it'll happen again.

For those with more money, moving might be a nuisance, but they have the money to more easily find/choose their next address. Also, with more money, their mindset is that this won't be forever, just renting until they choose to buy.

Buy: Pay £X for 25 years. Stop.
Rent: Pay £X until the end of your life. Never stop. Add in moving costs every 3-5 years.

Mental Health of Buying: You can feel settled and live "how you like".
Mental Health of Renting: Having to live with others' choices and living with those "inspections" where you feel your lifestyle is being judged.

Crumble2018

PasturesNew wrote: »

As I see it, the illusion of "choice" is more easily exercised by those with more money.

The insecurity - and expensive cost of perpetually moving - for poorer renters just chews up their entire disposable income year after year.... with the constant fear hanging over them that it'll happen again.

For those with more money, moving might be a nuisance, but they have the money to more easily find/choose their next address. Also, with more money, their mindset is that this won't be forever, just renting until they choose to buy.

Buy: Pay £X for 25 years. Stop.
Rent: Pay £X until the end of your life. Never stop. Add in moving costs every 3-5 years.

Mental Health of Buying: You can feel settled and live "how you like".
Mental Health of Renting: Having to live with others' choices and living with those "inspections" where you feel your lifestyle is being judged.

This is spot on. The only reason we could get back on the housing ladder was because we were given some money. Otherwise, there was no way we could have ever saved enough to afford the deposit. And renting seriously affected my mental health.

Morbier

To go back to the OP's original question "Do you prefer renting or buying", I would say it's not a 'one or the other' answer.

Surely most people would prefer to buy, for all the advantages it has over renting. However, some people don't have a choice - I cite myself as an example. I've owned houses in the past but life threw a curved ball at me when I was 'at a certain age' and in the fallout, my house was sold.

I found myself in a situation where I could only afford to rent and, despite my personal situation having improved, I still can't afford to buy - mostly because I'm too old (oh, it hurts to say that!).

The future for me? Carry on privately renting, but at the same time apply for over 60s council accommodation. No, it's certainly not what I visualised in my 20s and 30s, but peace of mind and a better relationship count for far more than owning my own home.

(By the way, not all LLs are as intrusive as others. I hardly see mine, but he's always there when there's a problem. The annual inspection by the letting agent takes about 2 minutes, so I don't worry about that either).

Grampus8

sal_III wrote: »

The simplest aswer to the OP question is - Horses for courses



Surely?

What if you move due to work on a regular basis? SDLT and other fees can easily wipe out any financial gains, even if you ignore all the stress of buying /selling.

What if your income is not secure for whatever reason? Do you want a long term commitment?

What if Crashy is right and the prices start falling?

He's bound to be right one day.