to buy or to rent

peppapig14

we need to be out of our rented flat in January and can't decide what is the best course of action to follow.
we are fortunate enough to have an offer accepted on a 2 bed terraced house yesterday. it's top end of our budget and needs at least £15k work doing in the next year or so.
not sure if we should go ahead with the purchase as the house is in a nice location , or rent untill something more suitable comes on the market ( but that cud be limited to a flat in a bit so nice area )
we have been fortunate to pay £575 rent as out landlord wanted us to save. Renting would be at least £900 a month in a diff property, but I think it's worth paying the additional £5k in rent if it means we could potentially a better house within the year if the prices drop
My head is a mess and any advise would be aporeciated

MovingForwards

What work is it that must be done in the next year or so?

Would you be happy living in the property if you were to buy it?

Would you be there for several years?

If prices don't drop in the next year could you save up enough money to cover the cost of an increase in house prices?

We can't make a decision for you as many of us would buy rather than rent.

mark55man

do the maths you can do - eg likely mortgage cost against rental cost

then project them over 1 - 3 - 5 years so you know what you have to spend and what you it will cost to buy / rent

then have a think about house prices - I think you would be generally correct to assume over 3 years they would be in a -5% to +5% range, and work out what the theory position is if all your assumptions are true

then (as its highly unlikely you will get everything right) throw all the numbers away, and do what you think is best is for you, and by making an offer, I think (at least one of) you have decided so either

* you have no changed you mind and that could be a difference of opinion between you and your partner and are looking for reasons to change course
* you are overthinking - and unless you make a terrible decision on affordability or refurbishment whilst it is always possible to lose £5K one way on the other, in the big picture that never was a disaster that couldn't be overcome