Wait or buy it now

jimbog

Mickygg said:

Greymug said:

RelievedSheff said:

tdawber said:

It’s hard to think of moving being a positive move if you are comfortable renting at the moment. Why should you compromise in buying something else if you are happy where you are now…. Big quandary ☹️

The sooner you buy your own place and start paying down your mortgage the closer you get to being mortgage free.

If you never buy, you'll always be mortgage free.

Sure with renting you’ll be mortgage free, you’ll have more flexibility, easier to move, no worries on repairs 

 

Many on here who rent get very worried about repairs...or the lack of...when they report them

paulj2021

Shirley21 

Which area are you talking about? Quite keen to know it. Thanks!

In this case, Croydon  

lookstraightahead

Hi op

i think it depends on your life circumstances at the moment. 

Funnily enough I bought in Croydon when I was 23 (long time ago!). Most people thought great, on the ladder early, much better than renting!

I felt completely tied down. My house from that point was deciding my lifestyle for me, where I worked, what I did etc. I really wish I had waited a few years so that I was happy with my 'plan' (although of course hardly anything goes to plan!). For me, buying at that point was a massively bad investment, irrespective of market conditions.

I personally think you need to decide whether it is the unsurity of the market holding you back, or if it's something else. If it is just the market conditions, then no one can predict anything, so just buy somewhere you like to live in. If it is something else, I would advise against buying at the moment. 

As for paying off someone else's mortgage, so what? We all help line the pockets of other people when we take out a mortgage. Or go on holiday. Or eat something we've not grown ourselves. Or pay for childcare. Or take a loan out on a car. Or get in a taxi.

if all your ducks are in a row, then yes buying a property can be a good investment. If they're not yet, then it can be a chain around your ankles.

purplebutterfly

lookstraightahead said:

Hi op

i think it depends on your life circumstances at the moment. 

Funnily enough I bought in Croydon when I was 23 (long time ago!). Most people thought great, on the ladder early, much better than renting!

I felt completely tied down. My house from that point was deciding my lifestyle for me, where I worked, what I did etc. I really wish I had waited a few years so that I was happy with my 'plan' (although of course hardly anything goes to plan!). For me, buying at that point was a massively bad investment, irrespective of market conditions.

I personally think you need to decide whether it is the unsurity of the market holding you back, or if it's something else. If it is just the market conditions, then no one can predict anything, so just buy somewhere you like to live in. If it is something else, I would advise against buying at the moment. 

As for paying off someone else's mortgage, so what? We all help line the pockets of other people when we take out a mortgage. Or go on holiday. Or eat something we've not grown ourselves. Or pay for childcare. Or take a loan out on a car. Or get in a taxi.

if all your ducks are in a row, then yes buying a property can be a good investment. If they're not yet, then it can be a chain around your ankles.

AMAZING advice lookstraightahead 

My 22 year old friend was persuaded to buy a flat by her mum, on the basis that my friend was paying slightly more on rent than she would do on a mortgage.   

There followed 14 miserable years, as my friend hated the flat from the second she moved in. 

The original plan had been to stay there 3 years and then move on but she tried to sell it 4 separate times and couldn't.  She'd bought in the 2006 property bubble and couldn't sell it for enough to cover what she owed and increase her mortgage. 

She recently sold it at £30k LESS than she paid for it originally because she managed to find a bargain house in a great location and had some inheritance money to buoy her up.  She's incredibly happy now but wishes she'd waited until she was sure before buying.  Or at least been sure about the actual property in question.

There are positives AND negatives to owning versus renting (I'm 40 and only just buying my first home) but only you can decide what is right for you.