Has anyone decided to sell up and put all equity into cash and buy again in a year or two....

RelievedSheff

GDB2222 said:

RelievedSheff said:

Trying to time the market is a mugs game.

We all need somewhere to live. You may as well be paying off your own mortgage (if you have one) rather then spending similar money to pay of the landlords mortgage.

To rent a similar property to the one we currently own would cost around £200 more per month than our mortgage. So even disregarding the costs associated with selling and moving it is a none starter.

Yes we could rent in a cheaper area or rent a smaller house or flat. But why would we? We are quite comfortable and happy with the home that we have. It's value is irrelevant. If it dips in value it isn't really the end of the world. It is still our home.

"To rent a similar property to the one we currently own would cost around £200 more per month than our mortgage."  

Can I ask how long your mortgage is fixed for, and what you would be paying if you had to renew your mortgage currently?

Indeed. Our mortgage is fixed until June 2026. At the end of this fix we will have 10 years remaining which we hope to reduce further.

At current interest rates we would be paying around £1400 a month, the same as renting. But we are not on current rates. 

lookstraightahead

Just work out the figures.

some are on fixed interest rates and have small mortgages. Some aren't and are paying a lot of interest on big mortgages. 

I'm all for renting, but my interest now is less than £200 a month, but I have a lot of equity (at the moment!) and a low LTV, and a fixed low interest rate.

if someone bought my house now with a 10% deposit on approx 6% fixed the monthly mortgage would be around £2000. Taking into account that house values will possibly decrease, I think renting or buying in my area (where renting is relatively cheap) it's probably at equal footing. The advantage then is that you're a chain free buyer, and can snap up bargains at any time without looking for an ever decreasing circle of buyers for your property.

[Deleted User]

ashe said:

a well known poster on here did that for a time and spent about 10 years renting. rents arent going down so it seems a bit of a barmy risk

Not necessarily barmy if he invested in one of many assset classes that have massively outperformed housing over the past decade, especially if heavily leveraged. After ten years of that strategy, you'd have had enough money to buy several houses & change to spare. And the next ten years will look different to the last.

But horses for courses.

movilogo

This strategy might have worked if you sold in summer. Right now price is falling down and you will be chasing a falling market. Interest rate will go up again before Xmas and in New Year the housing market will come to a grinding halt. 

If you have excess cash, stash in savings interest which is paying bit better now.