Buy a house now OR rent one, and buy in a year or two?

aoleks

your first point about living in an area new to you before buying is valid, though the large majority of people don't have that luxury/choice, hence they buy based on their opinion of the area and limited experience.

going back to the price, I wouldn't consider being at the mercy of ANY landlord in this country, not in this idiotic market. any mortgage is better than renting, period. within 2 years, you will have built a tiny bit of quity, go for 5 years to be on the safe side and even with no price increases, you will still be ahead of someone renting.

born_again

Don't forget about local facebook groups. As they can be a source of good information about the area, and where to avoid.

lookstraightahead

aoleks said:

your first point about living in an area new to you before buying is valid, though the large majority of people don't have that luxury/choice, hence they buy based on their opinion of the area and limited experience.

going back to the price, I wouldn't consider being at the mercy of ANY landlord in this country, not in this idiotic market. any mortgage is better than renting, period. within 2 years, you will have built a tiny bit of quity, go for 5 years to be on the safe side and even with no price increases, you will still be ahead of someone renting.

I'm not sure anyone will build enough equity in two years to also pay for moving costs, especially at the moment,

I rented for two years and I'm definitely up now. 

It's a huge risk buying in an area you don't know. I totally changed where I was looking because I got to know people in the area first. It's saved me a lot of money and stress (and the landlord was fab, she's local and we often meet in the pub!). 

I'd rather risk a 'bad' landlord for a while than risk losing money and sleep on a house I couldn't stay in anyway.

KrystalBall

If you rent it will give you time to get to know the are much better and find out if you would like to buy in a year or 2 down the line.