Should I continue to Rent or Buy now - London

MoodyFirstTimeBuyer

BlueonBlue said:

If you can do it ...do it right now .
London changes very very fast it only gets more expensive and you may not be able to buy in the future for lots of reasons that time as it passes becomes more obvious but may not be obvious now  .
When buying in london the stars will never all line up when buying ...something will always be wrong or sub optimal  .
The greatest point to consider is you can do this right now ....so do so dont wait.... or you may regret it later  .
In twenty years the rent will be double ,your work or income and health is never safe at any time .
If you have your youth health income  buy it before its too late dont sweat the small stuff just do it get it done .
Then you have security to plan ahead .

Thank you so much for your comments. 

I do agree with you and I think is a key reason for me taking the plunge now. The concern I have is if I don’t act then I’ll have to sign up for another 12 month tenancy which will be around £1750 a month in addition to potentially losing out on stamp duty relief when it goes back to 300k from April 2025 meaning I’ll have to save more. 

BobT36

Unless I've missed something, you don't 'have' to sign up for another 12 months tenancy. It will just roll onto a monthly periodic one. 

The rent may still increase though (if they do it via the proper methods), and of course you have less security. 

MoodyFirstTimeBuyer

BobT36 said:

Unless I've missed something, you don't 'have' to sign up for another 12 months tenancy. It will just roll onto a monthly periodic one. 

The rent may still increase though (if they do it via the proper methods), and of course you have less security. 

This is what I thought but when I emailed the agent they advised that the landlord would not be agreeable to this. So I suspect if I didn’t sign up I would be served with a 2 month notice to evict 

RHemmings

MoodyFirstTimeBuyer said:

BobT36 said:

Unless I've missed something, you don't 'have' to sign up for another 12 months tenancy. It will just roll onto a monthly periodic one. 

The rent may still increase though (if they do it via the proper methods), and of course you have less security. 

This is what I thought but when I emailed the agent they advised that the landlord would not be agreeable to this. So I suspect if I didn’t sign up I would be served with a 2 month notice to evict 

In my current house, when I came to the end of the first year the landlord (through agents) asked for a one year extension. I said that I was looking to buy (almost a year ago! That's how long it took me) and didn't want to sign up for a year. They came back with: the landlord wasn't happy with this and suggested a six month extension, which I agreed to. When the six months came to an end I was more progressed in my house buying process, and simply said no to an extension and that I wanted to go onto a rolling contract. Which happened, and the landlord did nothing. And, recently, it was me that gave notice.

Clearly not everyone is the same, but I look at it like this: If they want to sign you up to another year, that means that they want to keep you as a tenant. If you go rolling and they give you a 2 month notice to evict, then they are getting rid of you. Why would they do that? 

It could be that you have a landlord with a particular psychology that would do that. But, I suspect it's unlikely. Note that unlikely is not the same as guaranteed to not happen. 

Albermarle

For me, I’ve lived in the block renting for the last 5-6 years so know it inside out, it’s pros and cons etc. 

Probably better the devil you know, than the devil you don't.

Herzlos

House prices are only going to go up, and rents are only going to go up. There may be the occasional blip but short of complete economic collapse they'll trend upwards.

With a mortgage, at least you should find the payments go down eventually (as you build up equity) and eventually stop. The payments are also not wasted as some of it will go into equity which you can use if you move out of London.

So if you can afford it and like the place, the best thing to do long term is buy.

london21

Personally prefer to own than renting due to stability and equity growth over time.

For me somewhere 0.5 miles to a station is important as I do not drive but everyone has what is important to them. 

MoodyFirstTimeBuyer

london21 said:

Personally prefer to own than renting due to stability and equity growth over time.

For me somewhere 0.5 miles to a station is important as I do not drive but everyone has what is important to them. 

Similar to me then, I can drive but do not have a car since it's so difficult to park around London without hefty parking fees. 

I've already rented since 2017 so I reckon I must of spent over 40k in rent during that time! 

Schwarzwald

MoodyFirstTimeBuyer said:

I've already rented since 2017 so I reckon I must of spent over 40k in rent during that time! 

that is an irrelevant number to think about .... you otherwise had most likely paid interest on a mortgage... plus never had to put down any deposit during that time ... so forget the 40k 

london21

MoodyFirstTimeBuyer said:

london21 said:

Personally prefer to own than renting due to stability and equity growth over time.

For me somewhere 0.5 miles to a station is important as I do not drive but everyone has what is important to them. 

Similar to me then, I can drive but do not have a car since it's so difficult to park around London without hefty parking fees. 

I've already rented since 2017 so I reckon I must of spent over 40k in rent during that time! 

Depends on the location tbh. If zone 4,5,and 6 for example cheaper than say zone 1,2 and 3 so might not be 0.5 miles to central London station depending on affordability etc.

Do not worry about rent already paid, owning also has its responsibilities with renting if the roof is faulty the landlord fix it but if you own the property you will pay the bills.

If you are in the position to buy not a bad idea, recently renting has been cheaper in some areas than the mortgage costs depending on deposit amount etc i guess but a lot of BTL are 25% deposit.