Should we buy or rent?

flamingo123

I live in Scotland and my partner lives in England, he is applying for jobs and planning on moving up to my hometown this year. However, we are in a dilemma of what is best to do in terms of housing. I currently live at home with parents so we would want our own place but the issue comes that he will be getting a new job to move here so we would struggle to get a mortgage for our ideal 3 bed home. We think our options are: renting for a few months or buying a smaller property on my income alone. We would rather not rent but at the same time we are unsure of buying something on my income is the best as my partner would not be able to get the benefit from his help to buy ISA. What would you do in my situation? Should we rent for a while and then buy the 3 bed house or buy something smaller on my income and maybe do some work on it and make a profit? Please help! Any other suggestions are extremely welcome also! 

mexican_dave

Your instinct seems to buy. Rent is dead money, and you can't time the market waiting for the "best time" to buy. So there's my answer.

oldernonethewiser

Would you be happy in a smaller bought home, or would you be itching to move to somewhere bigger?

If you can rent somewhere small and afforable to get you out of your parents house for now then look to see what you can afford to buy when he has a job.  At least in Scotland you are not tied into long term rental.

flamingo123

mexican_dave said:

Your instinct seems to buy. Rent is dead money, and you can't time the market waiting for the "best time" to buy. So there's my answer.

Yeah I just don't like the idea of renting! I never have, I just feel its so hard to then save and I don't like the idea that I'm paying someone else's mortgage

BikingBud

flamingo123 said:

I live in Scotland and my partner lives in England, he is applying for jobs and planning on moving up to my hometown this year. However, we are in a dilemma of what is best to do in terms of housing. I currently live at home with parents so we would want our own place but the issue comes that he will be getting a new job to move here so we would struggle to get a mortgage for our ideal 3 bed home. We think our options are: renting for a few months or buying a smaller property on my income alone. We would rather not rent but at the same time we are unsure of buying something on my income is the best as my partner would not be able to get the benefit from his help to buy ISA. What would you do in my situation? Should we rent for a while and then buy the 3 bed house or buy something smaller on my income and maybe do some work on it and make a profit? Please help! Any other suggestions are extremely welcome also! 

There are still the best part of 10 months left in 2024, is there an urgency to decide anything, especially as "he is applying for jobs and planning on moving." 

Perhaps your best option is to stay with parents even for a short period, decisions made in haste are often not the best.

Use the time to look at houses and areas to see where you might wish to stay. Also speak to a mortgage broker to see what options you might have, what evidence you might need to secure a mortgage eg proof of starting new job?

And once a firm job offer comes in with salary and terms and conditions then you can progress, hopefully very quickly if you are not in a chain and have done your homework.

Stubod

Buy if you can...rent is just dead money.....

lika_86

People say renting is dead money, but it isn't really in the short term, it's a convenient way to have a roof over your heads while you work out what is right for you as a couple moving forward together. It's also a good way to try out living together (assuming you haven't before) without a power imbalance and means that you're in an excellent position to buy if you decide to as you'll be chain free.

MikeJXE

Weigh up the pros and cons.

Rent is dead money but you  can move if you don't like the area or the neighbours 

Buy is the best bet but you're stuck with both and will lose out if you have to move. 

MobileSaver

flamingo123 said:

we would struggle to get a mortgage for our ideal 3 bed home.

Why do you need a 3 bed as your first home if it's just the two of you?!?! The obvious answer is surely to buy a smaller and cheaper home that wouldn't be such a struggle for a mortgage?

RHemmings

MobileSaver said:

flamingo123 said:

we would struggle to get a mortgage for our ideal 3 bed home.

Why do you need a 3 bed as your first home if it's just the two of you?!?! The obvious answer is surely to buy a smaller and cheaper home that wouldn't be such a struggle for a mortgage?

If they plan to have children, then buying a smaller place might be a false economy if they have two children in two years time. And, they described the three bed home as 'ideal', not what they need. Personally I find an unused box room incredibly useful, and it can be used in a variety of ways. 

(general comment, not in response to @MobileSaver.)

Mortgage interest is of course also dead money - it worked for me renting a cheap place for a long time as I could save and (with inheritance help) jumped straight to no mortgage ownership. However, in the current rental market, prices are crazy and saving is harder. Let alone that the OP is clearly against the idea of renting. 

If the OP gets a three bed house that they don't need all the bedrooms for, then having a lodger in a room may help. But, not if it's financially necessary to have that extra income and they can't service the mortgage if they have a void. Only if it's a useful extra. As it's pretty obvious what happens if they can only make the mortgage if they have a paying lodger. 

MobileSaver

RHemmings said:

MobileSaver said:

flamingo123 said:

we would struggle to get a mortgage for our ideal 3 bed home.

Why do you need a 3 bed as your first home if it's just the two of you?!?! The obvious answer is surely to buy a smaller and cheaper home that wouldn't be such a struggle for a mortgage?

If they plan to have children, then buying a smaller place might be a false economy if they have two children in two years time. And, they described the three bed home as 'ideal', not what they need. Personally I find an unused box room incredibly useful, and it can be used in a variety of ways. 

Yes, of course, I can see lots of reasons why a 3 bed would be preferable, it just seems odd to be the main contender when it's clear they can't afford it.

Even if they have two children in two years time then they still don't need a three bed house for many, many more years! (My parents raised five of us in a one bed home... )