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Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:No, my advice is that houses are overpriced due to years of cheap debt and the hard to shift belief among the public that just owning or holding a house for a period of time = profit when selling, I am saying be careful what you buy and for how much. and don`t assume you won`t make a loss when selling, and also be aware how much the debt on the house is costing and could cost in an inflation spike.Say you buy for a £400k and sell 10 years later for £400k. You've made nothing, right?
No. Because in those 10 years your mortgage has probably been less than equivalent rent. For those 10 years you've had stability and aren't dependent on a landlord to keep you and to repair things. You've also built up equity.
So you could easily sell a property at a "loss" later and still be better off.You would need to make a detailed estimate for a particular property to determine which is cheaper. In the past, it’s been a no brainer because interest rates were so low, but that’s no longer the case.You obviously build up equity if you pay off part of the mortgage, which you will do if your mortgage payment includes a capital element on top of the interest. But, then, you need to factor this into the equation.As you say, though, there are lots of advantages in owning your own property.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
GDB2222 said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:No, my advice is that houses are overpriced due to years of cheap debt and the hard to shift belief among the public that just owning or holding a house for a period of time = profit when selling, I am saying be careful what you buy and for how much. and don`t assume you won`t make a loss when selling, and also be aware how much the debt on the house is costing and could cost in an inflation spike.Say you buy for a £400k and sell 10 years later for £400k. You've made nothing, right?
No. Because in those 10 years your mortgage has probably been less than equivalent rent. For those 10 years you've had stability and aren't dependent on a landlord to keep you and to repair things. You've also built up equity.
So you could easily sell a property at a "loss" later and still be better off.
No, the tenant pays that via the landlord. The costs are the same but there's another party involved to take a profit.
The only exceptions are when the landlord gets a much better mortgage rate than the renter would, or the property is mortgage free. But only if they charge below market rates.1 -
Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Emmia said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:How much do you think the 400k flat cost in 2008?Somewhere about £250k. Someone will have made a tidy profit on it after holding it for 17 years.
Assuming you mean 5 Inkwell close, which was the first link I found in here to a 400k flat, we can see the price history:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/d8ae29fe-8eb9-4059-8799-fe0bd097fa67It was first sold for £138k in 1999, then for £405k in 2018. It failed to sell in 2023 and I don't see an asking price for it.
Why it sold for £405k in 2018 and is now for sale for £400k in 2025 I don't know. Maybe it was wildly overpriced back then, maybe it's a market correction.
What do you reckon it'll be worth in 2050? More or less than £400k?
It depends when they sell it. It could be worth £800k in another 20 years.
Maybe the current seller bought at the wrong time, or overpaid for whatever reason. It doesn't matter. How does it compare to what else is available?
After 10 years of payments they'll owe significantly less than the asking price even with a minimal deposit. You can't really infer anything.And what’s the alternative? People have to live somewhere. For the vast majority that means paying rent or paying a mortgage. So when considering if buying is a good idea or not, the opportunity cost has to be considered. Rents are significantly higher than mortgages. Landlords need their mortgage covered, their costs covered, empty periods covered, and they want to make a profit. So the person renting is paying all of that every month. A person paying a mortgage is paying the mortgage and of course have maintenance costs. But they are not paying the landlord the empty period or the profit chunks of money.I’ve just bought again after renting for too long. My mortgage is significantly (£400 pcm) cheaper than my rent was (and the landlord put the rent up by £100 pcm after I moved out). I now live in a 2-bed Victorian terrace which I love. It is comfortable, cheaper to run, suits my lifestyle and meets my needs. (Rather than a soulless flat which cost a fortune to heat because it was all electric). I’ve made my house mine (and hopefully added value) by replacing the rotting 1980s kitchen and bathroom. Other comparable houses in the area are being sold for £40k more than I paid (and they don’t have the downstairs loo and utility room that mine has).I’m sure you’ll say I’ve been stupid and I should have carried on renting. But buying has significantly reduced my monthly outgoings, given me an asset, and I have the security of owning my home. I can only lose my home if I stop paying my mortgage. Before I was at the whim of a private landlord. The thought of renting into retirement was scary and I feel so much happier and secure now I own.Buying isn’t for everyone and obviously isn’t risk free. But buying in the U.K. has many, many advantages over renting. As long as one is sensible, does research, and makes good choices, buying is almost always going to be the better option. I gather you have a history on here and I do think you have an agenda. That’s fine and you can obviously post what you like but I do think your advice is quite biased to your agenda and not helpful in many cases. Please consider the impact your words may have.Anyway, I’m bowing out. I think you’ve been making your property market crash predictions for very many years. If the fact that what you predict keeps not happening hasn’t taught you anything, I doubt that I can.0 -
Herzlos said:GDB2222 said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:No, my advice is that houses are overpriced due to years of cheap debt and the hard to shift belief among the public that just owning or holding a house for a period of time = profit when selling, I am saying be careful what you buy and for how much. and don`t assume you won`t make a loss when selling, and also be aware how much the debt on the house is costing and could cost in an inflation spike.Say you buy for a £400k and sell 10 years later for £400k. You've made nothing, right?
No. Because in those 10 years your mortgage has probably been less than equivalent rent. For those 10 years you've had stability and aren't dependent on a landlord to keep you and to repair things. You've also built up equity.
So you could easily sell a property at a "loss" later and still be better off.
No, the tenant pays that via the landlord. The costs are the same but there's another party involved to take a profit.
The only exceptions are when the landlord gets a much better mortgage rate than the renter would, or the property is mortgage free. But only if they charge below market rates.0 -
ReadySteadyPop said:Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Emmia said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:How much do you think the 400k flat cost in 2008?Somewhere about £250k. Someone will have made a tidy profit on it after holding it for 17 years.
Assuming you mean 5 Inkwell close, which was the first link I found in here to a 400k flat, we can see the price history:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/d8ae29fe-8eb9-4059-8799-fe0bd097fa67It was first sold for £138k in 1999, then for £405k in 2018. It failed to sell in 2023 and I don't see an asking price for it.
Why it sold for £405k in 2018 and is now for sale for £400k in 2025 I don't know. Maybe it was wildly overpriced back then, maybe it's a market correction.
What do you reckon it'll be worth in 2050? More or less than £400k?
It depends when they sell it. It could be worth £800k in another 20 years.
Maybe the current seller bought at the wrong time, or overpaid for whatever reason. It doesn't matter. How does it compare to what else is available?
After 10 years of payments they'll owe significantly less than the asking price even with a minimal deposit. You can't really infer anything.And what’s the alternative? People have to live somewhere. For the vast majority that means paying rent or paying a mortgage. So when considering if buying is a good idea or not, the opportunity cost has to be considered. Rents are significantly higher than mortgages. Landlords need their mortgage covered, their costs covered, empty periods covered, and they want to make a profit. So the person renting is paying all of that every month. A person paying a mortgage is paying the mortgage and of course have maintenance costs. But they are not paying the landlord the empty period or the profit chunks of money.I’ve just bought again after renting for too long. My mortgage is significantly (£400 pcm) cheaper than my rent was (and the landlord put the rent up by £100 pcm after I moved out). I now live in a 2-bed Victorian terrace which I love. It is comfortable, cheaper to run, suits my lifestyle and meets my needs. (Rather than a soulless flat which cost a fortune to heat because it was all electric). I’ve made my house mine (and hopefully added value) by replacing the rotting 1980s kitchen and bathroom. Other comparable houses in the area are being sold for £40k more than I paid (and they don’t have the downstairs loo and utility room that mine has).I’m sure you’ll say I’ve been stupid and I should have carried on renting. But buying has significantly reduced my monthly outgoings, given me an asset, and I have the security of owning my home. I can only lose my home if I stop paying my mortgage. Before I was at the whim of a private landlord. The thought of renting into retirement was scary and I feel so much happier and secure now I own.Buying isn’t for everyone and obviously isn’t risk free. But buying in the U.K. has many, many advantages over renting. As long as one is sensible, does research, and makes good choices, buying is almost always going to be the better option. I gather you have a history on here and I do think you have an agenda. That’s fine and you can obviously post what you like but I do think your advice is quite biased to your agenda and not helpful in many cases. Please consider the impact your words may have.Anyway, I’m bowing out. I think you’ve been making your property market crash predictions for very many years. If the fact that what you predict keeps not happening hasn’t taught you anything, I doubt that I can.I realise you need to justify your life choices to yourself. And I realise buying isn’t risk-free (nothing is!) or for everyone. But your buying=bad stance really isn’t helpful or accurate for most people.6 -
Herzlos said:GDB2222 said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:No, my advice is that houses are overpriced due to years of cheap debt and the hard to shift belief among the public that just owning or holding a house for a period of time = profit when selling, I am saying be careful what you buy and for how much. and don`t assume you won`t make a loss when selling, and also be aware how much the debt on the house is costing and could cost in an inflation spike.Say you buy for a £400k and sell 10 years later for £400k. You've made nothing, right?
No. Because in those 10 years your mortgage has probably been less than equivalent rent. For those 10 years you've had stability and aren't dependent on a landlord to keep you and to repair things. You've also built up equity.
So you could easily sell a property at a "loss" later and still be better off.
No, the tenant pays that via the landlord. The costs are the same but there's another party involved to take a profit.
The only exceptions are when the landlord gets a much better mortgage rate than the renter would, or the property is mortgage free. But only if they charge below market rates.
But, you are saying that it's cheaper to rent (in terms of monthly outgoings), which is not necessarily true at the moment. That is one reason quite a lot of landlords are selling up. You really need to do the sums quite carefully, to see whether renting or buying is cheaper for a particular property.
At the moment, the cheapest mortgage rates are 4.25%, which translates to interest payments of £17,000 pa on a £400k property (like the OP is looking at). Then, there's insurance, ground rent, service charges, and repairs inside the property, which could easily be another £3-5000. So, if the rent is less than £1800 a month, it's actually cheaper to rent.
For the sort of properties the OP is looking at, the rents in the area are generally well below £1800 a month.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?searchLocation=N12&useLocationIdentifier=true&locationIdentifier=OUTCODE^1669&rent=To+rent&radius=0.0&minBedrooms=1&maxBedrooms=1&propertyTypes=flat&_includeLetAgreed=on&includeLetAgreed=true&dontShow=houseShare,retirement,student&sortType=6&channel=RENT&transactionType=LETTING&displayLocationIdentifier=N12
There are good reasons to buy rather than rent, but at the moment the buying option may be a little more expensive.
No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Tabieth said:ReadySteadyPop said:Emmia said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:How much do you think the 400k flat cost in 2008?Somewhere about £250k. Someone will have made a tidy profit on it after holding it for 17 years.
Assuming you mean 5 Inkwell close, which was the first link I found in here to a 400k flat, we can see the price history:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/d8ae29fe-8eb9-4059-8799-fe0bd097fa67It was first sold for £138k in 1999, then for £405k in 2018. It failed to sell in 2023 and I don't see an asking price for it.
Why it sold for £405k in 2018 and is now for sale for £400k in 2025 I don't know. Maybe it was wildly overpriced back then, maybe it's a market correction.
What do you reckon it'll be worth in 2050? More or less than £400k?
It depends when they sell it. It could be worth £800k in another 20 years.
Maybe the current seller bought at the wrong time, or overpaid for whatever reason. It doesn't matter. How does it compare to what else is available?
After 10 years of payments they'll owe significantly less than the asking price even with a minimal deposit. You can't really infer anything.And what’s the alternative? People have to live somewhere. For the vast majority that means paying rent or paying a mortgage. So when considering if buying is a good idea or not, the opportunity cost has to be considered. Rents are significantly higher than mortgages. Landlords need their mortgage covered, their costs covered, empty periods covered, and they want to make a profit. So the person renting is paying all of that every month. A person paying a mortgage is paying the mortgage and of course have maintenance costs. But they are not paying the landlord the empty period or the profit chunks of money.I’ve just bought again after renting for too long. My mortgage is significantly (£400 pcm) cheaper than my rent was (and the landlord put the rent up by £100 pcm after I moved out). I now live in a 2-bed Victorian terrace which I love. It is comfortable, cheaper to run, suits my lifestyle and meets my needs. (Rather than a soulless flat which cost a fortune to heat because it was all electric). I’ve made my house mine (and hopefully added value) by replacing the rotting 1980s kitchen and bathroom. Other comparable houses in the area are being sold for £40k more than I paid (and they don’t have the downstairs loo and utility room that mine has).I’m sure you’ll say I’ve been stupid and I should have carried on renting. But buying has significantly reduced my monthly outgoings, given me an asset, and I have the security of owning my home. I can only lose my home if I stop paying my mortgage. Before I was at the whim of a private landlord. The thought of renting into retirement was scary and I feel so much happier and secure now I own.Buying isn’t for everyone and obviously isn’t risk free. But buying in the U.K. has many, many advantages over renting. As long as one is sensible, does research, and makes good choices, buying is almost always going to be the better option. I gather you have a history on here and I do think you have an agenda. That’s fine and you can obviously post what you like but I do think your advice is quite biased to your agenda and not helpful in many cases. Please consider the impact your words may have.Anyway, I’m bowing out. I think you’ve been making your property market crash predictions for very many years. If the fact that what you predict keeps not happening hasn’t taught you anything, I doubt that I can.I realise you need to justify your life choices to yourself. And I realise buying isn’t risk-free (nothing is!) or for everyone. But your buying=bad stance really isn’t helpful or accurate for most people.0 -
GDB2222 said:Herzlos said:GDB2222 said:Herzlos said:ReadySteadyPop said:No, my advice is that houses are overpriced due to years of cheap debt and the hard to shift belief among the public that just owning or holding a house for a period of time = profit when selling, I am saying be careful what you buy and for how much. and don`t assume you won`t make a loss when selling, and also be aware how much the debt on the house is costing and could cost in an inflation spike.Say you buy for a £400k and sell 10 years later for £400k. You've made nothing, right?
No. Because in those 10 years your mortgage has probably been less than equivalent rent. For those 10 years you've had stability and aren't dependent on a landlord to keep you and to repair things. You've also built up equity.
So you could easily sell a property at a "loss" later and still be better off.
No, the tenant pays that via the landlord. The costs are the same but there's another party involved to take a profit.
The only exceptions are when the landlord gets a much better mortgage rate than the renter would, or the property is mortgage free. But only if they charge below market rates.
But, you are saying that it's cheaper to rent (in terms of monthly outgoings), which is not necessarily true at the moment. That is one reason quite a lot of landlords are selling up. You really need to do the sums quite carefully, to see whether renting or buying is cheaper for a particular property.
At the moment, the cheapest mortgage rates are 4.25%, which translates to interest payments of £17,000 pa on a £400k property (like the OP is looking at). Then, there's insurance, ground rent, service charges, and repairs inside the property, which could easily be another £3-5000. So, if the rent is less than £1800 a month, it's actually cheaper to rent.
For the sort of properties the OP is looking at, the rents in the area are generally well below £1800 a month.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?searchLocation=N12&useLocationIdentifier=true&locationIdentifier=OUTCODE^1669&rent=To+rent&radius=0.0&minBedrooms=1&maxBedrooms=1&propertyTypes=flat&_includeLetAgreed=on&includeLetAgreed=true&dontShow=houseShare,retirement,student&sortType=6&channel=RENT&transactionType=LETTING&displayLocationIdentifier=N12
There are good reasons to buy rather than rent, but at the moment the buying option may be a little more expensive.0 -
ReadySteadyPop said:Would interest payments on the debt taken to buy the house (potential to spike over the 30 year terms that are normal now) be "wasted money"? Rent is a "cost" it is a payment for a service, a payment for a service that you want/need and receive can`t be wasted money, a mortgage is a debt and continues even if you don`t live in the house (the house is repo`d for example) two very different things, the "rent is wasted money" meme must be responsible for countless bad debt decisions on houses that won`t hold their "value" ( especially if you include interest)
Why would rent be a cost for a payment for a service but interest isn't? It's the cost for payment for the loan? At the end of the day the only thing to factor in is money out and money back in. With rent its 100% out, with a mortgage you'll get some money back at the end (assuming capital repayment).
Unless the house is repo'd very early on or you're over leveraged, you're still likely to get some money back on it. For example, I owe about £150k on a £250k house. Even it got repo'd and they sold it for way under market, I'd still not owe anything. But in reality it's not going to get repo'd and if I fell behind I could sell for market rate and use the equity to buy something smaller.2 -
GDB2222 said:Herzlos said:
No, the tenant pays that via the landlord. The costs are the same but there's another party involved to take a profit.
The only exceptions are when the landlord gets a much better mortgage rate than the renter would, or the property is mortgage free. But only if they charge below market rates.
But, you are saying that it's cheaper to rent (in terms of monthly outgoings), which is not necessarily true at the moment. That is one reason quite a lot of landlords are selling up. You really need to do the sums quite carefully, to see whether renting or buying is cheaper for a particular property.
My point was that the landlord is going to factor in the costs of maintaining the property and some profit, so it's rare that it'd cost less that buying. No landlord is deliberately going to lose money on a rental.
Rentals definitely provide more flexibility in terms of moving etc, but over the mid-long term buying is almost certainly cheaper because at some point it'll be paid off and you're only on the hook for maintenance.
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