Rent to buy, not buy to let

Frugaldom

Can anyone tell me if there are any schemes whereby a tenant can rent a house with a longterm view to buying? I don't know what such a scheme would be called, so don't know where to start looking, search engines keep throwing up Buy to Let when I include both words.

There are so many properties on the market that just aren't selling and I wondered if it would be possible to approach owners with such a suggestion, assuming that this is an acceptable course of action and that it's legally possible.

Any suggestions and/or opinions on this would be helpful, thank you.

Before anyone asks why I don't just buy a house, I am not currently in the situation that allows me to get a mortgage. I do have some savings that would cover a deposit, legal fees etc but wondered if it was possible to pay a higher rent but the owner treat it as payments towards the purchase of the house. Or is that just me hoping for too much?

PasturesNew

nykmedia wrote: »

just me hoping for too much?

Closest/only is either stay with your mum until you inherit.
Or
Get a Housing Association house/council house.

So back to hoping for too much I guess.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Not sure about anything on the market today but we bought our first house in the 1980s through a housing association through a similar scheme. We had to put down £2000 deposit which subsidised the rent paid over 7 years over a sliding scale. The option was to purchase the property after 2 years at the price we moved in at. Luckily for us they made a mistake and we were able to buy it after a year at a great price. They were currently £20,000 higher then during the 80s housing boom.It enabled us to buy a 2 bed semi which would have been totally out of our league. The Association was called Southmead Housing Association.
Good luck with your search and perhaps we need to look at previous schemes.

motch

nykmedia wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if there are any schemes whereby a tenant can rent a house with a longterm view to buying? I don't know what such a scheme would be called, so don't know where to start looking, search engines keep throwing up Buy to Let when I include both words.

There are so many properties on the market that just aren't selling and I wondered if it would be possible to approach owners with such a suggestion, assuming that this is an acceptable course of action and that it's legally possible.

Any suggestions and/or opinions on this would be helpful, thank you.

Before anyone asks why I don't just buy a house, I am not currently in the situation that allows me to get a mortgage. I do have some savings that would cover a deposit, legal fees etc but wondered if it was possible to pay a higher rent but the owner treat it as payments towards the purchase of the house. Or is that just me hoping for too much?

if you are living at home now would be an ace time to save like a monk and see what happens later this year, then you can re-assess the housing market/credit market at that time and see what action to take.

Frugaldom

motch wrote: »

if you are living at home now would be an ace time to save like a monk and see what happens later this year, then you can re-assess the housing market/credit market at that time and see what action to take.

I am not 'living at home', assuming that means living with my parents, I am renting and have been for the past few years. I save as much as I possibly can but it doesn't amount to much - an ISA, a savings bond and whatever else I can squirrel away, stooze or earn.

The last house, which was bought many years ago with ex-husband, was sold after the divorce and left very little equity after all the associated costs and legal fees.

I'm guessing that this probably isn't an option and really is asking too much. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

PasturesNew

There is another very rare way. My sister's ex went to live with a bloke as a lodger. For some reason, after not too long, when the landlord died he left the whole house to my sister's ex.

Most odd. Most lucky.... and he didn't even need the house/help as he came from a very wealthy and well-connected family.

I guess the old saying's true: apples to orchards.

So, you could find yourself an old fella who needed a live in carer ... and keep him happy. Must have no family though ... and it's not guaranteed.

SquatNow

PasturesNew wrote: »

There is another very rare way. My sister's ex went to live with a bloke as a lodger. For some reason, after not too long, when the landlord died he left the whole house to my sister's ex.

Most odd. Most lucky.... and he didn't even need the house/help as he came from a very wealthy and well-connected family.

I guess the old saying's true: apples to orchards.

So, you could find yourself an old fella who needed a live in carer ... and keep him happy. Must have no family though ... and it's not guaranteed.

Often refered to as "Doing an Anna-Nicole".
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:G7mPWc6U4LYJ:www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/news/2005/01/01/wanna01.xml+oil+model+inherit&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=uk
:rotfl:

Frugaldom

Doing an Anna-Nicole? I think I'd rather work and pay the rent, but thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep them filed in the 'if all else fails' file.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

PS: If anyone knows where I can get one of those orchards cheap.... In the meantime, I'm off to plant a few apple pips and see what grows out of that.

silvercar

Try and find a property that is marketed as for sale and available to rent. Chances are it is a BTL that the landlord is desperate to get help with and will take anything, either sell it and be rid or get some rent money. If its not a BTL it will be an owner who can no longer afford their house and want to sell up, but are again desperate for some income to help with the mortgage so will take a tenant.

They may even accept a lower rental from someone who would be keen to buy it in the future.

Frugaldom

silvercar wrote: »

Try and find a property that is marketed as for sale and available to rent. Chances are it is a BTL that the landlord is desperate to get help with and will take anything, either sell it and be rid or get some rent money. If its not a BTL it will be an owner who can no longer afford their house and want to sell up, but are again desperate for some income to help with the mortgage so will take a tenant.

They may even accept a lower rental from someone who would be keen to buy it in the future.

Yes, the above is along the lines of what I was thinking, but I don't think there's any kind of formal scheme available. It's just really difficult saving to buy when there's no possibility of ever getting a mortgage, and paying rent at the same time. (Unless I opt for an alternative lifestyle as discussed elsewhere :rotfl: ).

Out of interest, if I ever decided to quit the property search in favour of travelling the country in a winnebago, for example, what would my address be for the voters role, inland revenue (I'm self-employed), driving licence, passport and bank accounts etc?