So I’ve been saving for a while with a view to buying my own place and have managed to build up enough for a deposit. However, now that I’m actually in the position to buy I find myself second guessing if I actually want to get on the property ladder and would rather rent (ideally not privately but apply for social housing). Logically, I know that it’s better to buy but the thought of being tied down with a mortgage makes me feel claustrophobic. Then there’s the worry of investing all of this money and not getting it back as the economy is teetering on the brink atm. Maybe it’s because I’d be buying on my own and the responsibility of it is quite daunting but I’m so conflicted. Any advice would be welcome x
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I would always choose mortgage because if you've enough for a deposit the repayments will probably be cheaper than renting. You feel prouder as a home owner as it's yours not somewhere borrowed off someone which is just a house. House prices go up too so it's a good investment for old age if you want to downsize or have kids you want to help get on the property ladder themselves. Renting is chucking money at something that doesn't belong to you and you've nothing to show for it.
If you have saved enough for a deposit, it is highly likely that you would not be granted a social housing property. Without knowing your situation, the waiting lists are extensive with some areas taking 5 or so years and unless you have dependents or are homeless you are far far down the list.
Most of the time a mortgage will be less than rent (in the private market anyway). We pay less a month on our 3 bed house than we did in rent for a 1 bed flat.
The thing with buying is its yours, you can do as you wish and you can make the choice to do or not do works. All the money you put it will add to the value. Another thing is it's more secure, renting (privately) they can kick you out with two months notice. With a mortgage provided you are paying there is no risk of that so you can sit tight until the time is right.
Most of the time a mortgage will be less than rent (in the private market anyway). We pay less a month on our 3 bed house than we did in rent for a 1 bed flat.
The thing with buying is its yours, you can do as you wish and you can make the choice to do or not do works. All the money you put it will add to the value. Another thing is it's more secure, renting (privately) they can kick you out with two months notice. With a mortgage provided you are paying there is no risk of that so you can sit tight until the time is right.
Mortgage payments way less than renting.
Thank you for your replies! I think I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of buying a property on my own. Time to put on my big girl pants 
It’s such a daunting process! But as others have said, mortgage payments are actually a lot cheaper than renting!
It’s stressful but so worth it the day you get your keys! Make it own, do what the hell you like with it! You’ll see it’s worth it!
It’s stressful but so worth it the day you get your keys! Make it own, do what the hell you like with it! You’ll see it’s worth it!
I was going to find a place to rent when my relationship broke down but I decided to move back home and save save save for a deposit - I can’t wait until I have enough and can start searching for a property! I’d rather save money for a house than put it in some greedy landlords account.
It really is! I know mortgage payments are cheaper than renting but the initial amount you need to fork out has me like
. You’re right though, it’ll be totally worth it.
I think it’s a real shame that this is the attitude towards buying a home vs renting.
when you have a mortgage you still don’t actually own the property. You are paying a loan to the bank which after 25/30 odd years will then grant you the deeds to the property. A hell of a lot can happen in that time! Renting a home is not some sort of second class situation- a home is a home, it doesn’t matter who owns it. Yes, renting privately is usually more expensive than paying down a mortgage and yes you are putting money into another persons pocket but you do get a lot of benefits from renting vs owning.
I never viewed any of my (rented) homes as something I was less proud of or in anyway ashamed of. Quite the opposite actually, seeing as I was paying well over what I pay now on the mortgage! I made them my home and I was proud of that, they were all lovely places to live. We have an obsession in this country with getting a mortgage.... and I have no idea why!!!!! Lots of other places around the world think we are crazy!
I think until renters have more rights in this country its v difficult to have a positive attitude of it. I think if you have social/council housing its much easier to have that 'home'. Many landlords do not allow you to feel like it is your home. Will not allow any sort of decorating. Tenants wait ages for repairs to be carried out or in come cases just ignored for months on end.
Landlords will often act in ways they should not because they seem to have a superior attitude over the home because they essentially 'own' the property.
When you can be served 2 months notice at any time and forced to move I can fully understand why people dont feel settled in there rented home.
Im not having a go at all landlords here as I realise there are many good ones out there, I myself have had good ones but Ive had many terrible ones too. One of my landlords actually acted like he was doing us a favour allowing us to rent his property, when we were paying considerable amounts of rent. I have since bought almost an identical house and even with a tiny deposit our initial mortgage payments were almost half the rent we paid.
In Europe home ownership is not as prevalent as the UK but there is so much more protection for tenants and even caps on rent in some places. This makes it a more attractive option than here. Also life time tenancy is not unheard of.
Yeah I agree, my parents live in a rented house from the council and have done for over 35 years, it’s most definitely their home and was my childhood home. There’s definitely that security of it being a council house. The worst thing that ever happened was people being allowed to purchase council property- and the fact that the demand for housing now completely dwarfs the amount of available housing.
I don’t think there’s a bad attitude so much, I rented for 10 + years before I bought my own home and I loved all of them and made them my home. I had great landlords and I was a good tennant. So there’s nothing at all wrong with renting. There is a slight obsession about being on the ladder, but I think mostly it’s a future nest egg. I work in finance as there are so many people not putting enough into their pensions for later life, that they will need some equity somewhere.
Renting has it’s good and bad aspects. I’ve been renting my whole adult life and only now am starting to be in a position financially where I can afford a deposit. If I were to buy a house my mortgage payments would be significantly lower than my rent. However, we are lucky where we are - any issues we’ve had have been fixed pretty quickly and we don’t have to worry about major issues such as problems with plumbing or electrics as it’s “not our problem” so to speak! It’s frustrating feeling like you can’t put your stamp on a place but it also gives you much more freedom with less responsibility. The main reason I do want to buy eventually is that we’ve had an awful experience before where the landlord decided to sell and basically pulled the rug from under us last minute - thankfully I wasn’t overly attached to my last place but if that happened again it would send me over the edge! The main thing stopping us at the moment is no 10% mortgages and just no decent houses on the market, the prices where I live have skyrocketed and we don’t have a large deposit.
I think if you can comfortably afford it and set aside money for maintenance etc then it’s worth buying rather than renting, but it is a bigger commitment for sure.
I think if you can comfortably afford it and set aside money for maintenance etc then it’s worth buying rather than renting, but it is a bigger commitment for sure.
Buying isn't the be and end all. You're signing up for long term debt that allows you to live in the property while you can service the debt. Is not your home until it's paid off. It can be very stressful owning with things like anti social neighbours that you can't wait to get rid of but you're stuck there. There's positives and negatives of both sides. Interest rates can and do rise and who knows what will happen over a few decades.
The attitude in the UK is pretty toxic with houses. People now expect them to be a money printing machine and celebrate if their bricks out earn them each year. I don't think it's going to end well. They've used all stimulus they can to keep house prices at high multiples to earnings (graph below).
I feel a very sad all the people in their early 20s I know who live on a shoestring and go without many things like travelling all to sign up for a lifetime of debt. I'd have missed out on so much if I had of done that, although those houses I was looking at in east London when I graduated would have made me a millionaire. It's not sustainable though. There's a house prices thread here - https://tattle.life/threads/house-prices.6321/
The attitude in the UK is pretty toxic with houses. People now expect them to be a money printing machine and celebrate if their bricks out earn them each year. I don't think it's going to end well. They've used all stimulus they can to keep house prices at high multiples to earnings (graph below).
I feel a very sad all the people in their early 20s I know who live on a shoestring and go without many things like travelling all to sign up for a lifetime of debt. I'd have missed out on so much if I had of done that, although those houses I was looking at in east London when I graduated would have made me a millionaire. It's not sustainable though. There's a house prices thread here - https://tattle.life/threads/house-prices.6321/
You are buying a home to live in , not a business venture. You will be getting your money's worth by living there. As long as you can afford the money repayments.
I would agree with all your points. I definitely think the security of council tenancy allows people to feel there house is there home. Controlled rent too.
The low stock of council properties is forcing renters into extortionate rental properies and its not right. For mortgage purposes most banks state that your mortgage payment should not exceed 30% of your income. How many people in rental properties are paying way in excess of that percentage?
Absolutely. It’s all coming to a head I think with the whole rental market. The government will either have to cap private rents or do something to relax the rules surrounding obtaining a mortgage because before long people just will not be able to pay private rents or get a mortgage.I would agree with all your points. I definitely think the security of council tenancy allows people to feel there house is there home. Controlled rent too.
The low stock of council properties is forcing renters into extortionate rental properies and its not right. For mortgage purposes most banks state that your mortgage payment should not exceed 30% of your income. How many people in rental properties are paying way in excess of that percentage?
can I ask, out of curiosity, what “more rights” should tenants have now? I’d say they’re actually very well protected nowadays. I’m in Scotland to be fair, so possibly it’s a different system to England Wales etc. But certainly in Scotland, tenants are very very well protected. More so than home owners are actually
Well its legal for landlord to chuck tentants out with 2 months notice. There are no guarantees of long term tenancy when this is available in so many other countries and more common.
Also if youre given notice, you dont have very long to source a new rental property, the guidance given by Shelter is to not move out? Stay until you are evicted then the council will be forced into helping you as you are then homeless.
So many tenants are in properties with leaks or damp or issues that landlords dont fix or dont fix properly and the only thing tenants can do is either give notice which then means they need to find the money for a deposit for a new property which so many people struggle to do as rent is so expensive or complain and the landlord evicts them anyway.
So I can absolutely see why the idea of a mortgage is more appealing and people scrimp and save to afford to buy like Yel describes above.