What's going on? life as I know it seems to be completely changing.
For years I've been told 'get on the property ladder'. So you do. The struggle to keep on that property ladder is immense in todays climate.
Yesterday on GMTV, the lovely Martin was saying that first time buyers should now be thinking twice about buying property and instead just rent.
Are we heading for a recession?
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Mortgage or Rent?
Sex God
We are now renting and it has made a huge difference to our lives for the better. It has made the difference between us actually having a life or just existing.
I actually think that alot of the recession stuff is just panic mongering though...at the moment. My line of work usually suffers on the way to true recession and at the moment it isn't.
I always thought that having a mortgage/owning property was the be all and end all. Now I think that having a life is.
I actually think that alot of the recession stuff is just panic mongering though...at the moment. My line of work usually suffers on the way to true recession and at the moment it isn't.
I always thought that having a mortgage/owning property was the be all and end all. Now I think that having a life is.
Sex God
Yep I agree with Fire that having a life is more important than owning a property 
But saying that......we've just bought a house. I work in the industry and really house prices and the market are the same as they were a year, even 2 years ago. When I say house prices.....I mean real valuations ie. what someone will pay for your house.....not what some estate agent has told you to market it at in the hope of getting your business and then talking you into a lower offer.
At the moment it is a buyers market and you can get some really good deals, especially on new builds. Second hand properties aren't as good as people are trying to hold out for what they were worth 2 yrs ago plus a bit extra, which just ain't going to happen. Basically a lot of sellers are being greedy.
Yes I know it's all doom and gloom in the papers.......but frankly it's cos they haven't got much else to write about at the moment. The market has not changed at all within the last year or so. It had to peak at some point and it has done now.
As for mortgages.......yes it is harder to get a mortgage now for some people. But not for everyone. Yes there's been a clamp down on 100% mortgages etc and on less than desirable borrowers. But it's not as bad as the papers make out.
If anyone is looking for a mortgage at the moment....go to an IFA and get them to look at it for you. oh and if they say they are charging you for their service, tell them to foxtrot oscar. They will get paid by the lender so if they are trying to charge you as well then they are money grabbing toerags.
I'll leave my thoughts at that for now but if anyone is concerned about buying or needs a recommendation of an IFA just PM me. Most of all if you are looking for a new mortgage please please don't just go to your bank.
But saying that......we've just bought a house. I work in the industry and really house prices and the market are the same as they were a year, even 2 years ago. When I say house prices.....I mean real valuations ie. what someone will pay for your house.....not what some estate agent has told you to market it at in the hope of getting your business and then talking you into a lower offer.
At the moment it is a buyers market and you can get some really good deals, especially on new builds. Second hand properties aren't as good as people are trying to hold out for what they were worth 2 yrs ago plus a bit extra, which just ain't going to happen. Basically a lot of sellers are being greedy.
Yes I know it's all doom and gloom in the papers.......but frankly it's cos they haven't got much else to write about at the moment. The market has not changed at all within the last year or so. It had to peak at some point and it has done now.
As for mortgages.......yes it is harder to get a mortgage now for some people. But not for everyone. Yes there's been a clamp down on 100% mortgages etc and on less than desirable borrowers. But it's not as bad as the papers make out.
If anyone is looking for a mortgage at the moment....go to an IFA and get them to look at it for you. oh and if they say they are charging you for their service, tell them to foxtrot oscar. They will get paid by the lender so if they are trying to charge you as well then they are money grabbing toerags.
I'll leave my thoughts at that for now but if anyone is concerned about buying or needs a recommendation of an IFA just PM me. Most of all if you are looking for a new mortgage please please don't just go to your bank.
I Think PK's got it about right.
In truth there is no one simple answer as the house market is a complicated compendium of inter-related socio-econmical-geographical-emolumental-fiscal-creditliquidity press as always print what grabs your attention not the reality as that requires pages of boring economic statistical analysis.
The reality is some areas will experience price falls , others may still increase. There is still a national shortage of housing. Developments of middle and up market low rise flats(i.e waterside regeneration schemes)became lucrative for developers but it's limited suitability for all social groupings against increasing mortgage rates created a national surplus of such accomodation leading to many unsold developments and subsequent heavy discounting of prices ..which headlined several months family accomodation is still in short supply.
Rent v Buy is a gamble ..based on market speculation that the desired property type in the desired geograpical area will experience price erosion off setting the dead money payment of buying at the turn of the market when in real terms the house of your desires may well be cheaper...Like all gambling there will be winners and losers so beware.
Remember the people that rent the property to you are making money from you.
Property ownership is at the heart of the british society and it has proved over the medium(5-10 years) to long term that it is a sound investment now is no different.
Recession...well we can talk ourselves in to a recession but we can't talk ourselves out of one . Now is a time for applied common sense
Ngde
In truth there is no one simple answer as the house market is a complicated compendium of inter-related socio-econmical-geographical-emolumental-fiscal-creditliquidity press as always print what grabs your attention not the reality as that requires pages of boring economic statistical analysis.
The reality is some areas will experience price falls , others may still increase. There is still a national shortage of housing. Developments of middle and up market low rise flats(i.e waterside regeneration schemes)became lucrative for developers but it's limited suitability for all social groupings against increasing mortgage rates created a national surplus of such accomodation leading to many unsold developments and subsequent heavy discounting of prices ..which headlined several months family accomodation is still in short supply.
Rent v Buy is a gamble ..based on market speculation that the desired property type in the desired geograpical area will experience price erosion off setting the dead money payment of buying at the turn of the market when in real terms the house of your desires may well be cheaper...Like all gambling there will be winners and losers so beware.
Remember the people that rent the property to you are making money from you.
Property ownership is at the heart of the british society and it has proved over the medium(5-10 years) to long term that it is a sound investment now is no different.
Recession...well we can talk ourselves in to a recession but we can't talk ourselves out of one . Now is a time for applied common sense
Ngde
Orgasminator
well this is rather pertinent at my point in time i i would rather get back on the ladder as if i dont do it now i dont think i ever will, its a complete jungle out there. :silly:
Sexlightened
What ever the experts say today, you can guarantee they will change their mind as soon as the "Credit Crunch" is over.
Personally we have a mortgage but can see the attraction in not having one of those hanging over you.
P & H
This is our first post in the forums!
Personally we have a mortgage but can see the attraction in not having one of those hanging over you.
P & H
This is our first post in the forums!
Sex God
Welcome Classy
Sex God
Quote by Ukwineman
well this is rather pertinent at my point in time i i would rather get back on the ladder as if i dont do it now i dont think i ever will, its a complete jungle out there. :silly:
Hiya Winey
All i would say is think very carefully about why you want to get back on the ladder before you do. We did get back on, only to fall off again and the fall was a long one and it hurt, but probably the best thing that ever happened to us!
Sex God
When is the house warming, Poshkate!!! 
Life isn't all about the house you live in and the car you drive etc,etc.
If these things are supposed to make you have a "better life" but the price of having the bigger house and better car are too high, then are you REALLY having the "better life", struggling to pay for them and working every hour possible to maintain them?
A while back I had a really good job and was getting paid a lot of money, but I hated the job and got no satisfaction. I left and now I have a job that pays less than half of the last one and we have had to make some lifestyle changes in the form of the cars we drive etc but my quality of life and enjoyment of it has quadrupled!!
I'm mot sure about a real recession in the very worst sense Jaymar, but I think there may be tough times ahead for the people who are already struggling a little to maintain the lifestyle that they now have. I think some folk will have to make sacrifices to pay the bills, and that shiny new car on the drive they have on HP might turn into a not so shiny and new one etc.
Some people will inevitably always be looking longingly forward to the day that they can re-afford that shiny new motor car and fall back into the consumerism trap, whilst others will come to realise that they never needed it and are better off without it!!
Anyway enough rambling, I'm off to pay for a litre of petrol :shock:
If these things are supposed to make you have a "better life" but the price of having the bigger house and better car are too high, then are you REALLY having the "better life", struggling to pay for them and working every hour possible to maintain them?
A while back I had a really good job and was getting paid a lot of money, but I hated the job and got no satisfaction. I left and now I have a job that pays less than half of the last one and we have had to make some lifestyle changes in the form of the cars we drive etc but my quality of life and enjoyment of it has quadrupled!!
I'm mot sure about a real recession in the very worst sense Jaymar, but I think there may be tough times ahead for the people who are already struggling a little to maintain the lifestyle that they now have. I think some folk will have to make sacrifices to pay the bills, and that shiny new car on the drive they have on HP might turn into a not so shiny and new one etc.
Some people will inevitably always be looking longingly forward to the day that they can re-afford that shiny new motor car and fall back into the consumerism trap, whilst others will come to realise that they never needed it and are better off without it!!
Anyway enough rambling, I'm off to pay for a litre of petrol :shock:
Quote by Classysxycpl
What ever the experts say today, you can guarantee they will change their mind as soon as the "Credit Crunch" is over.
Personally we have a mortgage but can see the attraction in not having one of those hanging over you.
P & H
This is our first post in the forums!
Welcome to the forum and hope it will not be your last post.
I had a mortgage in the late 80's when we was all being told to go out and buy a house. It seemed like a great idea at the time but...when interest rates hit 15% and my overtime dried up and then property prices crashed, I lost my house. At the time we was deverstated but I have learnt from that and said I would never get another mortgage.
Now we find that current times it is tough out there, and so many similar things happening, as they were in the early 90's. House prices are dropping, houses being taken away are increasing. Banks pulling out of the mortgage market which is the most frightening thing. They obviously do not see a future market in it to make money. :shock:
With a rented property or a Housing asscociation property, you know where you are. Interest rate rises have no affect on you. There are pluses and minuses to both, but the devastation of one losing their house is one of the worst things in life that can happen, especially as like me I had young kids at the time too!!
Interest rates do have an effect on rental prices, it just takes a little longer to filter through. A landlord, who has a mortgage on a property, will have to pass the rise in interest rate costs on eventually.
I had a mortgage back when interest rates hit 15% and it was crippling, but now that the bank of England is in charge of the interest rate changes, I can't see it getting back to that. Plus, back then, people were only allowed three to three and a half percent of thier income against a mortgage, whereas now it can sometimes be five or six times with self-cirtified mortgages, which is what has caused most of the problems with the banks.
House prices have only risen because people keep paying them, if everyone stopped paying rediculous prices for property the market would soon stagnate and prices would drop back to a sensible rate.
H.x
I had a mortgage back when interest rates hit 15% and it was crippling, but now that the bank of England is in charge of the interest rate changes, I can't see it getting back to that. Plus, back then, people were only allowed three to three and a half percent of thier income against a mortgage, whereas now it can sometimes be five or six times with self-cirtified mortgages, which is what has caused most of the problems with the banks.
House prices have only risen because people keep paying them, if everyone stopped paying rediculous prices for property the market would soon stagnate and prices would drop back to a sensible rate.
H.x
Orgasminator
Most of the problem has been the mortgage lenders fault with allowing greater then 3.5* mortgages due to the fact that the interest rates were low... problem is a small increase in rates now equates to a large increase in the monthly amount required to meet the mortgage.
I also think the media is trying its damndest to talk this country into a recession... we all saw what a badly worded comment did to northern rock where as if nothing had hit the papers the bank would have got a short term loan from the BoE and no one would have been any the wiser and there would have not been a run on the bank.
The other problem with the housing valuation is that a lot of builders and property management companys have been fiddling the figures by including the "free deposit, free furnature, free what ever" in the actual sale value... So a 150K house with a deposit paid of 30K should be registered as 120K at the land registry as the "seller" gets the 30K back as soon as the paperwork is sorted and funds transfered but a lot have been inflating the land registry details by regestering the full 150K inflating the true value of houses.
Personally this country needs a bit of a recession to bring things back into line with earnings as we are over charged for just about everything we buy as credit has been so redily available.
I also think the media is trying its damndest to talk this country into a recession... we all saw what a badly worded comment did to northern rock where as if nothing had hit the papers the bank would have got a short term loan from the BoE and no one would have been any the wiser and there would have not been a run on the bank.
The other problem with the housing valuation is that a lot of builders and property management companys have been fiddling the figures by including the "free deposit, free furnature, free what ever" in the actual sale value... So a 150K house with a deposit paid of 30K should be registered as 120K at the land registry as the "seller" gets the 30K back as soon as the paperwork is sorted and funds transfered but a lot have been inflating the land registry details by regestering the full 150K inflating the true value of houses.
Personally this country needs a bit of a recession to bring things back into line with earnings as we are over charged for just about everything we buy as credit has been so redily available.
Sex God
Quote by H-x
snip
House prices have only risen because people keep paying them, if everyone stopped paying rediculous prices for property the market would soon stagnate and prices would drop back to a sensible rate.
snip
H.x
I think you have hit the nail on the head there :thumbup:
A house is only worth 150K if you can find someone who will pay 150K for it....
We have the same problem in as much as we need a bigger property but simply cannot afford to pay the massively over inflated prices that are currently being asked..
We probably could if we didnt have any other financial commitments but those commitments are part and parcel of us actually having a life instead of simply having an existance and to me actually having a life is worth more than living in a bigger house....
I know the kids prefer it ....
We bought our house 12 years ago for 60k. It's now valued at 250k :scared:
Does that make me happy? No! If the prices had stayed the same we could move up the ladder for an extra 10K or so. As things stand, we'd need to look for something around 300K - another 50k on top of what we might get for ours.
I remember seeing a report on the BBC website a couple of years ago. The guy (can't remember who it was, or the exact figures) was saying he'd be happy for his 500K house to get devalued to £1. Yes - he'd lose loads of equity, but he could also afford to upgrade to a house the size of Buckingham Palace for an extra £10 on his mortgage. Makes you think doesn't it.
Does that make me happy? No! If the prices had stayed the same we could move up the ladder for an extra 10K or so. As things stand, we'd need to look for something around 300K - another 50k on top of what we might get for ours.
I remember seeing a report on the BBC website a couple of years ago. The guy (can't remember who it was, or the exact figures) was saying he'd be happy for his 500K house to get devalued to £1. Yes - he'd lose loads of equity, but he could also afford to upgrade to a house the size of Buckingham Palace for an extra £10 on his mortgage. Makes you think doesn't it.
We rent our house from the local authority, I would love to own our home, however I will not work myself into an early grave to get on the property ladder. For the moment we are quite happy where we are. If we get the oppertunity to buy our house from the council then we may look at doing that but other than that whats the point it will only get swallowed up in nursing home fees and inheritance tax...
Sex God
The bad times will last until about 1 year before the next election, then Gordon will do all he can to restore the feel good factor. Then as soon as the next Gov. (who ever it maybe) is elected, taxes will go up, in one form or another.
John
Cynical? Me? Never!
John
Cynical? Me? Never!
Quote by Srne
Life isn't all about the house you live in and the car you drive etc,etc.
If these things are supposed to make you have a "better life" but the price of having the bigger house and better car are too high, then are you REALLY having the "better life", struggling to pay for them and working every hour possible to maintain them?
A while back I had a really good job and was getting paid a lot of money, but I hated the job and got no satisfaction. I left and now I have a job that pays less than half of the last one and we have had to make some lifestyle changes in the form of the cars we drive etc but my quality of life and enjoyment of it has quadrupled!!
I'm mot sure about a real recession in the very worst sense Jaymar, but I think there may be tough times ahead for the people who are already struggling a little to maintain the lifestyle that they now have. :
How right you are.. never a truer word said.. I'm quite looking forward to that better life
Isn't it true also that repossessions are at an all time high?
Sex God
I'm one of those wicked spend-thrifts on a 5*salary mortgage. Reason? When me and my ex split up we tried to sell the house and couldn't, he couldn't get a mortgage - I could. So I bought him out. Although I have a company pension it will be worth bugger all less than nothing by the time I retire. So, my house is more than my home - it's my pension. I'll sell it and get a smaller property when the time is right. Until then I have the heating on 16 degrees, buy Asda's value food and generally take extreme care with my finances.
Add to that - my mortgage is with the Northern Rock.
The idea of renting is tempting, believe me, but once I am forced to stop work, where would I live? No work, no pay - no pay, no rent. Simple. The pension certainly wouldn't cover it.
Of course if there are no reasonable mortgages out there and NR raise the interest rate too high I'll be renting by this time next year anyway.
I am in the classic 21st century trap - between the Rock and a hard place.
Moral of the story: Marry money.
Add to that - my mortgage is with the Northern Rock.
The idea of renting is tempting, believe me, but once I am forced to stop work, where would I live? No work, no pay - no pay, no rent. Simple. The pension certainly wouldn't cover it.
Of course if there are no reasonable mortgages out there and NR raise the interest rate too high I'll be renting by this time next year anyway.
I am in the classic 21st century trap - between the Rock and a hard place.
Moral of the story: Marry money.
Sexlightened
Quote by kentswingers777
What ever the experts say today, you can guarantee they will change their mind as soon as the "Credit Crunch" is over.
Personally we have a mortgage but can see the attraction in not having one of those hanging over you.
P & H
This is our first post in the forums!
Welcome to the forum and hope it will not be your last post.
I had a mortgage in the late 80's when we was all being told to go out and buy a house. It seemed like a great idea at the time but...when interest rates hit 15% and my overtime dried up and then property prices crashed, I lost my house. At the time we was deverstated but I have learnt from that and said I would never get another mortgage.
Now we find that current times it is tough out there, and so many similar things happening, as they were in the early 90's. House prices are dropping, houses being taken away are increasing. Banks pulling out of the mortgage market which is the most frightening thing. They obviously do not see a future market in it to make money. :shock:
With a rented property or a Housing asscociation property, you know where you are. Interest rate rises have no affect on you. There are pluses and minuses to both, but the devastation of one losing their house is one of the worst things in life that can happen, especially as like me I had young kids at the time too!!
Certainly won't be our last post...we are new to this and the social side is one of the most appealing aspects. So we will try and be active members!
We were lucky to fix our mortgage for 5 years just as it started to rise (it was pure luck too rather than reading the markets!!). So we are hoping we will have a level of protection should the interest rates go up.
If we were looking to get on the ladder now we would rent until the credit crunch passes us by and companies start competing for new mortgages...that's when the deals will start to appear again.
P&H
I could spend the night quoting and agreeing with posts from all the contributors on this thread.
A few other points from myself ...
Interest rates are actually falling...the reason we are talking about increasing mortgages is because a lot of people were persuaded to take fixed term deals at lower rates than exist now . These deals are now coming to an end and hence some people will see there mortgage payments adjusted upwards to realistic or even penal rates against te artificially low ones they have heretofore experienced.
In addition THE BOE is making cheaper money available to the lending institutions(Banks, Building societies etc) ; However the Banks etc are taking the decision to ration mortgage deals to less than 100% deals and more credit worthy customers and at the same time increase rates charged out to boost their margin percentage ...they argue to protect them against mortgage defaulting which has just hit their balance sheets (the so called sub prIme mortgage issue)In effect they are taking a belt and braces approach...dont be surprised to see all these institutions showing significantly improved profits next year!!!!
Alas those who think that rents will be immune from the current problems may be sadly disappointed. Because credit will be harder to get and increased interest rates(artificially imposed)may abound then rents will rise ...just more slowly than Mortgage rates...they will also be slower to reduce in the event of a turn around.
I note today that we now find unsecured debt (credit cardsoverdafts etc ) has risen to record levels. It seems we have taken a leaf out of Gordon Browns book and spent what we never had in the first place .
I think those that have resisted the temptation of the material and have sought life experiences and not material possessions are the new meek ...and they truly will inherit the world
However lets not forget .Money is cheaper to banks than before ..we customers have real power.
A few other points from myself ...
Interest rates are actually falling...the reason we are talking about increasing mortgages is because a lot of people were persuaded to take fixed term deals at lower rates than exist now . These deals are now coming to an end and hence some people will see there mortgage payments adjusted upwards to realistic or even penal rates against te artificially low ones they have heretofore experienced.
In addition THE BOE is making cheaper money available to the lending institutions(Banks, Building societies etc) ; However the Banks etc are taking the decision to ration mortgage deals to less than 100% deals and more credit worthy customers and at the same time increase rates charged out to boost their margin percentage ...they argue to protect them against mortgage defaulting which has just hit their balance sheets (the so called sub prIme mortgage issue)In effect they are taking a belt and braces approach...dont be surprised to see all these institutions showing significantly improved profits next year!!!!
Alas those who think that rents will be immune from the current problems may be sadly disappointed. Because credit will be harder to get and increased interest rates(artificially imposed)may abound then rents will rise ...just more slowly than Mortgage rates...they will also be slower to reduce in the event of a turn around.
I note today that we now find unsecured debt (credit cardsoverdafts etc ) has risen to record levels. It seems we have taken a leaf out of Gordon Browns book and spent what we never had in the first place .
I think those that have resisted the temptation of the material and have sought life experiences and not material possessions are the new meek ...and they truly will inherit the world
However lets not forget .Money is cheaper to banks than before ..we customers have real power.
Sex God
So what is the difference between paying rent to live in someone else's property and letting them gain capital appreciation at your expense and paying a mortgage so you can benefit from capital gain in your own property?
There is no recession, money has not simply disappeared from the economy - it is still there, it hasn't gone anywhere. It is great to be an optimist in todays climate and anyone dreaming that house prices will crash is living in another world. Our tiny island is overun with people and they all need somewhere to live. Top end stuff and apartments may be stuttering at the moment but small two and three bed houses will always be in demand.
Interest rates are falling but lenders are putting up rates, they call it consolidating - I call it profiteering. Really they are just trying to claw back losses made with risky lending but everything will sort itself out within a year or so.
Our advise to anyone would be not to buy one house - but two. You will always be trapped with housing inflation if you only ever own one house but if you own two then your second house almost becomes a pension - rising equity whilst a tenant pays your mortgage. You should be so lucky I hear you say - I say anything is possible if you try hard enough and you want to actually make it happen. The auctions are a good place to start!!
There is no recession, money has not simply disappeared from the economy - it is still there, it hasn't gone anywhere. It is great to be an optimist in todays climate and anyone dreaming that house prices will crash is living in another world. Our tiny island is overun with people and they all need somewhere to live. Top end stuff and apartments may be stuttering at the moment but small two and three bed houses will always be in demand.
Interest rates are falling but lenders are putting up rates, they call it consolidating - I call it profiteering. Really they are just trying to claw back losses made with risky lending but everything will sort itself out within a year or so.
Our advise to anyone would be not to buy one house - but two. You will always be trapped with housing inflation if you only ever own one house but if you own two then your second house almost becomes a pension - rising equity whilst a tenant pays your mortgage. You should be so lucky I hear you say - I say anything is possible if you try hard enough and you want to actually make it happen. The auctions are a good place to start!!
Sex God
Quote by Classysxycpl
If we were looking to get on the ladder now we would rent until the credit crunch passes us by and companies start competing for new mortgages...that's when the deals will start to appear again.
P&H
But it is now when there are property bargains. Saving tens of thousands of pounds now on a property will give you instant equity and will be much better than saving £50/month on your mortgage.
Friends of ours just bought a house in London by auction for £160,000 less than it was sold for in 2004. Yes they are paying a bit more in the mortgage payments but they now have a built in equity hedge on their house.
It is a buyers market and now is the time to buy - just make sure you drive a hard bargain.
Sex God
Quote by Sarah
When is the house warming, Poshkate!!!
As soon as it's built :lol2: But that might be sometime yet although that doesn't stop me from getting excited :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
i rent from a RSL, (registered social landlord)
resonable rent ( half of that for same in area)
no mantinence to worry about and no fear of losing my home.
im one of the lucky ones.
if when the government had sold off all council houses to the tenents and RSL's, they had used the billions raised to re build there would be more affordable housing to rent.
i live to my means, i work hard, balance the books as best i can, i have no credit, and no over draft. the bank wont give me any of these cuse i have a basic account and no house as security. But i prefer it this way.
its not just the mortgages that are throwing people into dispare but the fact companies lend extra money far to easy secured on the house.
when couple then split, their house may now be worth 100k more but they owe most of that in credit/debt.
then neither have enough to buy again.
then with the extended staep families everyone wants bigger houses for the weekend visitors
sorry rambling
xxx fem xx
resonable rent ( half of that for same in area)
no mantinence to worry about and no fear of losing my home.
im one of the lucky ones.
if when the government had sold off all council houses to the tenents and RSL's, they had used the billions raised to re build there would be more affordable housing to rent.
i live to my means, i work hard, balance the books as best i can, i have no credit, and no over draft. the bank wont give me any of these cuse i have a basic account and no house as security. But i prefer it this way.
its not just the mortgages that are throwing people into dispare but the fact companies lend extra money far to easy secured on the house.
when couple then split, their house may now be worth 100k more but they owe most of that in credit/debt.
then neither have enough to buy again.
then with the extended staep families everyone wants bigger houses for the weekend visitors
sorry rambling
xxx fem xx
Sex God
see... this question split me in half... and here is why,
up until the bit where I bought my house I would very much in the "rent" camp.. and I can still see some benefit to the renting lark....
however.. me personally... buying my house was one of the best things I ever did.....
the amount of money I was spending on renting was less than the mortgage on my house... and as my mum always like to point out, in a sense renting is "dead money" i.e it isn't getting you anywhere.....
if i had bought before I would have nearly paid off my house now (only 4 years to go now)
I do feel sorry for people now.. I think I would struggle to get on the housing ladder and would be left with the renting option....
up until the bit where I bought my house I would very much in the "rent" camp.. and I can still see some benefit to the renting lark....
however.. me personally... buying my house was one of the best things I ever did.....
the amount of money I was spending on renting was less than the mortgage on my house... and as my mum always like to point out, in a sense renting is "dead money" i.e it isn't getting you anywhere.....
if i had bought before I would have nearly paid off my house now (only 4 years to go now)
I do feel sorry for people now.. I think I would struggle to get on the housing ladder and would be left with the renting option....
Quote by fabio
see... this question split me in half... and here is why,
up until the bit where I bought my house I would very much in the "rent" camp.. and I can still see some benefit to the renting lark....
however.. me personally... buying my house was one of the best things I ever did.....
the amount of money I was spending on renting was less than the mortgage on my house... and as my mum always like to point out, in a sense renting is "dead money" i.e it isn't getting you anywhere.....
if i had bought before I would have nearly paid off my house now (only 4 years to go now)
I do feel sorry for people now.. I think I would struggle to get on the housing ladder and would be left with the renting option....
The good thing about renting though Fabio, for people on a tight budget, is that if they buy a house and something goes wrong, like the boiler packs up (we have been there)they have to find the money, if your renting the landlord/local authority will fix the problem.
There are pro's and con's depending on how the market and economy are going at the time, it's a veritable minefield
