Renting your house, a good trend or a bad trend ?

[youngmafbog]

House prices may rise 16% by end of 2015 suggests a study by the Centre for Economics and a separate study by the Halifax suggests we may become a nation of renters in a generation.

Now quite possibly this pesimistic view from first time buyers is due to the current econimic circumstance that will eventually change, but is is a bad think to rent ?

In Europe it is quite common, but here we tend to think of it as an investment, but is it really? If you are unlucky enough to suffer a dibilitating problem in your old age your home will be sold to pay for it, if you rented the state will pay.

Also, dont you think these two surveys are in opposition to each other? Surely less purchsers mean lower prices to buy and higher to rent and landlords are also having the same problem raising capital ?

[ummmm]

Just make sure you treat your children well and give your house to them 7 years before you die.

[bednobs]

7 years is to do with iht rather than deprivation of assets to avoid nh fees

[milly143]

I would love own my own house. The amount we pay in rent would more then cover a mortgage but it would take me years and years to save up a decent deposit. Money that I'm currently paying off someone elses mortgage with. One of the plus points in owning your own home is that it is just that. We have a lovely house at the moment. New kitchen, bathroom, all painted nicely before we moved in and we didn't have to pay for it but there is nothing stopping the landlord telling us he needs the house back in a couple of months and we're out searching the letting agents. Again. This has been the case with the last 3 houses.

[Prudie]

from my experience a major disadvantage of renting is the insecurity - I did it for 10 years through necessity and was always worried about getting notice to quit. It happened twice and was devastating at the time.

[Sqad]

UK have always had this attitude of buying a house rather than renting...a sort of status symbol, unlike the Continentals and Americans who tend to do more renting.

Firstly.....it would p1ss me off to pay through my taxes to put an old lady into a Residential Home whilst she hands over a £500,000 house to her kids.

Secondly, coming to the end of my life, i would want to maintain my lifestyle by, if necessary, selling the house, living off sale and then renting.
My kids financial situation comes second to the lifestyle of Mr.&Mrs sqad which remains paramount........and the kids have been told.

[sandyRoe]

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a selfish parent. ;-)

[dave50]

I dont know why people in this country are obsessed with buying. Why not just rent? First and foremost it's a home, it's not a money making scheme. Also renting eases mobility meaning you can move to where work is a lot easier to almost anywhere in the country, your'e not tied to your house. Also why do people think it's great when house prices shoot up? You only benefit if you sell and dont buy another.
Finally how can prices possibly continue to rise if first time buyers cant get on the ladder?

[anotheoldgit]

ummmm

How does one know 7 years beforehand when one is to die?

Yes unless one lives in Scotland, if one has to finish one's days in an old folks home, the house which one has made sacrifices all one's young life to buy, is handed over to the government, while others who have never bothered to buy can end up in an old folks home free of charge.

Yes if I had my time over again I would never have bought a house.

Much better to rent, it is then kept up to modern standards and anything that wants doing, just pick up the phone and inform the landlord..

[ummmm]

I was kinda joking AOG...

[milly143]

AOG - one point to pick you up on there. Lots of rented properties are far from being kept to modern standards. They just need to be habitable. And believe me, some peoples idea of what habitle means are wildly different to mine.

On the other hand, it is a comfort knowing that if something happens through no fault of our, then the landlord will be the one footing the bill to fix things.

[rov1100]

As rent seems to follow house prices and nearly always on the up todays mortgage will seem like peanuts in 25/30 years whereas your rent will be no lower than £1000 pw. Learn from history where a reasonable house 40 years ago sold for £4000 and is today worth about £350,000.