Are you working towards the goal of owning your own house or are you happy renting and not thinking about owning?

I only ask as Matt and I would love to eventually own our own home, but at the moment it just seems like such an impossible goal. We have a few thousand saved but have had to dip into that a bit with moving and redecorating here. My sister made a comment about whether it's worth spending money doing up a rented place, and i do see her point but for us as we're in housing association our contract is a bit more secure.. As long as we don't cause trouble, commit any criminal offenses etc we can stay as long as we like, so I feel it was worth our money but can't help feeling a little annoyed we had to spend savings on something that isn't technically ours and now owning our own place feels even further away.

My sister recently bought a flat and even with £27,000 deposit she struggled to be able to buy just a one bed flat, no garden. We would need a 3bed house with garden ideally! Seems impossible. I know it's more expensive down south but we're not likely to move any further north so this is what we're dealing with.

Just wondered everyone else's thoughts/opinions.

I don't rent as I own



But, I did start out renting, it was a council house and we spent loads doing it up and then bought it and then sold it for a profit and bought our next house (had a few since then).



Is there an option to buy your house one day??

We have no right to buy here but apparently there is something else called right to purchase or something like that, but I have no idea what that means. To me they sound the same

we've been together nearly 10 years, we were buying a 2 bed massionette a few years back, it fell through on day of signing (our solicitor told us to pull out ) we at the time had got a 95% mortgage with a small deposit , which we then had to use to rent some where, its fees and move which took our deposit. and we've never made that money back.

What about the shared ownership? Where you pay a mortgage for say 50% and then pay a rent to the owner of the other share (sometimes housing assosiactions have schemes), with the option of buying more and more shares til you own it.

Thats a shame it all fell through Kelly, and now you've lost all that deposit.

Susan, we looked into shared ownership and think that will probably be our next step.

In some ways renting seems easier. We own our flat but its only a one bed (well could be two) but we've really struggled to sell it (we've been trying on and off for about 4 years) as first time buyers and investors are both struggling to get mortgages. At least if we were renting we'd have been able to move into something bigger. At the moment it feels like we're going to be here forever

have a look at this

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_197938

I have owned twice and had to sell due to twatting husbanda so lost my house twice. I honestly cant see me ever owning another house, firstly my financial position at the moment. If i ever did own i would ensure i could afford it on my own so that i would never have to sell again but thats never going to happen so i am happy renting x

Ooh thats interesting Kelly. Seems like a good idea.

i know. i've started filling it out. (i'd do so now if i were you) its quite lengthy

but i cant see us getting another house any other way

we rent, we moved out our house, (we couldnt afford the mortagage anymore, we had russ's house too and we just couldnt afford 2 mortgages,

we now rent a huge 4 bedroom house in the poshiest area in the city, for less that one of our mortgages.

we would love to own again, in 2yrs all our debts/loans will be paid so we waiting for that then we going to buy, we love the idea of buying something derelict and doing it up

but saving for deposits is going to be tough,

its our end goal to buy our own house, but ive said when we do thats it i never moving again, i hate moving

Will get on that then, i didn't look at the actual form. It really does seem atm schemes like that are the only way to be able to buy a house.

Missed your comment before Liberty and that must be so frustrating trying to sell atm. I can see what you mean it would be a lot easier if you were renting to just move

Iv given up on the idea of owning my own house. A few years ago I would have cried at the idea of having to rent for life but now Im starting to see it as a positive kinda.

Im in private rental atm with 6 month leases. I hate it. I know that legally my landlord, regardless of contract can give me 4 wks notice. Iv lived here for almost 2 yrs but dont feel secure. Its a lovely house, but I cant decorate it as my own - there's no point.

My goal, as trampy as it may sound, is to get a council house. We have been on the list 2.5yrs and classed as 'homeless' on it for nearly 2 years and it still looks like it will be years before we get an offer. I think in council/housing association I will feel more secure as the contracts are indefinite.

My cousin bought her own house when she got married 7/8 years ago. A tiny 2 bed terrace. She now has a 5 yr old son and a 2 yr old daughter who share a room. There house is very small compared to the one I rent. They are trapped as the value of their house has decreased so much in recent years they are now in negative equity and cant afford a 3 bed. They are thinking of renting their house out and renting another 3 bed themselves next year as they are so fed up. My aunty has said my cousin is a bit jealous of me, at 1st I didnt understand why but now I can see what a strain a mortgage can be. I think we all thought that her 2 bed was a starter home and she would move up the property ladder but it hasnt happened.

Basically a main advantage of owning a home is permanence, you know you can stay there. BUT with job losses, rising costs some homeowners are having to sell anyway so arent as secure as previously thought. If you rent and lose your job HB can help out. I think its more complicated with mortgages.

Another advantage to buying is investing in your childrens future, leaving them a cpl £100k through the sale of the house when you die. Again the chances of that happening for most are slim now as the govt sells your home and uses the costs for your nursing care in old age.

I dont mean to sound like the state should pay. Obviously it is better if everyone could buy, pay their mortgage without HB, and pay for their own nursing care through the sale of their home.... I just mean I wouldnt stretch myself to the limit now or get upset I wasnt on the ladder. There's pro's and cons to both. A mortgage can be cheaper atm due to low interest rates but that could all change.

I would love to own, but have settled myself that a housing association property is a much more realisitic goal and there is no point worrying/getting upset about buying. Your home is what you make it, and whether you pay £500 a month to a bank or a housing association doesnt really change anything imo x

my mum has bought me up to beleive that renting is a waste and Ive never had to rent... however saying that I was very VERY lucky that my mum put aside a decent amount of money for me and my sisters. It WAS to cover the costs of our education if we chose to go to university but instead I put it all into buying my first flat in Jersey. after 5 years of living there I moved to Cyprus, Id have loved to have kept my flat in Jersey and rented it out - it was a real investment, prices in Jersey can only go up because there's no more space and this was a decent flat but in Cyprus you can only get 70% mortgage so needed the deposit. Anyway I sold my flat and made (after all the legal and agents fee) about 80k! which Ive put straight back into my house in Cyprus. unfortunately the cyprus market isn't the same as Jersey and I doubt I'll ever be able to sell this... but in saying that it's a 3 bed house with studio flat and garage that can be changed into living space or more bedrooms if we ever needed to expand.



I could never rent, I just would hate to be lining someone elses pocket. but had my mum never saved up money for me I would have really struggled with a deposit.



There are lots of rent to buy schemes out there shell - people who want to sell there house but realise they probably won't be able to sell outright and have to make do with rent to buy. if your going to be paying "rent" it may as well be going towards your own place. in the UK if you can afford to buy at the moment it's probably the best opportunity our generation will get! low prices, low interest, reposession houses on the market for less than their value, and the banks HAVE to start lending to make money again.

I bought my first house in about 2001 so things were a lot cheaper then, i had a starter home (i double bed and 1 single bed) and it was only £67,000 which for this area is really good. Due to the increase in prices i made about 40k on it and then bought a great big trampy mess of a house (where i live now) that needed loads doing on it.



I have almost finished it - finally, but have spent a lot to get it to reasonable standard. It was worth it for me as at the time i would not have been able to afford the house if it has been in good condition. When i split up with my ex i bought him out which added a lot onto the mortgage but even so i only pay £550 per month, I would have to pay more for a rented house of the same value.



I think the good thing about the mortgage is tht overtime the amoutn will go down adn your monthly payments can become less wheras with the rent i am assuming that it wont go down.



My step bro has one of the shared ownershiop houses and he says it has worked really well for them as they can increase their share over time if they want to xx

I agree with Jade, I would hate the thought of rentning now - but then obviously I would if I had to.



Snoops, to me the best thing about owning my own place is knowing that when I'm 47 and paid the mortgage off all I'll have to pay is bills, Simon's nan died last year at 84, she was still paying rent up until she died. Also, if/when me and Simon pass away (particularly if the children are fairly young - morbid I know) then I know they will have a substantial amount of money to set them up in adult life. And yes, its lovely knowing that I can do whatever I like to the place as its mine, that I have permanent roots and can stay here forever (if Simon lets us ).



Shell, you really do have plenty of time to get a mortgage etc, my parents didnt until they were in their late 30's as dad was in the army. x

We have got our own house hun, but I would have also decorated if I were you, as like you say, you can stay there as long as you like.



At the moment, with the way the market is, its so hard to get a decent deposit together and then find a house.



But if you keep at it, one day the right one will come along x

we own house but were kinda stuck in a rutt. We bought out house in 2006 for £90,000 but it was valued at £98k so we got a good deal. It was basically a shed tho, needed plastering, new kitchen, bathroom, walls knocknig out, new ceilings,doors - everything basically. We borrow over 100% to be able to do the refurbishements and didnt have a deposit. So we borrowed £98k altogether. We paid a couple of grand off but due to gav losing his job a couple of years ago and me going on materniy we changed to interest only therefore still have about £96k left to pay. Now the houseing market has dropped, a house in my street only sold for £76k. Now I know its worth at least £115 eventually but the way things are atm, were gonna be stuck here forever as cannot afford to move until we make at least £96 to clear the market. Sometimes I wish id just rented and saved some money....

we would love to own somewhere but with life as it is just now theres no chance on earth

I agree Susan, it would be lovely at 47 to be mortgage free. The money thing id love to leave Caitlin but have life insurance instead as thats the best I can do for her in my situation, everyone does what they can.

Dont get me wrong if me and Stuart had better jobs, or my mum handed me £100k yes I would jump at the chance to buy... I just mean in the current financial climate I wouldnt be encouraging people to take 100% mortgages (if they even still exist? )they can only just afford, as interest rates could rise and they could be screwed.

The majority of ppl I know who have bought had a parent put something towards it. I think in the future less and less parents will be able to do this as their own pensions aint that great and fewer people are managing to save £20k for their kids.

I duno, im still hoping on a lottery win lol, atm renting is my only option so I just have to find the positives

yeh snoops your right if my mum hadn't have saved the money there is not a chance in hell I could have saved up the deposit to buy a house!

We rent off my parents...we would like to own a house but are waiting..
My parents will soon be selling the farm they are at now and buying a new place that they hope will have a stone barn that can be converted for us...it makes sense as we would never really be able to buy a nice place in the countryside..so we would be close to parents (convenient!) and be on the farm again which would be great for Izzy!
We lived in a cottage on the farm before we came to town but it was only a one bedroom and too small.


If that wasn't the situation though I think tbh we'd still rent - its cheaper to rent a place like this, big house, big garden than to get a mortgage on it and with Dan being self employed its always a worry!