AIBU to think they should buy rather than rent a tiny flat?

What do they say about it? Do they not want that level of permanence?

Leave them to it...

Depends on how much the flat is. £150K, or £300K, or £500K. Even more?

Makes a big difference. (If their mortgage is £100K, or £250K, or £450K!) Maybe they like the freedom of renting, the non commitment, and not having to worry about huge repairs and maintenance bills? Maybe they don't WANT to buy a 'flat.' Personally, I would never buy a flat. Too many caveats and issues, no garden, often people all sides of you, and very rarely freehold.

Maybe they don't want to buy a property at all.......

Upshot is, it's their life. Not your concern...

Most people who rent (and always have) have a story to tell about someone sticking their beak into their business, and telling how they absolutely SHOULD buy a property, like they are somehow lesser for being a renter...

Do not be that person. Especially with your own daughter.

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You need to let them make their own decisions, not your choice

Flats can come with leaseholds, ground/maintenance fees and can sometimes be tricky to sell on.

Maybe they want to wait until they can afford a house.

Maybe they aren’t 100% sure if they will gel living together and want to test the waters.

Maybe they don’t know where they want to settle down and commit to buying somewhere just yet.

Not that it's anything to do with you if they buy or rent but where do they live and is the 50k their whole savings and do they want kids?

They could likely borrow about 240-300k, so looking at property around 300-350k, assuming they have savings beyond 50k to cover buying/moving costs and a small emergency fund. Is that realistic in their area?

Reduce that if 50 is their entire savings. So maybe 30k, so 270-330k.

If they're planning kids, might not be worth buying small and then uprising. Buying and selling is time consuming, expensive, complicated and exhausting. Especially considering mortgage is likely to be 1350-1650/ month for the amounts I suggested above.

Then flats are not looking like a good investment right now.

So in all, a lot of risk and effort for not much saving. I expect they've done the math and made an informed decision.

You haven't said where they live. You could be well off the mark in your estimate of their mortgage payments.

Perhaps they aren't ready to make a step buying property together. Perhaps they like location of the flat and couldn't afford to buy there

I didn't say you WERE that person or that you were sharing your 'why don't you buy instead of renting' thoughts with your daughter, I said DON'T BE.

Your reaction to my post tells me I may have hit a raw nerve.

Lol. Then they are being very wise not to buy a flat right now, even if the math did work technically which it doesn't really.

Have you seen the current interest rates? Have you factored in the cost of service charges for flats (in modern flats these can be almost as much as another mortgage, and scarily can increase exponentially) £1700 is a huge mortgage for a couple earning 30k each, and would be stupid to enter into knowing that rates can go up.

With a joint income of £60-65k, no they probably can’t buy something in London, even with a £50k deposit.

I assume given the salary level for that location, they are early in their careers - better to earn more / work out if London is where they want to be, than buy a crap but still overpriced flat in a grotty area (and then probably struggle to sell it on).

You might want to have a read of this OP
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyz7332dd6o

And I agree, lenders aren't going to offer them anywhere near what they'd need to buy in London, the fact that they're managing to pay the high rent isn't something lenders are interested in at all.

How old are they? I bought in my twenties at my parents insistence and regretted it - I didn’t like the responsibility and it meant I couldn’t move easily.

YABU to think this is any of your business.

They're doing well to have £50k on a very average combined income.

Perhaps they're saving until they have enough to skip the flat and find a small house.
Perhaps they don't want to commit to a mortgage before they're 100% sure they want to build a life together?
Maintenance - they currently call someone and it gets fixed.
Stamp duty - it's crippling and every week someone's suggesting it's about to change.
And maybe they're enjoying the London life but plan to move elsewhere in a few years & get better VFM when they're ready to settle down?

You've got to let them do their own thing.

It's probably to ensure that their parents can't come and stay.

Better off renting imho. Especially if the relationship breaks down.

£1700 a month, and it's in London? I know a couple who were paying that in Chester and another couple who were paying it in Shrewsbury. 1 bed tiny flat. What are they going to buy in London for £1700 a month? Even a cheaper 1 bed flat that cost £500K would have a mortgage repayment that is double the rent.

Where are they going to buy in London that costs £250K @LindorDoubleChoc ?? To enable £1700 a month repayments?

You're taking a very naive, narrow, short term view.

Dont buy a flat

You are right.

Lots of people are struggling to sell flats at the moment, so unless they want to live in a flat long term I don’t blame them.