Who doesn’t own a house and isn’t bothered?

[Horcrux]

We are trying to sell our house and we have very little intention of buying another. We have 2 children and jobs and plan to rent as it’s cheaper in our area. But it will also give us more freedom to travel.
Is this totally stupid?

Do what the he'll you like! It's your life, only live once etc. Good luck to you.
My frame of reference suggests it would be sensible to keep something in the UK property market with a managing agent, but that's my world, not yours.

I don't own a home (did once in the past) and no, I'm not bothered. It really doesn't matter.

I don't know where this drive to own a home comes from (Thatcher??), in other European countries (France for instance) the vast majority of ordinary people have long-term rents. However, they also have rent-capping and more protection than in the UK.
But it is still possible to get decent, protected rents in the UK....for instance, rural areas like Lincolnshire have landowners with cottages which you can rent, do up and even pass on to your children as long as you're a good tenant and pay up. There are also unusual rents eg. via the National trust or attached to the estates of big country houses.

As far as giving up the mortgage, you are right. Many people say they 'own' their own home but they don't, they mean they're mortgaged up to the age of 70. I had a couple of mortgaged properties when I was first married and never stopped worrying about them; not only paying all the interest but being responsible for damage (leaks, storms) and if I wanted to move, the whole selling/buying/fees thing which is a nightmare.

After my divorce I have rented some absolutely lovely places, far bigger and in more beautiful settings than I could ever have afforded to buy. They were easy to rent, the landlord did the repairs, when I wanted to move on, the whole process was merely a matter of giving notice.

Even better, if you want to go around the world in a boat, go for it. Not owning anything makes the whole thing easier to do. Life is about experience, not being saddled to a mortgage. If it doesn't work out, you come back and rent somewhere else. I have also gone abroad, done things and now I'm coming back. I'm also older and facing - in due course - a pension. I shall still rent. It will make downsizing easier when the time comes and perhaps one day, when I need the nursing home, that will be easy too.
Owning a home really isn't everything.

That’s a refreshing post @WanderingMilly. Thank you.

I do worry, of course I do. But I also don’t want to be stuck in this grind of making ends meet in order to have a small amount of choice when it comes to my care home!

As far as my children are concerned, they will learn a heck of a lot more exploring the world than they ever will do sitting in a class room. I currently teach in an SEMH school and out of the 70 students in that school I see 3 going to university. We have other means set up for them, vocational quals to come away with such as motor vehicle, catering and land management.
My dc would come away with knowing how a diesel engine works, chart work including the mathematics, accountancy, welding, plumbing etc... We would stay in places for long periods meeting up with other boat communities, doing other hobbies, meeting other interesting people and cultures. This won’t happen in a classroom.

Being an owner of a home in my 70s is not something I can get excited about...what do I do then?

Relax because you never have to make a rent or mortgage payment ever again? Imagine having to pay rent in your nineties out of a meagre state pension?

You don't suddenly hit seventy and become too old to do anything. I know seventy year olds who regularly walk up Helvellyn, who still go to exercise classes, who drive, who works even. You seem to have this idea that at seventy you'll be too old and frail to enjoy your life when in fact that's not true for most people.

People are living longer than ever. At seventy you could still have another 20 years left. Hell, at 90 by grandma was still living independently and did all her own cooking, cleaning and washing. The only thing she could no longer do is drive and she needed some help to wash her hair.

If you want to sail around the world, do it, but don't be foolish enough to give up your chance at security in your old age. There are plenty of pensioners who can only live decent lives because they own their homes and don't need to pay rent or a mortgage anymore.

I rent to a family.
I’d hate to be them. I’m a very good landlord but at any time I can just decide to sell
They have no security
Don’t do it
You don’t want to be paying rent when retired
We have about £500 disposable income a month extra because my house is mortgage free

Wow. V best of luck to you OP. Read your life’s story, motivations etc as this thread has progressed. You sound as sorted as anyone ever would or could be for such an adventure. Very best of luck and post us a pic on line entitled “I escaped the rat race” !!!

So your rationale for removing your children from the UK education system is your experience of the educational outcomes of children who have profound emotional and psychological difficulties? Why does that apply to your children unless they have those same difficulties? You're also saying that by travelling the world with you your children will acquire the same skills that you and your husband / partner have? What if they don't want to acquire those skills and want different life opportunities? What if they want to be lawyers / doctors / solicitors / accountants / scientists / chemists for example?

What adakine says
We have 3 winter Sun holiday a year..that’s 8 weeks October to March
Couldn’t do that on a pension..and we are nearly 70
We also own a holiday home, static caravan..we are there 4 days a week

I rent, don't want to own. But I'm in a fortunate position that I have a lifetime social tenancy with social rent. I like the fact that we pay x amount each month and if anything breaks we just phone up the landlord and they fix it at no extra cost to us. Our rent is linked to inflation so can go down as well as up. And yes there is the concern about still paying rent when retired but the plan is just so save enough over the next 40years that we can comfortably pay rent for another 20.
I would never ever rent privately again though.

Maybe @adaline it’s because non of my immediate family members have ever lived past 68?

@Horcrux but that doesn't mean you won't.

Do you really want to live your retirement years in poverty with no secure housing?

There’s no reason why they can’t be whatever they want to be @lolawasashowgirl on a home educated education. They will still sit their exams when the time comes. We can then reassess what is best.

I know someone who bought cheap when she was young, she sold for some reason and has been renting ever since, she now can't afford to buy. She regrets it massively.

We can’t do any of that now @Dowser

@adaline I feel like I’m living my current years in poverty.

We can’t do any of that now

But you're only young. Invest in your retirement because you really don't want to be old and too poor to afford heating, food and a decent roof over your head. You also don't want to evicted in your eighties or nineties with nowhere to go!

But you're paying £1200 towards a mortgage. That's why you're struggling - not the fact that you've bought. Our mortgage is £300 a month and it's a tiny percentage of our income.

Sounds like you've bought a property you can't really afford and that's why you're struggling.

So sad monkey
I’ve lived in my house over 40 years.
It’s lovely, it’s an extended 4 bed bungalow
I hope to be here for another 3 decades
But it was a cheap house way back in the 70s and I’ve been mortgage free for 17 years
It’s still only worth about £150k..so it’s made good sense to own if you can get a cheap house

I am still young enough to go do stuff! I don’t want to go do stuff in my 70s.
We certainly need to sell our house to reduce our outgoings.
The sensible thing to do, like I’ve said previously is to buy somewhere cheaper. But I don’t want to live in it.

Three of my dgc are home educated
They are having the most fabulous life
They don’t live on a boat though.. ut get to do lots of camping
Luckily sil has a good job to provide for his family

While you go sailing can you rent out your home so mortgage is covered

I am still young enough to go do stuff! I don’t want to go do stuff in my 70s.

But you can do stuff now AND in your seventies. And secure your retirement.

I know it's boring to think of being sensible and practical but you'll regret it if you don't plan ahead. You really don't want to have to work into your eighties because you can't afford your rent and bills if you don't. Your state pension won't go far and if you're stuck in private rent you'll seriously struggle.

Where will you go if you're private renting and get evicted in your seventies or eighties and you don't have a job?

Not all landlords are bad
Despite signing an agreement not to change the property in any way, my tenants have papered, I hate wallpaper, changed the doors, removed the fireplace and added a fugly one of their own, taken up the plain neutral carpets and replaceD with their own flooring.

What do you do?
I don’t want to be breathing down their necks all the time
But they could at least have asked me.

I do own but it's not for everyone and has its pros and con. So yanbu. Well except for the boat part, that sounds horrible to me! I get sea sick so I'd rather be homeless on the street. But it wouldn't do if we were all the same, right?

I would hate to be trying to fund private rent out of whatever paltry pension we end up receiving, even if we still get the state pension to supplement our own private ones. And that's before you take into consideration the bother of finding a new home and moving- having to do that every few years (unless you're incredibly lucky) when you're elderly must be pretty shit. It's stressful and expensive, and when you're maybe looking for a property to accomodate restricted mobility in a certain geographical area to avoid moving Drs, staying close to family support etc you won't have a pile of options. The idea that I would potentially put my kids under financial pressure or stress dealing with that when I could avoid it just doesn't appeal.

By the time you get the kids away (or at least the youngest in college) you could downsize, clear the new smaller mortgage with your equity and just take yourselves off. You would know that you have somewhere to retreat to should one or both of you get ill or just start feeling the effects of age. It's not strictly a choice between the house you're in right now or a boat for the rest of your lives. You may need to delay by a few years but there's no reason why you can't do both.