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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I only sumg homeowners say this

80 replies

99pokerface · 03/04/2015 10:40

Listening to a thing about housing last nite and the pundit Kept saying well in Europe they rent and I would much rather rent than be a home ower

Did a little googling on said pundit and he lives in very smart part of town and recently I been hearing this a lot but it's bull shit said by only people who are not currently renting I have rented now finally have my own home and I would much rather own

We can decorate how we like we not paranoid about be homeless any moment And at the whim of the coucil if we want a reapair done we ring a guy pay and it gets done not sitting with no heating for 6 weeks while we wait for the coucil to sort their shit out I hated renting and I had a fairly secure tenancy can't imagin how sit it must be renting on the open market

So I think the pundit was a nob and only wankey homeowners say things like this

OP posts:
soapboxqueen · 03/04/2015 11:28

In the UK I would agree with you. However I think in other countries tenants have far more legal rights etc so the differences may not be as big.

PterodactylTeaParty · 03/04/2015 11:35

We rent and I am itching for the day when we can finally own somewhere. No more awful letting agents refusing to get anything fixed, not being allowed to hang up pictures let alone redecorate, no pets, the constant worry about getting booted out with two months' notice. Current landlord got huffy when we had a baby. What?

I've lived in two places that had lease clauses about having to get the landlord's advance permission any time I wanted a guest to stay overnight. This is no way for an adult to live, honestly.

MrsFlannel · 03/04/2015 11:50

People who rent are thousands worse off over their lifetime. YANBU

Original poster
99pokerface · 03/04/2015 11:54

We lived for the last 6 months in our rented house with no eletric in two rooms we had to run a cable from the from room to the kitchen renting bites we kept being told it was being looked into

It as awful also we had mice in the walls

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 03/04/2015 12:05

'I can also see that it might be nice to be able to make a phonecall and make my lack of heating someone else's responsibility.'

Oh, yes, the LL just comes running as soon as anything needs maintenance or repair. That easy. Just a phonecall.

PMSL!!!

Hmm
Apatite1 · 03/04/2015 12:15

YANBU. I've always lived in good quality rentals but I still didn't like it. It didn't feel like home. I'm very glad to have my own home now, although we still don't live in it (it's being renovated) I already feel like it's mine.

goshhhhhh · 03/04/2015 12:20

My family has a tennant. She was my mum's - we inherited her. She has been our tennant for over 40 years & on a controlled rent. We have even moved her to be nearer her family. She feels like our family responsibility in some ways. (in not moaning!). She is a good tennant & the house is an investment which we may or may not sell, if she ever moves on. We agree however that this house is hers for life. I think we are quite unusual.
(I sometimes think I would quite like to be her). However I think the comment made is usually made by homeowners.
I have no desire to rent. I want to put down roots & make my house a home. I'm not sure I would feel that way if I had the probably more usual insecurities of renting.

PtolemysNeedle · 03/04/2015 12:22

It's what happened when I was in a rental property expat. I certainly never had to wait any longer than I have done as an owner. Not all landlords are crap.

chaosmonkey · 03/04/2015 12:23

We just got our eviction notice - LL wants the house back, they are very sorry, know they'd said we'd get at least 2-5 years here, but they want it back after 1 year so they can move their friends in.

Previous property the LL didn't repair the pump in the basement bathroom for 6 weeks - so no baths, showers or flushing loo in that time.

I currently pay 60% of my income on rent. If I could get a mortgage, I could pay 50%, be working towards actually owning something, and save 10% for maintenance, but banks will only give 30-40% of income, so it's a no goer. (and I'd be buggered if the interest rates go up, I know that)

It's tricky with 3 dc, but we'll survive, find somewhere else, pack up and move on again (eldest DS has had 10 houses in his 14 years). At least we're well practiced on packing!

It's a shame - looking at the transition from social housing to private rental - Thatchers selling off the council house 'I will give you a nation of homeowners' has actually meant almost an exact transferal from social renting to private renting.

ifgrandmahadawilly · 03/04/2015 12:24

YANBU. Not at all.

What ARE all us renters going to do when we are retired?

Pipbin · 03/04/2015 12:25

I hate the 'in Europe they rent' argument.
They do a lot of things that we don't do here. They have different rules, laws and ways of life. It is no argument at all.

Gawjushun · 03/04/2015 12:34

"Your rent is so expensive, why don't you buy?" Had that one twice and really wanted to tell them to fuuuucck off.

I'd love a little house I could own. I'd love my son to have a room he could call his own, with cute decorations and coloured walls. I'd love to not have judgy inspections every three months where we get blamed for the mould problems of this shithole house. I want central heating and a dishwasher and other unattainable luxuries. I want to be able to make a home pleasant and liveable, without adding thousands to the price that the landlord then pockets when they inevitably decide to sell from under us. I'd love to know what town I'll be living in by September so I could sort out nursery admissions and make long term plans, but no. I don't feel I will ever have any of these things.

Gawjushun · 03/04/2015 12:36

Chaos -- I feel so bad for you. My LL has decided to sell too as houses have shot up in value around here. We were also promised a 'very long term' let, but got two years.

specialsubject · 03/04/2015 12:41

wow, homeowner hate to add to the landlord hate. Double bingo.

must be my imagination that the property I rent out, and every other single one I see in the town, has central heating, double glazing and all those other 'unattainable luxuries'. And if anything does go wrong, I can be called and have 24 hour cover available for fixes. Can't be real, can it? Because all landlords are crap.

I own my house and have been dealing with mice in the walls BTW.

who bought all the council houses? Who keeps buying them? Who isn't building more?

anyway, enjoy chewing on your bile.

sosix · 03/04/2015 12:41

I am a homeowner but not smug.

I have rented and don't want to again, due to insecurity, unable to decorate etc Rental market needs a huge shake up.

As far as repairs go, it really depends on the ll. as homeowner, we have to pay for all repairs or do without. I had no heating for 2 weeks over christmas, then had to fork out for a new boiler.

chaosmonkey · 03/04/2015 12:47

Gawjushun

Sorry to hear that you're having to moving too. It seems so unfair that we can't have some basic level of security on this.

Have just bought a lottery ticket, I''m guessing 14 million to one are those still even the odds? is the only chance of secure housing I've got.

Off to check Rightmove again in the hope that they've added in a lovely house even though it's a bank holiday

chaosmonkey · 03/04/2015 12:52

Specialsubject

Not sure what bile you're talking about?

Re the transfer from social housing to private renting, I was taking that from the ONS figures

ONS report

tiggytape · 03/04/2015 12:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bifald · 03/04/2015 12:58

I'd never say it to anybody renting because it used to annoy me when I was renting. I understand that people could earn more and save more, and with timing and location, still be unable to buy. I've rented and now I own, and owning is better, so believe me, I'd never say "people in europe rent'' as though that were a consolation. As a pp said, these Europeans might be better protected with longer tenancies. Not even sure it's as true as we believe it to be. I am not in the UK and we all prefer to own here too. It's the assumed aspiration for adults beyond 30 anyway.

Skeppers · 03/04/2015 13:06

Heard a statistic on Radio 4 this morning where they were discussing this very issue: renters are, in average, £500k worse off over their lifetime if they rent rather than own property. No idea where this stat came from but, if it's true, bloody hell...

Also find it incredibly patronising when politicians and their ilk harp on about a 'shift in mentality' when it comes to renting- the whole 'most of mainland Europe rents, so we need to shift our way of thinking towards a more lifetime rent model'- NO. Why should WE? Why should THIS be the generation who has to 'change their mentality' whilst everyone else sits in their nice, owned homes thankyouverymuch, just because nobody knows what the FUCK to do about the problem?

And in not one interview/article I've read on this subject does anyone mention lowering deposits which- when I speak to my peers who are in the same position- is the ONLY THING stopping them from getting on the property ladder.

And breathe.......!

(Sorry about all the caps!)

calculatorsatdawn · 03/04/2015 13:08

I bought my house a couple of years ago and it's been a bumpy ride. When I was renting before I was lucky enough to have rented from extremely helpful and accomodating landlords. Owing my house has been awful and I'm just starting to come out the otherside after 18 months of stress and worry. That said, I still prefer it to renting when I look at the bigger picture but largely because of fucking letting agents. I think letting agents need to be much more tightly regulated. Both myself and my friends have asked LLs in the past for longer contracts. They've been perfectly happy about it and it's the lettng agents that won't do it because of the annual fees they can charge on both sides.

Skeppers · 03/04/2015 13:09

If anyone's interested they're (R4) doing a phone in on this issue on Tuesday- think it's on 'Call You and Yours'...

Skeppers · 03/04/2015 13:10

...and hear hear calculators re: letting agents. Our LL is fine, but the agents are TWATS.

dementedma · 03/04/2015 13:12

I agree with ptolomy. We bought an old property on a long mortgage as had little income (its just a flat). Are now stuck with it needing significant roof repairs which we cant afford, a mortgage which we will still be paying off into our late 60s, assuming we both have jobs, and the fear of having to sell if one of us is out of work. We cant just move out as we cant afford all the legal stuff to sell it.

Happy36 · 03/04/2015 13:16

We live abroad and have rented several homes previously both as tenant and landlord. Landlords here are required by law to sort out problems immediately, or as quickly as possible, and to have insurance policies that facilitate this. Contracts tend to run for long periods (i.e. a family renting a home for 15, 20 years). Overall the tenant is in a much stronger, more secure position than a British one and this, alongside lower rents in most parts of continental Europe, are what make renting attractive there.

Renting in the U.K. can be a nightmare and the landlords get away with it as the law protects them. Renting in the U.K. can'tcan't be compared to other countries until the legalities are brought in line and British tenants can actually feel at home in their rented property.