To think that sime homeowners regard themselves as superior to renters?

[malificent7]

Not all by any means but im a bit fed up of the 'well i work hard and lived off baked beans for 10 years.'
Well i work hard but cant save a penny as there isnt enough cash to stretch.
I find it hard to muster any enthusiasm when a friend shows me around the latest extension and starts talking about house values.
i just cannot relate.
Yes of course im envious but i made bad decisions when younger due to bad mental health issues.
I also feel like my ex friendship group split into homeowner/ non homeowner groups...maybe they have more in common although i do work longer hours....its just i dont live with a nain breadwinner atm.
Ive also been told by friends that i SHOULD get a mortgage...
I mean why SHOULD i if i cant afford it?
One friend said that homeowners take better care of their property...generalisation.

I feel sad as i find so many people money orientated..and snooty with it.

Honestly all my friends own. I don't know anyone who rents... well apart from my late granny who was council all her life. But...i can't say I have ever thought about feeling better than others etc.
I was lucky to buy a flat with a 100%mortgage. I Feel for people these days

Oh come off it. "Renters" or 'tenants' is pretty much used as shorthand for poor, useless and feckless and scapegoat for all.

I am a private renter and am now lucky enough to be looking at homes to potentially buy. We were told that one house was in disrepair because 'the last people who lived here were tenants', despite that fact that it would never have been the tenants job to fix the raggedy flooring and broken plumbing anyway.

We were even shown one home in the dark, i.e. the lights wouldn't turn on, as 'the tenants didn't put enough money on the meter when they left'. Our faces were like when the estate agent came out with this, and he had the brass neck to look a little taken aback by our reaction.

And the crowning glory was the time an estate agent told us, 'the problem with houses that have had tenants in them is that the washing machines have often caused a leak". Told to us with all the gravitas of a brain surgeon diagnosing a tumour. I mean, FFS!

I know someone who rents and is clearly bitter and envious of those who own. She brings up the topic all the time though as it's obviously a big issue for her. The rest of us (a mix of owners/renters) prefer to talk about more interesting things!

I have never regarded myself as superior to renters. But I did work hard for it. When I was saving up for my flat deposit I had a full time job and also worked in a pub evenings and weekends. I also had an antique stall on a Saturday morning. No holidays, no new clothes, basic food, no degree so no high salaried job etc. When I eventually had enough to buy, the interest rates were very high, eventually peaking at 15%. Most of the furniture was second hand from family and friends and for the first year, I rented out my only bedroom, while I lived and slept in the living room.

This is not a pity party it's just that some people think those of us who bought years ago had it easy. I'm guessing the amount of effort to save the deposit will need the same commitment to achieve it today. However, not everyone wants to live like that to achieve the end result.

YANBU. Some people are judgmental arseholes who act superior about all kinds of things. The 'I worked hard for it' thing is ridiculous. How much income you have is not necessarily related to how hard you actually work. It's as much to do with life chances, upbringing, education and sheer luck. I was working hard in my early 20s but I wouldn't have been able to buy my first flat if my parents hadn't been guarantors for my mortgage. And I wouldn't have the house I have now if I hadn't sold that flat at a profit.

I was very fortunate to buy when I was 25 a few years ago, I rented I up to that point and hated it. I hated dealing with landlords and paying so much for a tiny flat. This is why I scrimped and saved with dp to Ben able to buy, missing holidays and presents etc it wasn’t bloody boring but in my opinion worth it.

Most of my friends rent because that’s what they do, there is no superiority complex or jealously on either side. I wouldn’t say we worked harder than them or they are lazy, we just have different priorities and there is nothing wrong with that. Most of us work together so are on very similar wages, I really don’t think being a renter means ‘poor’ any more

Renters" or 'tenants' is pretty much used as shorthand for poor, useless and feckless and scapegoat for all.

What a ridiculous comment, renting is by far the more expensive option than home ownership, no matter which way you look at it.

This is a good one.

amp.theguardian.com/money/2018/jan/27/teacher-saver-audi-tt

"Used an inheritance to get an 85k mortgage, and my salary doubled in 10 years so I overpaid it and now I'm mortgage free. If everyone was as careful as me they could be as smug as me".

Well when I was renting I was damned if I was going to spend money on somebody else's front garden and make it look more rentable so landlord could kick me out and charge more!

So I get it, it's the way the world works. I've got my own house now and I've painted the wall outside and bought a lawn mower [shocker]

It's human nature innit

Some home owners probably do have those views but some of any group of people are twats and should be ignored.
There are people who seem to think everything they have is due to their hard work when in fact it’s a combination of many factors. They forget that some people work hard all their life and still end up with nothing not all jobs reward well financially and I’ll health can ruin the best laid plans. We are nearly mortgage free not because we are amazing people who strive so much harder than renters but because we’ve been had luck to go alongside our hard work and were in the right place at the right time. I don’t look down on renters but I feel sorry for them because renters are treated like shit in this country and they deserve better.

Wow that teacher, I'd rather have a less flash car but be able to eat out spontaneously without needing a voucher! But fair play to her over paying her mortgage. That is smart. And easy when you've no kids.

Renters are definitely looked down on.

If you ever watch stuff like Homes Under The Hammer you'll hear shouty blonde lady or Del Boy coat man say things like, "It'll do for renters..." when talking about cheap-arse kitchens of nylon carpets in a weird shade of brown.

Whereas to sell it you'll expect much nicer stuff.

Someone up thread uttered..
'But I did work hard for it' (meaning buying their own home).

The very use of such an expression suggests (in my view) that anyone who rents possibly does not work hard enough, hence renting.

I don't feel superior to people who rent but I certainly feel a lot happier now that I own than I ever did renting.

I don't think there is anything wrong with saying that I would never voluntarily go back to renting again - renting is obviously a waste of money. It is common sense, saying it is not a slight against renters.

In my experience homeowners do not look down on renters - we are just relieved to have got past that insecure, costly stage of our lives.

(This applies to private renters by the way, not council tenants!)

That was from my post maddiemookins16mum. I was not suggesting some renters don't work hard. What I am saying is that some may not be prepared to do what I did to be able to afford to buy and that is their choice. Not everyone wants to work more than one full time job or go without holidays or new clothes or be happy with hand me down furniture or live in one room whilst renting out the only bedroom to be able to initially afford the mortgage.

Absolutely chelledawg, I wouldn't go back but it's relief not smuggery.

This definitely happens. I own now but only because I married up and my pils v kindly lent/gave us a deposit.

One of my friends always goes on about how she and her husband lived with her parents for years so they could save for a deposit, which is great of course, but no good if like me your parents don't have room for any extra people in their house. It is mostly the luck of your birth.

There are people who can earn enough to save up independently for a house but there are many, many more who have family help.

Renting is different on the continent, though, isn't it? Tenancies are more secure, so you can invest in your surroundings. Also, the costs are more controlled.

Hmm none of my friends could give two shits about my rented place. Maybe you need to find better friends.
We rent because house prices in our part of London are close to a million for a two bedroom flat. We'd be looking at well over a million for a three bedroom semi. And no amount of scrimping, saving and living off beans would ever get us a mortgage for that - and we both have decent careers and are both in middle management. I'd rather rent and stay where we are than buy and move away. And that's our decision and we're happy with it. That might change when we decide to have DC2 as the box bedroom is barely big enough for DC1 and she still sleeps in our room. But until then I don't see it as dead money because my job and my life is here.

My mother is very weird about homeownership. If I say to her "Oh Jane picked me up to go to hers and on the way she picked up Susan from her house -" "Oh is it actually Susan's house or does she rent? Private rent or social housing?" You've never even met Susan you maniac.

My mum and dad did the whole living off baked beans and fresh air thing. They carpeted their first house with a patchwork of samples and offcuts nicked from the bin of a carpet store and had a very old stove jury-rigged to run off gas bottles - when they upgraded they donated it to a frigging museum!

They're really frustrated that none of us are champing at the bit to put ourselves through the grind of scraping a deposit and legal fees. At least when one of our dives had the damp problem get completely out of control we could just get the hell out of there.

You seem hyper aware of the financial status of your friends and acquaintances, op. I wouldn't have a clue if someone I knew was renting their home. How do you find out?

Cookers that use gas bottles are not a sign of deprivation or lack of money. My mother had one. We lived nowhere near any gas pipeline. It was brilliant when the electricity went when storms and the like blew in off the Atlantic. We never went without our dinner 'cos of the weather.

We had a solid fuel range as well. If the rented sector was more controlled, it would be better for a lot of people. That is why so many people are desperate to buy. Because prices were zooming up and if you missed getting onto a rung, you might miss the boat completely. Also, the substandard condition of so much accommodation and the insecurity of tenure. Rental prices going up also eat into any ability to save. You feel if you get to own something, you have some control.

If the state legislated better for renters, it could give more security.

I did look into a mortgage but to me it didnt sem very secure but in a different way to renting.
I could have afforded a shoe box...1 bed flat but i had dd.
I would have also lost housing benefit and on a low wage there is no way i could have afforded the monthly repayments. The repayments would have been a couple hundred more than rent.

In the end i guess i wanted dd to have a nice childhood with holidays, nice birthdays and days out.

If i had a mortgage she never would gave seen me as id have to up my hours considerably.
She was also very happy in school so moving to a cheaper area woild gave upset her.
If id lost my job the house would have been reposessed so sadly did not make sense to me!

Renters are definitely looked down on I don't think so. I am both a homeowner and a renter; as are many of my friends as we live abroad, and rent in the foreign country whilst retaining our homes in our home countries.

I let out my house in the UK and don't look down on renters; my ds rented whilst at uni; many members of HM Forces live in rented Married Quarters. My paternal grandmother rented all her life, and many people rent whilst looking to buy or relocating for work.