To live in a tent instead of buying my first home

[Mushroomlady]

Would love someone to give my head a wobble.

Female, single, child-free, full time job on an average wage, currently renting a spacious flat from lovely private landlord in posh area. Rent is low & I'm happy, but like most ppl I'm stuck in the trap of working to pay for a roof over my head.

I've saved and saved and saved and finally have a small deposit to buy a house or flat. Went to view one last week which was perfect, but when I did the calculations I started questioning whether it's really a good idea.

I'd still be working to pay the mortgage which won't be much less than my current rent. House requires redecorating and furnishing which is more expense. My rented flat is pre-furnished. As well as decorating I would have to spend thousands as I don't own any of my own furniture or household items.

The thought of spending all this money and amassing all this 'stuff' while having to work to pay for it all and being trapped paying a mortgage for the next 30 years is v depressing. I could Airbnb the spare room once it's in a presentable condition, but that's not guaranteed income.

A friend has offered for me to live on their land in Wales in a yurt (large insulated tent) w/ wood burner, rent free in exchange for help growing veggies, etc. Would have access to be own toilet and hot shower in the house as well as WiFi and indoor office space. Wood for fuel would be provided. Work will let me work remotely and part time. Winters could be spent indoors and/or could stay at my parents house which they would love. I'm very outdoorsy, love nature and wildlife, gardening, etc. I also love writing which I don't have time for alongside my job.

Would I be mad to forgo home ownership for yurt living for a few years, go part time and do more of what I love? Could still keep saving.
So as not to drip feed, parents own property so there's a chance I will inherit something before I retire though don't want to make that assumption in case they decide to leave it to a donkey sanctuary.
Wwyd?

1. Buy the house you fool
2. Keep renting
3. Live in the yurt

How far is the yurt from civilised society
What is there to do in the area that wont lead to you becoming depressed
does the area have regular public transport, or do you have a car
is there a fuel station nearby
how far to get to work if need be
Will there be any implications in the yurt like not being able to keep a pet, does the person realise you have a job and cant help during daylight hours
is there enough time to complete the jobs she wants doing after work. Are you ok with this or will it lead to feeling burnt out
are you aware of all jobs you will be doing because i cant imagine why they would give you a yurt to live in with these amenities just to plant their vegetables

To answer some of the questions,

-Yes my worry is that I'll miss the chance to get on the property ladder as prices keep rising. Also worried that if I drop to part time I won't be able to borrow the amount of mortgage that I need as it's obviously calculated against your earnings.

-No intention of having kids or getting married.

-My friends with land have recently moved there, they have 17 acres and really need help. But I appreciate that the balance of exchange needs to feel fair for both parties and this might change over time.

-Buying a rental property is an interesting idea, but think I need 25% deposit for a buy to let mortgage and I don't have enough saved unfortunately.

Buy the property and rent it out. Go and live in the yurt and enjoy the life style. You get the security of a plan b in case the yurt does not work out and financial security on the house.

Bloody do it. Yurt all the way. Squirrel your deposit away, keep saving and you can buy the house at the bottom of the market 😉

What a brilliant way to spend a few years.

House every time. Yurt sounds fantastic in summer but a winter in Wales in a Yurt - never.

Thank you for this 😂

YURT!

I really wouldn't want to be beholden to a friend and what they thought was a fair contribution to earn my place to live, I'd worry that a mismatch in expectations could sour the friendship.

I would do this while you are deciding. Living in a yurt sounds like my idea of hell.

Go for the yurt.
You can always buy down the line if you want. I think you'll regret not doing it you'll always wonder.

I'm late 30s with kids and a shit mortgage in a shit house working my ass off.

Go for the yurt and enjoy every good bad and ugly bit of it.
It's LIVING!
And you'll learn so much.. even if just to know you def want to buy a house!!!

Goodluck!

Sorry, a boring and traditional response from me:

• what if your friends decide to sell the yurt? You could be left with no stability.
• what if you fall out? A semi-working relationship could put a lot of strain on the friendship despite the best will in the world
• what if you find you are going stir crazy in a tent after a while?
• property prices generally go up. Could you buy the property, live there a while, and if the price increases, then sell up and use the money you have made as a cushion for your yurt life?

But I am old, dull and risk adverse, so please ignore me and go for it!

Good luck!

I’d live in the yurt just for the experience!

I love the PPs idea of buying it and renting it out, then you have both options.

Maybe that’s fine? Not everyone wants that lifestyle.

Although also, there are men in Wales, if that’s what the OPs interested in, maybe she’s not.

Also want to add theres a reason people dont live in tents its just not a very nice way to live and youd have no security or privacy or space to store your belongings

Live in the yurt. You are only young once.

Personally I would buy the property, rent it out and live in the yurt and carry on saving if you will be rent free, that way you have the stability of a property if you every need it, someone else is paying the mortgage and you get to live the life you want

Life is about experiences, not wealth or possessions. The only thing you really have is time so make sure you use it in the way that seems best to you. If that means living in a yurt surrounded by nature for a while then do it

No regrets. Don’t be that older version of yourself who regrets the missed opportunities you could have taken but didn’t

If you don't have time to write alongside your job, how are you going to have time to do it alongside your job and the work required to be allowed to stay in the yurt?

I lived in a yurt for two months whilst we had building work done, and it was a lovely summer, and it was HARD (and I am also an outdoorsy lo-fi camping type). Long term? In Wales, rain capital of the world? With hard labour thrown in? Not a bloody chance.

Yurt for a year and save like mad

Team Yurt here. That sounds like a fabulous opportunity. Grab it.

Buy a small flat and rent it out and go live in the yurt

So just live in a yurt and wait for your parents to die so you can inherit their property? You know many people nowadays end up having to sell their property if they become elderly and infirm to pay for their care.

Personally I wouldn’t feel happy with myself thinking ‘ah I’ll just live in a tent, I’ll get mum and dad’s place eventually.’ I think not working sounds like a great idea but in reality I think working provides you a lot of structure/sense of achievement. It would be easy to slide into laziness. And then what happens if you row with this friend?

I'm 44 with 3 grown up kids and teen and I would snap your hands off to live in a a C yurt from March/ April to late October. I'd be very worried about storms etc afternoon October. I think it's a brilliant idea, especially as you can still carry on working etc. If you aren't paying rent, you can save up more even faster for when/if you charge your mind and want to get on the property ladder.

Do it! A mate of mine did something similar and saved a fortune

Buy the flat, rent it out, pay off mortgage. Live in yurt, do job, write, be happy. Have flat in case yurt living goes tits up. The end

this is what I came on to say.

buy, put it in the hands of an agent, forget about it and live in the yurt.