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

In a rural area, is the wifi connectivity any good? I'd check as that is one thing that makes me never consider rural life.

I live in a part of Wales that has a fair few yurt dwellers, I'd say do it! I've never met a grumpy yurt person, so there's that!

Or do the yurt for a year and then you will be so glad to revert to 1.

(I have lived off grid for a while… it wore thin).

I would seriously consider a but to let while you live in the yurt. Rental income covers mortgage, part time work covers your living expenses.

With inflation savings left in a bank account will be worth much less in a couple of years than a different type of asset and leave you unable to buy a home which suits your future selfs needs.

Yurt and buy something to rent out. A one bed or studio flat as a buy to let.

Then enjoy the yurt and vegetables.

Even if you do it for a year / season / whatever, you won't be buying crap you don't want to furnish a place you don't want to live in.

You can always change your mind :)

You need to consider, if your parents end up in a care home, their house would be sold so the equity can pay for it. You might end up with no inheritance. Its alway a risk.

I’d ALWAYS buy rather than rent.
I know women in their 70’s kicking themselves because they didn’t buy.
Mortgages end, house prices usually rocket.
one can never rely on inheritance.

Your buy to let could be anywhere and any type of property, it doesn't matter you're not going to live in it. You might not have 25% of a fancy flat in a posh area but you might have 25% of something in a student town where there are lots of renters.

Get a normal mortgage (not a buy to let one) with whatever your deposit is (i.e. 10%) and when it's ready to let, you simply ask your mortgage lender for permission to rent it out. With most banks you can just request this via an online form (that's what I did with Halifax). You can get permission for a year, then after that request it again for another year and so on. If you've got a 5 year mortgage for example, it'll give you time to build up 25% equity in the property for a BTL mortgage.

I too lived off grid- it is a pain .
carrying water, keeping clean, washing bedding-
Romantic for a few weeks in midsummer.
crap for rest of seasons
Mortgage is freedom- Rent is a dead loss.

Live in the yurt definitely!!

Live in the yurt. I would jump at the chance.

I asked DH - not because he is a man but because investing is his job and he’s also good at it with personal finance.
His response was that you buy. Over time your investment is likely to grow.
Renting/living in a yurt sounds good but it’s not moving you forward in life.
The yurt - I see the appeal but life is never that straightforward.

1. Whilst living in the yurt temporarily.

So many people saying Yurt but a long cold wet winter in Wales...no thanks.

Have you ever grown veg before? It is quite hard work.

For some reference, have a look at 'You can't eat the grass' on you tube. They've given up selling veg from their farm this year to concentrate on flowers...it's not just the growing, it is the sowing, the pest control, the planting out, the mulching, the staking, the watering [oh the watering], the stopping from bolting, the diseases, the cropping, the cleaning, the packaging, the selling...and once the season starts, it never stops and once the season does end you are spending all winter keeping winter crops alive.

And the one thing at the end of the day that is needed, is a hot bath and a really good bed. A yurt just wouldn't cut it in my opinion. Unless you've lived in yurts before and loved them...

That's reassuring to hear, thanks!

I have stayed in one before. Once in the Alps in October which was quite wet, and another one in Spain which was a different story. I agree with PPs about the winter in Wales. I wouldn't stay in the yurt over the winter.

And yes, I do value hot water - but the house has two bathrooms with shower so that feels fine.
I have grown veggies before - I had an allotment before I moved to the flat and gardening is one of my favourite things to do. It would be an adventure at least!

Appreciating all these responses and now considering how I can engineer the best of both worlds somehow... Security and freedom.

This

If you like the lifestyle - yurt!

If you're not sure about buying save for a couple more years and then reconsider. Might be a good time to save money on bills and sky high mortgage rates and then buy when things have hopefully settled.

If you are so unattached to an area to uproot and move to rural Wales, what is to stop you buying in an area like that where it is presumably cheaper than your expensive area?

I am definitely for work life balance and this sounds ideal but I'd worry it is overly reliant on your friend and that could go wrong.

But if you can work anywhere, why not consider a more radical move and getting on the property ladder?
Where I live you could still buy a one bed flat for 60k.

Buy the house. My mum sold her house about 10 years ago. She’s now living with us as she got too old to work full time and pay the bills. Just like I told her would happen.

I'd go for a holiday in the yurt and see what it's really like to live in one. And possibly stay with your parents for a few weeks to see if you really could live with them again for significant stretches of time (also, would you contribute while living with them in the winter?)

Then if you really want to go for it, draw up an agreement with your friends about exactly what will be required so you can assess how much you can work part time in addition to helping them.

My first thought was, god no, buy a property and furnish it gradually but if all of the above works out and you're happy to go ahead, maybe see how the property market goes over next couple of years as you may be able to afford more if it does slow down or even crash a bit.

Buy a house and rent out. Live in the yurt and you've still at least got yourself on the ladfer6

I wouldnt rely on someone elses gift or land or decisions (ie they might sell and leave)

If you buy then its yours and in retirement you'll have no rent to pay

Put a yurt in the back garden

If you are 20 , Buy a house ( or flat )
Property is freedom.
All the “ Mortgages are a tie’” is nonsense.

Rent is a tie.
Property all the way.
Living in a Yurt is OK in summer- In Wales, it rains.
A LOT.
Ive never been more drenched than in Wales.

A yurt in South of France, very different proposition, but still buy the property.