Why do people prefer to rent rather than buying a house?

[Cocktailglass]

Genuine question, AIBU to not get that in the long run you pay off mortgage, own your home to pass on to your DC and rent, especially with the high rates now, is dead money?

I do of course understand getting a mortgage is harder now and house prices, I'm talking about people who have been renting all their lives.

Unless having rent paid for on benefits, I don't get why anyone working hasn't got on the property ladder, less to pay every month with a long term mortgage, eventually nothing to pay unlike rent.

As I said, not talking about now, but decades ago. You showed your earnings, were offered the best deal of what you could borrow, bought your first home within these means, a starter home with the intention of paying far less for payments than rent, property goes up in value, you buy your next home without too much of an increase, still less than renting. So the upgrading continues and initially you just get what you can afford to get on the ladder.

Renting does give you the benefit of any problems being the responsibility of the landlord but all depends on how good they are! With council properties in a much better position as houses are upgraded and issues dealt with (hopefully) more quickly.

Plainly speaking, you work, give a significant part of your income to someone else just to live in their house, pay bills and CT. What's the benefit of this rather than knowing you're paying straight into a loan for your own property, a financial asset, it's yours? Xxx

PLEASE look at post...
My question was mainly about decades ago, when deposits were minimal and mortgage rates low, why prefer to rent?

I'm fully aware of the difference in situation now and know DC won't be able to what I did.

I also stated that of course it's the only and best option available when on benefits; medical reasons, having to flee home young, abusive relationships were all meant by this. In no way did I mean to imply this was a choice when in these circumstances, not at all, the more help the better to have a safe roof overhead.

As for the replies that I must be a CEO, have had a privileged life, absolutely not! I've worked since the age of 16, paper rounds before that, was fortunate to have the choice to study because I worked hard at school and got good grades, college while working as well, university while continuing to work, got a decent job in education.

Rented for many years, flat I couldn't make my own with painting restrictions on colour, problems the landlord ignored or fixed with cowboys.

So, yes, I thought and was always encouraged, to buy cheapest affordable property. I did, a small house in same area, saved and borrowed for deposit, got a mortgage because I had evidence of earnings which could cover the payments, which were low rate and over a long period. Fortunate I know, at the time this was the case. X3 salary to get a mortgage.

This was my question, why the preference to pay rent at twice the price then when deposits and rates were so low. Meaning at that time, as an average worker, and investment in future, to pay off mortgage so rent free.

Please read later post to clarify this as in no way intended to be goady at all. I hate goadines, if this a word. I hated paying so much for rent to a LL who did nothing for the flat issues, wouldn't let me paint in anything other than white etc. Absolutely took the piss with deposit used for a deep clean. When I moved in it was filthy, I washed all the curtains and yes netting in those days and the water came out black! Did the same before I moved out, scrubbed every inch and had replaced things like minging toilet seat. I had to do a deep clean when I moved in, did same when I moved out and he had the audacity to charge me! I knew i had made the right decision to get out of rental for greedy, overcharging, lazy and didn't give a f**k about tenants owners.

I didn't get any help from anyone so am like one of your friends. Was just lucky to finally earning a decent salary, frugal, saved and bank loan.

Let me know who your plumber is who'll supply and fit a boiler for for £1500. You may not spend much on maintenance every year, but eventually that will catch up, new kitchen, new bathroom, rewire, gutters, soffits,replacement windows, blown double glazed units, chimney repointing etc, so you do need to budget accordingly, Allowing (but possibly not spending) 1% pa doesn't seem that outrageous to me. My experience is that, for a new build,the first 10 years very little maintenance is needed, hence canny BTL landlords sell about that time, 20 years plus the bills start mounting up..

It's a local plumber in outer London. It was a like for like replacement on an outer wall and didn't take him long at all. Probably 2k now. Like I said, it doesn't need doing every year. I do find the need for continuous kitchen and bathroom replacement as fashions change to be utterly wasteful

The cost of a basic two bed terrace in my area is around £310,000. That means only someone earning above, say £80,000 could afford it. It doesn't matter that the rent on the house might be as much as the monthly mortgage repayment, because you need to earn enough money to GET the mortgage in the first place.

Income multiples are between 4.5 times to 6 times maximum these days! There are more 35 and 40 year mortgages these days.

Thats how i bought at 26 with dh (2 years older), 40 year mortgage 334k from 75k combined. We had a 58k deposit (London 2 bed flat). We overpaid 30k in total for first 5 year as incomes increased/pre baby so it went down to £269k. Not overpaying anymore as on mat leave/dh is on sick leave (70% of his single salary of 75k). Will overpay once incomes are more normal and baby starts primary school (dh had vasectomy so not having anymore). Mortgage is still £1250 (at 4.19% fixed till 2031) which is a room rental in our area of z3 London.

A lot of people in my age group (30s) are skipping the starter home and renting until they can afford the house but in my experience, the starter home is what enabled us to stay in london through lower incomes in our 20s and disruptions to our incomes. The overpayments were made during our good income years which were 2022 to 2024( before that it was barely above 75k combined before jumping to 110k and then 120k, but then sick leave and maternity leave happened). However 2019 to 2024, we had 1k mortgage which helped us in the lower income years. I fixed for 5 years this year because rates are likely to be volatile. You dont get that level of stability in rental and who knows what may happen incomes wise just before you are due to buy that forever home.

As for future proofing, we did that through vasectomy and buying in a good school catchment area.