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

Home ownership is much higher in a lot of European countries than here and a bit higher in some European countries than here, has been for a while, we are higher than a few still but only just.

However renting is much more secure in those countries also

Also, some people say” move where it’s cheaper” yeah with no job or no family or friends just so you can have a house. Seems odd to me.

These new neighbours who were strangers to you, TOLD you that they 'invented a disability,' so that they could acquire social housing? And the job centre, and the council/social housing landlord fell for the story of a fake disability? No evidence from doctors or consultants to back up their application or anything? Just 'made up' a disability and got a house?

I think they've told you a bit of a fairy story there. All of this sounds highly unlikely. Or did someone else tell you this story?

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Because it’s a millstone. Because if you added up all the interest and improvements and repairs, I think the finances would be less favourable than people think they are. Because it’s all just ‘stuff’ - and I’m not interested in kitchens and bathrooms and all that Sunday DIY ‘forever home’ bollocks. Because we like to stay light on our feet, having moved across the world a few times. Because generally, we can rent and live in far nicer areas / properties than we could ever afford to buy. Because repairs and upgrades are someone else’s problem.

Disclaimer that we live and rent in Europe, where we are pretty protected as tenants, and it’s culturally quite normal. Also we do own a couple of small rental properties in the UK, though no mortgages on these.

Its just utter snobbery and comes up all the time on these types of threads, people cant help themselves to describe somewhere where cheaper property is as 'shit holes' even though there are entire communities and happy populations, its incredibly denigrating to people. Usually about the north and midlands I notice. Our area is cheap, thats why we can afford to live here, and is probably looked down on by naice middle class mumsnetters as a 'shit hole', but there is thriving businesses, schools, youth, beautiful scenary.

No where is without its problems and difficulties.

This springs to mind

Everyone feels differently. I’ve always rented, SH, but I’ve never had anything paid by any benefits.

As I’ve got older, as have my friends, they now seem to worry a lot about maybe losing their asset/house for care costs eventually. 🤷‍♀️

Yeah, it's the Norman Tebbit fan club. They are the ones saying that if someone can't afford to buy a property where they are living now, they should just up sticks to a place where the properties are cheaper... the North East, or a bog standard part of the South East (Jaywick anyone?) You'll be 100s of miles away from your family and friends and your whole support network and your memories and your roots, but who cares, as long as you BUY a property, and don't carry on RENTING?!!!

They're the same type who think anyone who can't get a job in their town, should get on their bike and cycle 50+ miles away to get work in a more prosperous town. And if their job doesn't pay well, they can JUST GET A BETTER JOB ...

Yep, just buy a house why dontcha? Tis soooooo easy. Just need a £5,000 deposit, and you too can stop being a GASP! RENTER! 😱

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Your own experience decades ago. Fine. And you can't think of a situation where someone couldn't put away a little money each month to save up for a deposit? 5k may feel small to you but lots of people struggle to save that amount and did 'back in the day' too.
What about stamp duty? Before 2010 first time buyers still had to pay it so if you are thinking of 'back in the day' it wasn't just a "small amount" for a deposit.

But I'll bite.. some people may like renting for the convenience of being able to move when they want, to not have the massive debt over their heads, and aren't as obsessed about having an asset. I remember worrying when I first bought my house and did miss just being able to call my landlord when the heating broke (he was a great landlord). There may be a small number of people that feel like this too.

Exactly @SparrowFeet It's farcical that the OP is going on about an experience from 25+ years ago, when houses were much cheaper, and wages were higher, and the cost of living was lower. It's an utterly ludicrous thread.

I currently rent because we have a good deal and a long term lease on a fantastic house we wouldn't be able to afford to buy. We also rented when our kids were younger where the rent was very low for a gorgeous house. In short, we've rented when it's given us a better quality of life than if we owned.

I understand the need for long term security and do own a property which we also rent out but which, for the time being, doesn't suit us as well as the one we live in. I know other people who've gone down this route too. It can work well if you're living in a rural area where there are decent long term rentals available on country estates.

I asked my mum this to get a different opinion and she said the main advantage of owning a house rather than renting is so you don’t have to worry about affording rent when you only have a pension coming in.

Also in my own experience, the main downside of renting wasn’t decor, it was honestly shit landlords who were unwilling to fix things. I had to deal with disgusting ovens, exploding light bulbs, non working fridges and washing machines, holes in our wooden front door that lead into the living room so it was always cold, a leaky bedroom ceiling, landlords breaking our stuff and denying it, old fashioned heating systems. Decor was the least of my worries.

I’m currently selling a house and the buyers have a mortgage which requires only 2% deposit. The repayments must be insane.
The housing in this country since Thatcher and the tories screwed it up is insane.
Renting is a luxury in London.

Precisely why my son prefers to rent, despite my offering to help with a deposit. He loves the freedom. I used to worry but now I'm quite envious 😄 he works for the NHS so could probably transfer to another part of the country if he wanted to, or even a different country.

My aunt (now almost 70) has preferred to rent. It was familiar and didn't require the sacrifices of saving up a deposit or going without little niceties or worrying about being repossessed and all the money she could lose on a dream. One of my cousins was a home owner for maybe 9 ? yrs until the payments ballooned & they couldn't afford or remortgage. Cousin says was a HUGE relief when they defaulted on the mortgage & moved back into rented accomdn. So aunt feels vindicated. I doubt cousin will every try to buy again, too.

An unfortunate and major change in circumstances saw off any money I had for a deposit and reduced my income.

As a now lone parent to a primary school aged child, I can afford to rent a house with enough space for toys and for them to comfortably play and a nice garden, but not buy one. Once they're older and toys and running around a garden isn't an issue, I'd be able to buy a flat.

£9000 for a deposit in 1981? Where/what were you buying?! My first house (3 bedroom maisonette, £15 pcm service charge) in 1984 cost £18,250 and I got a 100% mortgage - I didn't need a 50% deposit!

I'd also say that back in the 80s we were looking at those who bought in the 70s (people 10 years older than us) and thinking how lucky they were to have bought in the 70s when a house was so much cheaper

I imagine the people who bought flawed flats in flawed blocks wish they’d rented instead now they’re faced with remedial costs of tens of thousands of pounds and unable to sell until the remedial work is done because no one wants to buy them before it’s rectified. Lots aren’t mortgageable anyway due to building problems.

There’s a block near us. Owners are basically trapped as only cash buyers can buy them as mortgage firms won’t touch it. Nothing to do with cladding either - it was built long before they started cladding. It contains asbestos. Needs demolishing really as costs of removing the asbestos is more than they’d be worth once done. They sell for stupidly low prices.

Because we cant afford to buy. I'm the sole earner(on a low wage), DH is disabled. We have a good amount of savings(inheritance) but by the time we had it, couldn't get a big enough mortgage. We only have 20 years left to pay off a mortgage now, so it just isnt going to happen.
We do have a council house though. Which is fairly common where we live and isnt looked down on, like it is in a lot of places.

I think i know what the OP means.
I've seen a couple of posts on MN recently where a couple are divorcing, at least one of them are high earners, yet they rent and i can't fathom why.
I have my own theory why people don't buy which i have shared before and been accused of all sorts. So hard hat on.
I bought my first house at 20 with my ex in 1989. I will be first to admit house prices were proportionatly much lower then, but i sm pretty sure we would have done the same regardless. Buying s house was regarded as very much a priority and all my friends followed the same path.
I started work at 18 in a very low-paid role, my ex earned more. But we allowed ourselves one pay packet before we started saving. From month two, we both saved a minimum of half of our salaries each.
We did this by both living at home and only spending money on neccessaties. We both ran small second-hand cars but rent to our parents and the cars was pretty much all we spent. No holidays, no popping in for a coffee, no meals or days out, packed lunches for work. We were obsessed with getting that deposit together but all of my colleagues and friends were the same. It was the 'done thing'.
We then married and moved into the two bedroom terrace with one sofa, a bed and a table and chairs. There was a cooker in the house and we were bought a tv and a fridge freezer as wedding presents. We bought a washing machine on 0% credit.
Three years later, we moved to start a family to a three bed semi, then eight years after that into a 4-bed new detatched.
Compare this to what seems pretty much standard today among couples who 'can't afford' to save a deposit. School til 18, year off, uni til 22, meet someone, possibly go travelling, move into rented house together, children, wedding, then at 30+ think about buying a house.
Because there are children, the family needs a bigger house, so are entering the property ladder about three rungs up.
So societal changes are a big part of thecrenting culture, plus lifestyle creep, where families are trying to save for a deposit withut impacting their lifestyle, so days out, holidays, two new cars, new clothes.dog grooming and kids' activities and treats are all paid for first then they wonder why yhey can't afford to save. Take soft play as an example. In the 1990s, it was very much a treat. For birthdays and holidays only. Now it seems to be pretty much a weekly visit. Often with lunch thrown in.
High expectations and entitlement, plus a sympathetic public ear to their plight are both at play here.
When Dubai was attacked, there was a family on the news moaning they had to use their savings to get home. They had been saving 'for years' for a house deposit, said the bloke, knowing that would fall on sympathetic ears as the rhetoric is very much that young families are struggling so much more now and they are victims of this. But ... they were on holiday in Dubai!
No doubt i will be accused of being a greedy boomer (I'm not) or a selfish pensioner (not that either) but the simple fact is, if you want to buy a house, something has tovgive and there is hardship somewhere along the line.

There is currently an active thread about a poster’s landlord trying to break contract by insisting the tenant leaves the property every time there is a viewing as the house is being sold. I think you have to be lucky to actually get a good landlord.

DS rents a nice city centre flat. There is no way he would buy one of these. The houses he could buy are all out of town and he doesn’t particularly want one, he prefers flats in the centre as he is single and he can move easily if he wants, he earns about £70k

Moving home is a lot easier when renting.
No unexpected costs if something breaks.
No real commitment with the partner you live with, if you split it's easy to take someone off the tenancy whilst the other stays there. With a mortgage/own home it's likely the house would need to be sold which makes things a lot more complicated. Both partners will be eligible for the mortgage so are tied in debt together, so if one wants to leave but the other doesn't want to separate it can be very messy.

I’m so thankful that DS didn’t buy a flat because of this

Well people move across the world all the time and make a positive life, many of my friends and colleagues are from eastern Europe/Asia