Do you own or rent?

[ewqq]

We rent out of choice. I.e. we have enough invested that could cover a deposit, sdlt, fees, and the like. We also don't know if we'll stay in London forever.

We live centrally which means we'd only afford a flat, which suits us fine. Flats in London however, are down massively in value.

AIBU to think people are naive when they ask "do you own or rent" as if owning a 10% slice of a house is obviously much better and more successful than someone who rents. Most of the time people are trying to measure up how rich you are.

I own. No mortgage. I’m building equity, but key is I’m not paying rent. Yes flat prices are flat (and have dropped in value if you take into account inflation) in London , but my London house has gone up 20% since then, though taking into account the very high inflation rate over the past five years the true value may have fallen slightly, but then I’ve had five years living in it, and a house my size in this area rents for £3600/month now (£3000 in 2021), so I would have spent almost £200k over the five years to rent it. So, even taking into account stamp duty and what I could have made if I invested my cash elsewhere, I still come out ahead. Plus I’ve got a house that’s mine to decorate and enjoy as I see fit without risk of eviction.

That's a pretty rude question. Tell whoever is asking, to mind their own business.

It isn't about owning 10%. From a financial standpoint, a mortgage payment gives you somewhere to live and is also (in part) an investment. Rent just gives you somewhere to live.

It means when you retire, your living costs are much reduced. I know a couple who had their house repossessed. Now they are retired and beyond working age, they are struggling to survive on two state pensions and a private pension, because they pay £1200 a month in rent. I have retired, own my own home and so pay £0.

From a social point of view, living in your own home means you choose your decor, your home reflects your personality and tastes. If you rent, your home is probably pretty neutral, but you don't have to redecorate, pay for your boiler service etc. It also means your right to live there is less secure, unless you have a lifetime social tnancy.

You say you got a lot of equity from the sale of your marital home yet isnt enough to purchase a house outright.

Why don’t you down size or lower your expectations on area, size etc and have a small or no mortgage rather than giving away all that equity you have on rent to never be seen again?

I own a house in London, having 75:25 LTV means my mortgage is less than equivalent houses rent. It makes financial sense to own in my case. That’s obviously not the case for everyone and people do what makes financial sense for them (and what they can afford).
I would never ask someone about their home ownership/rent circumstances. It usually comes up in conversation when people want to vent about their interest rates going up etc.

Rent from housing association.

Own my tiny house mortgage free after overpaying (a lot) over the past 10 years, especially during the time when interest rates were practically zero.

😳

I live in a very rural village in Suffolk, so housing is 'relatively' affordable. But looking online, I would need 2, preferably 3 bedrooms and a garden as I have two dogs - plus no more than 45 mins drive to work (I'm currently 30 mins, and there are no trains here). There are things I would like .... room for two cars to park, a garage etc ... but they aren't deal breakers. But to buy seems to cost a lot more than I have, and I don't think I am mortgage'able. I am getting older now, and don't have much time to pay it back.

However, the reason for 2/3 bedrooms is because my partner is looking to sell his house next year, and he will get some equity from it ... so maybe together? We'll see. Luckily I don't need to touch my savings at the moment as my wages cover my bills - so they are invested and fluctuating every time the orange US president opens his mouth!

Well we technically do both I suppose we own the static that we live in but we pay “rent” if you can call it that. We live on site and it covers our water, electric, pitch fee and maintenance of the area. Part of me would absolutely love to outright our own home but couldn’t give up the way we live so will never happen

We own. I don't think of it terms of how rich someone is because everyone's circumstances are different. Some people are lucky to live rent free while working so can save, some people inherit a property. My husband and I knew we wanted to own a house and I also knew after my Dad died that he had arranged a sum for me specifically for that purpose. If you are happy and settled renting then carry on.

I own and feel secure as I'm older. I was relieved when my daughter bought as I know a lovely young couple who, in 5 years have had to look for a new rental 3 times (landlords selling and once next to antisocial neighbours).

Technically, I rent. I live in tied accommodation... as do my neighbours. It's close enough to work that I don't have commuting costs, I get breathing space from my family, I have a ridiculously cheap house that will be beautiful once I've finished its many DIY projects, I get to live in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and as there aren't many houses around here (and it's incredibly rare that any get put on the market), I'd be unlikely to ever be able to buy one nearby! Also, as a single person, I'm less likely to be able to buy a house within the next 10 years than a working couple.

I don't mind either way if people rent or own. I don't think that it would actually occur to me to ask!

We own, but we didn’t buy until early 40s. We own about 50% of our house after about 5 years, fwiw.

Long term, it’s a really sensible decision. By the time, we’re retired, we’ll be mortgage free and have no monthly housing costs.

My mum and partner, on the other hand, owned a small house without much equity. They sold it and decided they wanted to rent instead in their 70s to have more flexibility. They like to move around a lot. 🤷🏻‍♀️ They’re now paying £2100 a month rent. They can afford it, but I sure as hell don’t want to be paying £2100 a month in rent when I’m 75-80.

We own. Our mortgage payment is about 60% of the rent for the house next door. We should be done paying it off by age 50.

many people who say they own, don't. the bank owns.

It's a complete fallacy that owning through buying with a mortgage is better for your financial stability than renting.
Owning is better for your emotion security and family stability if you have children in schools. But renting is actually the best choice financially as long as you completely compare costs and the surplus you have from renting is invested.
Invest your deposit, saved repair expense and maintenance costs, interest costs on money borrowed, buying and selling costs including legal costs for 3 moves, and every other cost you have as an owner, not as a renter, then after a 30 year mortgage you will have more than the capital value of a house you bought.
But people will make huge sacrifices to pay a mortgage but not to invest and also just absorbe day to day house maintenance costs but wouldn't invest that money. So it's never done accurately.

The security of not being at the whim of a landlord is worth alot. But Institutional landlords are not unpredictable and rent regulated so you can be secure.

If you have life changing events comittments to mortgages can cripple you, selling at loss, negative equity etc. People default everyday and end up in serious financial situations because they can't sell or it takes too long, through events they don't foresee happening.

Renting you tend to get support quickly to keep your house in life changing situations. The other thing is if you have crap neighbours you can move at minimal cost if you need to.
It's a mindset that owning your home is the best way to build assets it's not. It comes with significant risk and stress too.

I love the idea of a “surplus from renting “

it’s not unusual that people fail mortgage affordability tests even through the rent is far higher than they would be paying in mortgage

lol, you know that isn’t true. You own, the bank is owed money, the money is secured on your home.

Generally (though not in all cases) it is better to own for the benefits that your monthly payment is only partially lost, the interest is essentially the rent, and the rest of the payment reduced the debt so increases your assets. When you get to 60 you don’t pay any more, a renter still has to pay until their death.

There are extra costs with your own home that you don’t have when renting, broken boiler etc, but you have the security of never being having to move because someone decided to sell - unless that someone is you. And when you retire, you could sell up, then rent while you enjoy holidaying on your asset (though I wouldn’t recommend that unless you have no other pensions or savings).

Cost of buying a house isn't just repaying the money borrowed to purchase the house. Far from it.

I own outright. The house next door to us, identical size and layout but less modernised is currently rented out for £3k a month. It’s not even a big house. I could never afford that

Every year tens of thousands are forced to sell a house they are buying due to circumstances beyond their control. So it's just not true to say you can lose a rented house on a whim of a landlord but you only lose a house you are buying by your choice.
Also Institutional and Public owned housing have long term investment aims and don't evict on whims.

But this is so ingrained in our society there's no chance of convincing anyone to change their view. In Germany, they build wealth whilst commonly renting. It's the norm, but their renting sector is better regulated and they have no cultural expectationsof owning property to provide security .

Own. Lucky to live in a reasonably cheap area and got on the property ladder young when my mortgage was only 2x my salary.

We own and I think it's better financially in the long run. But my god, the upkeep and maintenance of the house costs a fortune in the short term! Unexpected bills when something breaks. I wish I had a landlord I could phone up to fix a leak or redecorate 😂

Because many people can't afford a mortgage.