What is our fascination with bricks and mortar?

[MrsDoolittle]

Why do we buy our homes?

renting here also far cheaper than buying home of similar proportions. Would love to self build and have been looking at all of the Huf House types as well as the newer eco-friendly style but the planning is such a nightmare there doesn't appear to be any way out of renting in the short term for us.

www - haven't you read the 3 little pigs?

OK really - timber houses are illegal in spain (or at least they are in andalucia) except in the mountains (coz twee swiss style chalets bring the tourists in or summat). agree self build would be great, but who can afford two houses while it's being built?

tinker - not really true. rents in the old days went up by inflation MAX (now they generally go up by more than that), income usually goes up by more than inflation.

dunno about you but I've made a bloody fortune in equity since 1997 ..

Senora, tis what caravans are for

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i do suspect the main difference between those(like me) who say renting is expensive, and those who find it cheaper than buying a similar house, is whether you have equity from buying a house pre-1997 or so. buying now without equity or a huge deposit must be far more cripping than renting.

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I would hate to be a first time buyer today. I mean HOW would you manage? Round here (a relatively cheap town for housing compared to the county as a whole) you'd need to be looking at at least 100K for the smallest 2 bed terrace. I dread to think how much more it would be in a pretty village or in a city. It's a mug's game IMO - we lost a third of the value of our first house when we had to move and we lost out on our endowment (compensation didn't really cover it all).. not to mention the hassle of moving home. And when we sell our ridiculously overpriced terrace house it won't help us to buy a ridiculously overpriced 4 bed semi. But renting is very expensive - friend moved into a 3 bed new build and pays £600 a month - twice what I pay. I'd love the flexibility that they have though.

I really don't see how our kids will be able to buy - unless we flog our house to live in a box and give them the equity as a deposit

I would say that it is far preferable to own a house as then you can do what you want, move where you want, downsize to release equity etc.

If you rent, you have to continue paying rent for ever and ever. If you have a mortgage, you pay for 25 years or however long and then that millstone has gone.

If you rent you are then stuck in the same place for ever as if it is rent controlled then you can't move. Also, with assured shorthold tenancies, don't you renew every so often and they can hike the rent if they want?

I think it's preferable to buy. REnting is money down the drain IMO - where is the investment?

At least if you own the property you are likely to amke money on it.
Round here, renting is far more expensive than buying. 2 bed flats are about £700 pcm here.

I live in a timber framed house - twas hell to find a mortgage provider/insurance for it - they were all convinced it would burn down in a week.

I rented for over ten years and have now bought somewhere with DH. I will never go back to renting through choice, I personally couldn't stand it. Nothing around you is yours, you can never do anything to the property without permission and yes if something breaks down then you don't have to pay for it but you also get no choice what so ever in what they do. I have also had landlords who thought it was fine to let themselves in and out with spare keys whenever they wanted, yes its against the law but it still happens.

And at the end of the day I own my property and can do what I like with it, I believe that it is the best investment you can get.

really don't understand the logic of tis:

"Abbey says that in Wales, renters are ALREADY £27,000 better off over a typical 25 year mortgage period than buyers. In Greater London, they report that tenants are £8,188 BETTER OFF than homeowners over the same period!"

OK so you may be better off renting during the 25 yr period, but after 25 yr, you till have to live somewhere. If you continue to rent, you continue to pay out, if you have bought, your mortgage has finished.

I assume that if you live out the 3-score years and 10, you will probably have your own home for about 40 yrs - that's 15 yr rent/mortgage free for the buyers - surely that makes financial sense?

For some of us, this really isn't a choice or even an issue. Many of us cannot afford to buy anything at all in the places where we live and work.

If you don't have teh choice then fair enough, but why choose to rent if you can afford to buy?

Bobsmum - Seems ridiculous that people are having problems insuring timber frame houses - if it's a new house, it's had to comply with the latest building regulations and many house builders use standard details from insurers (e.g. Zurich). Timber is a very safe material with regards to fire - in a fire, only the outside burns and the middle remains fine - meaning that it retains some structural integrity. Also, most timber frame houses have plasterboard over the timber frame bit, giving at least a half hour fire rating!!

Sorry - am such a train spotter when it comes to such things!!!!

If you want to do self build, then some lenders will do it, but they tend to only release the money in stages you build the house.

Yes helenmelon we found that re stage payments to get a mortgage on self build, a right pita. Buying even the house we're in now would mean paying more in mortgage than we pay now in rent. To buy this would cost double what it costs to rent.

I'd love to self-build but the whole point surely would be having somewhere nice to build it...that's what takes the money, or designing it to your own specification which timber houses don't really allow (assuming you're talking about the kit ones?). My parents had a timber-frame kit house built on the Isle of Mull and it was great - still standing 20 yrs later (afaik) and they customised a bit by leaving out some internal walls to get rid of the piddling little reception rooms and entrance hall and get some space.

No problem with insurance either.

BTW it was up and built within 3 months!

Renting is not throwing money down the drain IMO.

I rent with a housing association so my rent is low compared to private renting or a mortgage in my area.

If I was given the chance now to buy a home with a mortgage in my area - I would not pay it! The prices are ridiculous! Why would any one spend over 100k on a tiny terrace house with on -street parking lol. Madness, complete and utter madness - now that is money down the drain IMO!

We have houses in the same street to me selling for over £200k and they don't even have parking!

Helenmelon - it's not a self build, it's an ex-Forestry Commision worker's cottage built in the 1950s - timber clad too, just a concrete plinth to hold it all up! And the only heating is from our open fire, so maybe we are a bit of a fire risk

And in case any self-builders are interested Royal Bank of Scotland gaave us our mortage with no problems because they offer mortgages on loads of these ex-FC cottages all over Scotland. Sainsbury's Home insurance were the only ones who would touch us with a barge pole!