Why I don't want to buy a house

[ceilingedrawness]

If you're not already a homeowner then I’m sure we can add getting onto the property ladder as one of the many worries that keep you awake on a Tuesday night.

From the media and my friends, I'm constantly being told that I need to save to buy a house, that investing in property is a sound investment and will help set me up financially for my retirement. Property prices have increased steadily for decades and will continue to do so, weathering the financial crises. I can see her point of view from where she is standing because she is part of a generation where the advice for a good life was extremely different. Studying hard, going to university and finding a steady job was sure to lead to a happy, financially secure life. Buying a house and selling it for a profit was seen as part of the journey to achieve financial success, it was seen as an asset that you could make liquid again relatively easily and use as a pension pot.

But, is a property really that sound an investment? It’s true that property prices have risen by phenomenal amounts over the decades, in the 1980s the average house price was £39,500 and less than 40 years later, the average house in the UK is now bought for £227,000. At first glance, houses bought in the 80s have seen a 467% increase, one could imagine those homeowners to be pretty pleased with their investment and they are probably looking forward to a stress-free retirement. However, once inflation has been taken into account, those returns on their property investment have actually been completely wiped out.

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Renting over paying a mortgage is dead money. When you can afford one you should buyvon it's really a no brainier

The most important thing is the stability. The mortgage provider won't suddenly decide it wants you out so that its family can move in, or it wants to redecorate or sell your house.

I've just bought - at the grand old age of 45 - and spent about 7 years saving for a deposit. For me it is not about money but a place to live. And like others have said, not having to live in a damp house or not being able to paint or put pictures up is a pita.

The mortgage is more than any rent I have paid btw but will hopefully decrease in time.

Saying that, I will not have paid it off til I am 67.

We bought our first flat when I was 27. Our monthly repayments were lower than the rent the previous inhabitants had been paying the landlord.

We're currently on our 3rd flat and hopefully the one we'll stay in until the DC leave home. We'll be mortgage free when I'm 50. So 23 years of paying a mortgage.

If I live until I'm 70, that's 20 years with no rent and no mortgage.

We have friends who took far longer to get on the housing ladder because they wanted to live in bigger flats that they could afford to rent but not to buy. Then they struggled when wanting to buy a flat big enough for a family.

Found it

Westworldmaeve - thank you, just watched it now. It looks like it all comes down to personal choices, both ways can increase your wealth for pensions but it's a bit harder to keep on top of voluntary contributions to a private pension vs obligatory mortgage payments.

But there are the extra benefits to owning a house as everyone's pointed out in this thread too. Thanks for sharing!

Op, you sound a bit like a journalist! Apologies if you're not but your tone is quite investigative :D

I agree with others, we pay a mortgage because we pay less for a bigger house than renting would achieve and I love being able to create a stable, dependable and personalised home for our family life without worrying about being forced to move on or live with other people's decorative or layout choices.

We have made money each and every time we've moved and will downsize once the children leave and have a home for old age without having to worry about income covering rent.

Buying a house I'd definitely worth while if you are buying in cash. But if you are buying with a mortgage then you are trying yourself into decades of payments. It's madness unless you know what you are doing and you buy at a time when you know the market will be active and rising for a few years to give you a chance to get out if you need it. Now is definitely not that time. DH and I have agreed nor to but anything until there is a crash/we can buy something we like in cash.

I will never be in a position to own my own home.
I currently private rent and have an amazing landlady but she is quite elderly.
I'd be happy to rent if all landlords were like her and I had long term security.
I've been given notice more than once because the landlord wanted to sell. It's very expensive to set up a new rental each time too.

QuickWash - haha no I'm just very curious, I love hearing everyone's points of views.

I'm currently on a bit of a personal journey deciding what to do with how to grow a portfolio for retirement. I'm self-employed so it's something I think about quite a lot. My parents always told me to concentrate on buying a house, but the more I read about it, the more conflicting views I find.

God, definitely buy a house.

We’re in our third house and it’s big enough that we can downsize significantly when the kids bugger off and have a healthy pot for retirement (we have pensions as well).

If you are in a position to you need to jump at the chance. Renting is a mugs game.

A friend of mine pays almost the same rent per month for a tiny two up two down round the corner as we do for our mortgage on our detached 4 bed.

Being mortgage-free for retirement is essential for a decent life unless you have enormous pension resources. For most of us, owning a home outright is what will make the difference.

Also having the money to invest once you are mortgage free is a game changer.

@GuntyMcGee but you will have been paying off your mortgage so while maybe you won't 'make' money you should have tapped away at in for 12 years?

OP I totally get where you are coming from, now. In my twenties nothing was more unattractive to me than the words “ property ladder”. I was happy enough living in nice places often found via contacts and rented at less than the going rate. I could drop everything to go and volunteer abroad, moving house with just a rucksack full of possessions until into my late twenties .
Eventually though, and mostly pushed by my partner who was fed up of paying rent and of our landlord’s snooty attitude we bought a flat in a not so desirable area of London when I was in my mid thirties. It has undeniably been a good thing, it’s given us stability when raising kids. Inheritance money has been put into reducing mortgage rather than paying more rent. A few months ago I was walking down the street I used to live in in Bloomsbury and the rent had more than doubled in the 12 years we’d been away . Even my more bohemian friends and relatives have ended up buying. I think it’s about life stages and what works for you at the time.

I rented privately for ten years and I honestly feel like it's ruined my life. I am now house sharing at the grand old age of 34 (thankfully it's just two of us) but I hate it. It will be at least three years before I can get a deposit if I'm lucky. Best advice I can give to anyone younger than me - NEVER RENT.

Our first house we lived in for six years. We sold for £122k more than we bought it, which more than covered all the mortgage payments and any improvements we made (did kitchen, bathroom and new flat roof on back).

We've been in our current house three years and it has risen about £110k in that time. We haven't spent much on it (replaced front door and some new glass in windows, new boiler and just about to spend on a new roof), but we've still effectively been living there for 'free'. For what we pay in mortgage we could maybe get a three bed round here, whilst we have a large four bed. Even if we'd invested all we've spent on house repairs, contents insurance and life insurance for the mortgage we wouldn't get the returns we're getting on the house.

I know we are incredibly fortunate to be in this position. We now have the equity that we could sell up and buy a three bed nearby with no mortgage (not quite such a nice area though). But we're planning to stay in our house until the DCs leave and then downsize to release the cash for retirement. It's our home but hopefully also a decent investment.

I can't see how any planning for old age wouldn't include having a home. If you choose to focus entirely on your pension then a bug factor in that is going to be affording accommodation. So much easier to get on the property ladder, know that you will have a place to live and then worry about how to finance the rest of it.

The difference between buying a house with a mortgage and putting money in a pension is gearing.