Is it important to you to own your home ? +advice please !

[doley]

I guess this question crops up here ,in some shape or form ...

I have recently realized we will not be owning again for a long time to come :(

However :) over the last 2 days I don't care anymore ...
our roof needs fixing AGAIN ...don't have funds to do it -I actually feel a little bit free...?

At the moment we are in the US ,our $$$ have turned to sawdust ,we will arrive home with a lot less than we has hoped for !

Well I know it IS important for some ,(as it was for me )

Are some mumsnetters ,not bothered at all ?

If you have the funds but just don't want to in this economy ?

I am also(pretty please) after some tips in what to look for when renting these days ....(been a while )
We have 3 children ,one thing that makes me nervous about renting is the instability .
Do LL still /always give very short tenancy agreements ?
Thank you all

Hi
I'm in private rented, 3 bed with my 2 DCs and yes theres a lil instability but I insisted on meeting the landlord personally, not just the agent, and discussed with him the likeliness of him needing to sell etc, and I asked the estate agent why i couldnt have a 2 yr contract instead of 6 months and they couldnt answer me, so I asked the landlord who was very happy at the thought of regular income for next 2 yrs so happily insisted his agent draw a contract up.
I have looked in to buying but tbh its just not worth it. To live in the same size house/area etc that i'm in now buying would be unreachable, I'd have to get a much smaller starter home. And when things go wrong its so much easier to just make a phone call to the agent and not have to worry. The money i save from not having a mortgage/repairs/building insurance etc etc I can spend on me and the kids.
And I also asked my landlord at initial meeting how he felt about me redecorating and that wasnt a problem so my kids have there own rooms, not neutral ones!!

I rent and always have done, even when married. I can afford to live in a much nicer area than I ever would if I owned - I pay £725 pcm for a lovely flat in a fab location, right next door to ds's school. The flat next door to me is up for sale at £235K...

I've never met the landlord but I have a great relationship with the managing agent - if something goes wrong I just give them a call and they send someone round the same day.

Ok, it's not 'mine'. It's not exactly the layout or space I would have in an ideal world - but then in an ideal world I'd be married to John Cusack, too - you cna't have everything! There is some insecurity, but not much - I'm lucky in that my landlord just wants a regular income and is happy for us to stay. And perhaps no more insecurity than for those who lose their jobs or end up in negative equity, anyway.

Owning your own home is a peculiarly British obsession. I do think there should be more protection for tenants, as in the rest of Europe. But I'm pretty happy not to have the worry of how I'm going to afford it if the boiler blows up...

Thank you both for sharing your situations ...it helps :)

Fingers crossed we will find a great LL right ?

Today I still feel really FREE ...so that has to be a good thing .