DH and I have lived in rented with our DC and have never owned property. The rent is very cheap and we're working ft and plugging away at saving for a deposit but the landlord has indicated that he wants to raise the rent significantly to reflect local rates-this would effectively almost double what we pay.
To buy in our naice area, where the DCs are settled in 'outstanding' schools costs £200k+. Within 12-18mknths we would have enough for a 5% deposit for an ex local authority 3 bed house. However, 6 miles away we could buy now with a 10% deposit, renovate (kitchen, bathroom, redecoration) and overpay on the mortgage to build equity/save then move back into our naice area with a healthy deposit in time to apply for secondary school for DC2.
DH feels that this is too much of a risk (he really wants DC2 to go to the outstanding secondary that DC1 attends). I think that buying at the bottom end of the market here and having a bigger mortgage and higher interest (due to 95% mortgage) would effectively keep us skint for the foreseeable and with fewer options to move up the ladder.
We're both pushing 40 and have had enough of feeling powerless and at the mercy of landlords. We would like to have our own home so that we can have some financial security during retirement. So, what should we do-move cheaply now or save for longer and live in the more desirable area?