Long term Renting? What do you intend to do in the future?

[Mrspitt3]

I'm horrified at some of my friends that have been renting for 20+ years and are in their 40s, and most don't Paul into a pension. I'm mid 40s and got on the property ladder when I was 20 and had a partner (I know prices have changed and I was working didn't have uni fees etc, but had no help from parents). I'm curious to know how long term renters intend to keep a roof over their head when they can no longer work due to age??

I have rented for 20 years. Feels like dead money but have never been in a position to buy. I am now 41 work full time, single parent to two children and just don't earn enough to buy. I would love to buy a bigger property as my and my dd have to share a room. But I have seen first hand lots are far worse off than me.

I sometimes wish my rent was on my credit report so lenders could see I pay every month and would be able to afford a mortgage!

I don't know what will happen when I don't work, I don't get housing benefit but I guess if I was not working I would.

This makes me think gov should cap private rents as the HB bill must be huge.

Ooooo @Mrspitt3 please tell me how I can get in the property ladder in my 20s now (I’m 29). A 2 bed flat in my area is £700,000. I make £45,000, although it varies because I’m self-employed and a client recently fucked my business over by not paying me a large bill.

So I pay £1000 a month for my room in a house share, so not even my own place. My parents don’t live in the UK so I can’t go and live with them. And no, I can’t just up and move somewhere else because my business relies on my location and accessibility to clients in central London.

After my rent, co-working office rent, bills, Oyster card, etc. Tell me how I can save up the required 20% deposit, or around £80,000-90,000 after my outgoings?

I think about this too because I know a family who went bankrupt ( sort of controlled ) to get out of their mortgage and into a council house . They really don’t need it as both have gold jobs but they will be renting for ever but if they had kept their house they would be well on their way to paying it off . Maybe downsizing and having money for retirement . I don’t get it but I think each to their own 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

My question WASNT why people are renting.... it was asking what their intention is after they can no longer work!! For example are you relying on inheritance or social housing or any other plan or is there simply no other plan?

mrspitt I know what the question was but it can hardly be a surprise that people are reading it as questioning why? You've said yourself that you know these threads stir up emotions. The implication that is renters just don't think about the future is patronising. I have a pension, some investments and, all being well, an inheritance. My sister has a massive mortgage and is a SAHM who isn't married. If they split up she'll be screwed yet no one feels the need to ask her how she's planning for retirement.

Why do you worry about other people's problems? You are not Jesus Christ to carry their cross for them. Keep paying your smug little pension and go to bed every night with the certainty that your future is sorted.
And you are HORRIFIED for them? Really?

We were Lucy and managed to buy mid 30s. We did end up with a push over the line from pil which was really appreciated. 5 years, 1 wedding and 2 dc latter we are still living in a building site but hope it is slowly comming together but it's been awfully stressful at times. The insecurity of renting with children and old age was a real worry in my early 30s and I'm still an dry that we as a society don't have a better system. The whenergy concept of "property ladder" and that house prices should go up above inflation is the problem. A house price crash would hurt so many, myself included so I hope that doesn't happen. I don't know what the answer is but I'm comming around to the thought that state intervention is needed. Perhaps we should pass a legislation where by the treasury own all the profit above inflation at poitou of sale. All new house construction to be at cost of production + agreed profit with the treasury owning have anything in excess. In this way speculation is stopped, people living in houses don't see a sud den cliff edge and can still move and new house building becomes about providing new homes and building g companies making a profit from the speculation of very the notional value of house price. We would see buy to let stopping but again people's assets not collapsing. I'm a little I'll at ease with state controll but I'm more I'll at ease with the idea of homes being assets and generating money - when really your just squeezing the next generations to follow. Trouble is it all sounds a little "Red under the bed!"

OP Just read the whole thread. You seem worried only to the extend you can use it to question other peoples life choices and position your life choices as better than others i.e you sound like 'i managed to buy in my twenties, work two jobs why didn't you?'.

Regardless of whether you mean it it does sound like you are doing a 'humble brag' and using your anecdotal experiences to suggest everyone is just waiting for a relative to die to get on the ladder.

This is not true. Lots of people don't have heritance coming, are aware social housing is seriously depleted and know it's unlikely to be any help. Lots I know simply don't have a plan and couldn't get on the ladder because saving the deposit is impossible in some areas.

I understand you 'want to know' out of some concern/nosy reason, but It's coming out very judgemental

Considering there is a housing crisis in this country I think you should be more tactful

Out of the friends who are long term renters, some just don't think about the future. They might think 2-3 months ahead but when asked about pensions, saving goals etc they'd give me a funny face. Some consider me too serious and laugh at me for knowing when I'll retire how much on and what retirement property I'll have. It's pure comedy to them as it's over twenty years away. So a very different mindset, basically.

Another friend has good savings, investments and is very organised financially but chooses to rent in central London. Rents are low relative to mortgage payments and instead of having money tied up in a deposit, they choose to invest it elsewhere.

I don't happen to know anyone who's renting and unhappy about it. I suppose people are more prone to that if they have children before getting on the ladder or a financially irresponsible partner.

@nc181 It's sounds like a choice you're making and you have very elevated aspirations for your first property. If you actually wanted to own, you could just move to a much cheaper room and commute a little longer. You could also start with a studio or 1-bed in a cheaper area for 200-250k. With your pretty high salary and cutting down on expenditure, you'd own within 2-3 years. If you choose to live in a posh area and have minimal/no commute then fair enough. But feeling hard done by comes across ridiculous.

The only people that have a right to questions their life choices is themselves!!

Joan .... I have a right to care as a tax payer for a start in addition to caring for personal friends situations. And wondering how I could help them was the reason for asking.

But personally I would never take a 45k job and live in an area where house prices are 700k. Wouldn't it make better sense to take a job that pays less in a more affordable area?

Some really interesting comments and views on the whole thou, a variety of mindsets is interesting thanks for all your replys

landlords and renters need to both have beneficial rights. The issue is there are some bad apples on both sides who ruin it for everyone else.

I’ve rented, two houses, and I’ve rented out, been a landlord for three. In each and every case, my own included and all my tenants, who were lovely. We all fell into the same trap, we all rented properties that were much more than we could ever afford to buy.

So whilst there are people living in the smallest property possible, commuting whatever and saving hard for a deposit, or barely making rent and have no choice, there are also a huge amount living in the nicest house they can afford to reasonably afford to rent, because they want that standard of living now.

Saving a deposit, buying the smallest property you can reasonably live in and commute to your work, then moving up the ladder over a number of years is something a lot of people just don’t want to do. They don’t want the downgrade. It’s a choice that gives a standard of living now, but causes risk for the future.

If we could only get away from the concept of a housing ladder. Making a commodity out of basic human needs such as shelter is the core problem. I know it's the system we're stuck with.... probably the worst apart from all the others!

We’ll carry on renting until parents die, then we’ll have enough for a deposit to buy. No other choice, we live down south and even if we’d stayed home, both working, saving every penny to buy before moving in/having kids we still wouldn’t have achieved deposit amounts yet (28 and 33). We’ve just accepted it, no point in worrying about something you literally cannot change is there?

DH does pay into a pension though.

Engineer the property ladder isn't about house prices going up. It's about buying a shitty one bed flat, paying down your mortgage and going to a 2 bed house then maybe a 3/4 bed.

But so many people don't want the stress of moving more than once there's no more ladder. And I'm 100% on board with that as it's an absolute shambles the buying and selling in England.

The house costs in London are eyewatering and we only got lucky because we bought in the dip of 2010 and picked an area not many people willingly wanted to live in.

Of course now it's lovely and we couldn't afford to buy our own house now

The people waiting for inheritance , are you not allowing for care fees ? They can be £1000 a week and will eat away at any money heading your way . My mum in her 70’s has a million pound estate but I’m not banking on any of it coming my way at all.

@nc one obvious solution would be to buy a cheaper property elsewhere and rent it out.

I don't know op, but then some of us won't live as long as retirement anyway, so perhaps the ones who live for the moment actually have it right.

My mum in her 70’s has a million pound estate but I’m not banking on any of it coming my way at all.

I think it is unlikely your DM will be in a care home for 20 years. It is people with 100k estates that can blow it in a couple and get left with very little.

Maybe but I’m still not banking on it . She enjoys expensive holidays and has worked for what she has . I hate the way people are waiting for handouts . I lost my dad and I’d much rather have him back than her on her own and a load of money !

We are fortunate enough that there’s enough money ‘higher’ than DPs that will trickle, and I’m an only child.

I’m not ‘waiting for handouts’ and of course I’d rather have my parents than money, that’s a very offensive view. It’s our reality though, and I don’t see how inheritance is a ‘handout’ but living at home to save isn’t.

Well I don’t live at home and everything we have we have worked for . My parents were exceptionally hard workers and have never given us anything . I respect them for that . I actually wasn’t talking about people on here but friends in real life and openly waiting for the parents to die so they can buy a bigger house . It’s not uncommon and in allowed my opinion on wether I agree with it or not .

I think it's a strange question tbh OP. There are millions of pensioners in rented property today. I find it strange that you can't imagine any other way but home ownership?

I agree that planning for old age is something people should consider. But someone with a secure social housing tenancy has no more worries than a home owner surely?

Hip
I really don't agree with that either! The concept of a ladder is wrong because it's basis is a commodity market. You are assuming that people are in a position to buy young and live where they may. I came from a dead end job to the forces where I was unattached and travelled but usually stationed in expensive areas, then started a business, grabbed an good job offer and moved 90 miles. Your midle doesn't help that. Fundamentally a good quality family home should be affordable to all. The cost of housing is to far away from its value. Again it's the system we are currently stuck with but it is the system that's the problem not the average couple wanting a family and a decent home.

If we could only get away from the concept of a housing ladder

I certainly don’t want to get away from it. What and we all live in identical boxes, whose size depends on how many rooms we need, or the state allocates our homes based on need. Not for me, no way.