Buying Vs renting and heart Vs head

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We're renting at the moment, we have a lovely property in a beautiful location which is somewhere we would never be able to buy. We love it here, and have been here five years (it is very unlikely we would ever have to leave as it is owned by the National Trust) but have been thinking we should consider our long term future and should think about getting on the property ladder.

I think this is a sensible thing to do, but it would be so much easier if we were in a rented property that we were ambivalent about! We're not sure how we would still pay rent once we retire, where-as if we get a mortgage now, it would be paid off when we reach retirement age.

But I can't bear the thought of leaving.

Someone come and tell me I should be thinking with my head and not my heart!

It is a wonderful, wonderful feeling to know you own your house. Even when you aren't about to retire. My whole attitude to work has changed now - I know they need me, more than I need them (we'd manage if I were made redundant) - it's is a really 'freeing' feeling.

Long before you need care homes (if you do - far more people don't, than do), there is a very real possibility that you might struggle to work until you are 67 or whatever age it will be before you get your pension. Again, not having to find 'rent money' every month is a very nice feeling. Yes, you have to maintain it, but you can maintain it - and make adjustments - to suit you.
On these threads I often tell of dh's Grandparents, who rented the same house from when they married in 1942 to when he went into a care home in 2011. 69 years they paid out for that house, instead of 25 yrs mortgage and then 44 years rent free. They couldn't make alterations they needed at the end (like a downstairs toilet) because they didn't own it.
I'm well aware everyone doesn't have the choice, but I can't understand why you wouldn't buy if you are able to.

I would allow yourself to grieve for the house you can’t afford and move on. You won’t regret being sensible (people rarely do!)

We have just bought ok, after 10 years in our perfect home that we could never have afforded to buy.
One day the landlady came round to tell us she was selling. We had spent £97k on renting that house.
Owning our own home now and knowing that any future move will be determined by us and not a landlord is a wonderfully freeing feeling.
I wouldn't hesitate if I were you.

A friend of mine is forced to rent in retirement. He was barely making ends meet anyway, when his small flat was handed over to a much more ruthless family member, who immediately whacked the rent up. Friend is now in dread of being told LL is selling. The prospect of having to find somewhere else, and all the hefty fees, is a great worry to him.

Unless you know for sure that money is never going to be a worry, I think renting in retirement - if you can possibly avoid it - is not a comfortable option. If that means a smaller, less perfect home, where you could be both rent and mortgage free in retirement, then to me it's a no-brainer.

I used to live in an idyllic cottage in a fabulous location and I utterly adored it. It was relatively cheap to rent because I had lived there for years and the owner was landed gentry entire with lots of properties on their land rather than a commercial enterprise.
I loved it and lived with my son and couldn’t ever imagine leaving as I could barely afford a 2 bed flat in that location.
I got into a new relationship and we then decided to buy a house together. 7 years on my house has been updated to my spec but is still a nondescript end terrace in a so so suburban location.
However, I am very happy and do not regret the move but it was about the timing. It was right for me to move then.

I do love making it mine...(and his, obviously)