To rent or buy??????
 

Feeling really down today and just after a bit of advice/suggestions.

Found out today that despite making me promise not to drop the price of my house, as she didn't want to drop hers, my neighbour has dropped her price to £20k below mine :eek: . She rang me on several occasions saying don't drop the price, if we both stick it out we will get near enough the asking price :rolleyes: . Feel a right mug now. Especially as she seems such a sweet old lady. I promised to let her know what was happening with mine viewings etc. which I have done. I only found out she had dropped her price through the estate agent :mad: .

I am at the end of my tether with this buying and selling lark. This house is mine and the kids future nestegg which I see disappearing daily.

My question is (sorry, shall stop moaning now) do I really want to buy a house in Australia? Should I just rent and keep a bit of money in the bank for holidays, university fees etc. Therefore forgetting about such things as rates which I think the landlord pays and having a bit of cash to have some fun. My only concern is my savings will eventually dwindle away to nothing so therefore my kids wont get any inheritance (not that it would be much anyway to be honest). If I was to buy a house then they would at least have that.

I know they wouldn't be bothered about that and I have managed without help from parents. I just don't know what to do for the best. Another issue is I have promised my children they can have a dog each when we get to Oz which i know could be a problem when trying to rent somewhere.

Tracey

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Sorry to see you are having such a grotty time with your neighbour. That's when you find out people's true colours. :mad:

Been having similar thoughts myself. We have spent the weekend going through paperwork and old files that need sorting before we head off and have decided that by the time we pay off all the credit cards, shipping, dog shipping and car loan etc we are not going to have as much money to take out to Australia as we thought we would. Especially not with the housing market as it is at the moment. One of the main things with me was the thought of being able to buy a house and not have a mortgage and now that is begining to look impossible. We have struggled ever since I can remember for one reason and another and I had hoped that our struggling days may be at an end but I can see another mortgage looming :(

We have two dogs so will need to buy somewhere straight away as I can see us having problems renting once the dogs come out of quarantine.

Good luck with selling your place and I hope it goes before your neighbour's does :)

:p to her!

Anne

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Thanks Anne. It's a load of poo isn't it this house malarky. So, are you considering renting? The problem for me is I am on my own with the kids and was hoping to work part time.

Therefore, if I buy a house am I going to be struggling to make ends meet and worrying constantly about anything needing repairing etc. Don't want or need the stress. I'm hoping to leave all that behind and have a bit of fun with the kids. They'll be gone soon enough and I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting working all the hours god sends and not having time for them. (Oh dear, I am feeling sorry for myself today I'm afraid :( . Just wish I could have some good news for a change)

Tracey

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Just sent you some karma but forgot to sign it :o

We have considered renting but think it will probably be difficult with the two dogs. We do have a bit of a cushion in that my sister lives out in Perth and owns two other properties that they rent out. If we are very lucky, they may be in between lodgers when we arrive and so be able to rent one of hers but I don't think it would be ideal. She might not feel able to ask us the full rental (although she should) and I don't think they are in an area that we want to be, but at least we have a bit of an option.

I am curious (ok downright nosy :o ) as to how you managed to get a PR visa as a single parent. Do I assume you have a good job with lots of points. I apologise if this is a cheeky question :)

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

That's ok.

When I applied last year I wasn't a single parent (don't know if that would have made a difference though). Sadly, my husband died in November so am going it alone now with my kids.

I did apply on my own merits as I'm a nurse. Hubby was a joiner and we were originally going to apply on his skills but as he was self-employed it was too much of a carry on so went on mine. With hindsight I am glad we did. Haven't actually looked into whether there will be a problem or not. Perhaps I should :( . Saying that the visa specified that the rest of the family couldn't enter the country before me as it was my application. Maybe if it had been the other way round I would have had to reapply.

Thanks for the karma by the way. I just sent you some on the other thread. What a coincidence :D

Tracey

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Tracey

can't offer you any advice, but felt you needed some K :)

I don't know how much your house is on the market for, or how much you have in the house, but can you undercut her now by 5k? (and don't tell her :mad: )

i think i would buy property rather than rent, as like you said the money will get frittered away :eek:

good luck anyway, and some karma sent

michelle

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Renting's all very well, untill you retire, then what will you pay the rent with?

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Sorry to hear about your neighbour, but I'm afraid in this, as so much in life, you have to think of number 1 so I wouldnt go into any agreements with anyone.

Sending some k for you :)

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Not sure why you feel that to rent or to buy is a decision you need to make straightaway?
When you first move over you will not have any idea on best areas, best schools, whether the city/lifestyle suits you, even how the housebuying thing works in a completely different country.

Why not take the pressure off, decide to rent for at least six months while you figure out how the land lies, then make a decision on whether to buy. The bulk of the money won't be going anywhere, especially if your income covers your living expenses, and you may save in the long run by not rushing into an expensive mistake.

Just my tuppence,

Merlot.

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Thanks everyone.

Merlot12. The reason I'm worried about buyoing soon is that the house prices could go up a lot potentially, in 6 months and I could end up having to compromise the area in which we live.

Thanks all for the k.

Tracey :)

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

You should get used to the idea that your house is not worth as much as you think. You over-valued it, pure and simple.

If your neighbour has reduced her price by twenty big ones, that's because she's more aware of the property mkt than you are.

However, it sees you both have not sold yet so the price is still too high.

Get real and reduce the selling price if you want to get it sold.

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

That sounded a bit harsh, the way it was written. The poor girl has already said she is having a bad day today.

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

I understand your logic, but I still feel that by deciding to buy whatever you see in the first few weeks of landing in a new country, you will probably compromise far more but not having done your research.

If you were moving to another city at the other end of the UK would you take this approach? Why risk so much when moving to a completely different country with completely different houses and rules.

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

As you are in central europe you know nothing of mine or my neighbours house. Nor anybody elses on here for that matter. Yet you are always lurking about and pop up to tell people they have over priced their house. My house is different from my neighbours as it has a double garage and a utility and plenty of other features that my neighboiurs doesn't.

Do you just like to upset people or did you have a house to sell which you got a poor deal for and are therefore bitter? Wheerever I have seen your name it is always to slag people off for how much they have their house on the market for.

As for my neighbour being aware of the market, she's obviously not as she had hers overpriced at £10k more than mine prior to changing agents.

Don't know why I am wasting my time trying to justify myself to you anyway.

Tracey

Re: To rent or buy??????
 

Way to go Tracey ;)