Re: Renting for life?
 

from the OP given what has been posted & that you have a good job, the kids are fine, school is & family life is good.

That because of the property prices in the area that you live in are beyond your reach, even saving 10% deposit which the mortgage alone could be more than you're paying in rent - then status quo, staying renting, because its likely renting will be the more commonplace in spite of government incentives to let folks buy.

Quote:

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[source ons] Home ownership has fallen to its lowest level for a quarter of a century as soaring property prices have seen the number of people renting almost double.

More than a third of England's 14.3million homeowners are now aged 65 and over as young people have been frozen off the property ladder.

Just 1.4million homeowners are aged between 25 and 34, the age group most likely to be raising families, while 96,000 are aged between 16 and 24.

The overall number of homes lived in by owner-occupiers has fallen from 71 per cent in 2003 to 65.2 per cent last year, the lowest level since 1987.

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What can the OP do, the options other than move somewhere else that has lower property prices - issue there is the job & salary. Can it be done, is the OP willing to do that?

Another option which many renters or those living in flats do, is the holiday home, a holiday park lodge, a static caravan or a cottage in rural UK as a family getaway - something that they can own for as little as 50k with a budget guideline to get on the property ladder of in the range of 100k - 200k?

Its not for everyone, even the fact that its not the family home, but it is ownership [some folks do this], something to pass down to the kids, something for holidays, weekends without spending money going abroad.

Is the financial plan doable? Lets suppose the OP over the next 24 months can scrimp & save 10k - 20k to buy & mortgage a nice recreational holding property?

something along the line of below

3 bedroom terraced house for sale in ., Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32, NR32

3 bedroom property for sale in London Road, Clacton-On-Sea, CO16

Re: Renting for life?
 

Move further out to an area in which you can afford to buy. Lots of people do that.

Re: Renting for life?
 

I cringe every time I hear the phrase "getting on the property ladder". This obsession is unhealthy imo, because there are lots of situations where renting makes more sense.

Re: Renting for life?
 

The great thing about a secure tenancy from a Housing Association in Scotland is that repairs and maintenance are done, and to a very high standard.That was always an issue in the past with private landlords.

I am very happy with my apartment in a small town on a Scottish island. And I am very happy to be a tenant.

Re: Renting for life?
 

Scot, would you now, at your time of life if you could afford to - would you buy in the town that you live in or continue to rent?

Does it make any sense to buy if one has a good 'assured tenancy' at a price they can afford?

Re: Renting for life?
 

Good point there, that could be another option.

OP, is it possible to find work in a similar position in the North or Scotland earning £40k (to the £70k you earn now &with the expensive rent) to be able to afford the mortgage on a £150,000 property with say £20k down payment.

Would something along these lines work based on wages & for property prices in other parts of the country?

Re: Renting for life?
 

There are other options. It can take just or almost as long to get into Central London from the outer suburbs compared to travelling in on mainline trains, from areas where houses are literally half the price, and the cost of living is lower. We used to live just outside the M25 and it took an hour to get into Euston station via the tube. We moved an hours drive further north, where the commute by train was only 15 mins longer and we bought a 3 bed detatched house for 60% the price of the one bed flat we were renting and couldn't afford to buy. Even on an income of less than GBP35k we managed to scrape together a 10% deposit and the mortgage was GBP6 per week more than our rent was. Now yes, that was some time ago, but checking the price differential between both areas, it still works today. I'm still seeing quite nice 3 bed houses, semis and small detatched ones going for GBP150-180k, which online mortgage calculators tell me are affordable on a GBP70k salary over 20 years with a GBP7k deposit.

Re: Renting for life?
 

Would you mind posting that town or location please?

Re: Renting for life?
 

I know someone who works in insurance in London city and lives in Sudbury Suffolk in a beautiful detached house. Her husband stays at home and works virtually and they have a wonderful lifestyle and children happy. She is allowed a certain number of days a month to work from home and usually makes it Friday. Her commute is about 1.5 hours but she says she enjoys the quiet time on train. She has arranged to work through lunch and goes off earlier. It can and is being done. Kent has a lot of commuters too.

Re: Renting for life?
 

We have been homeowners for a long time here in the USA, and for the last 15 years with no mortgage. However, even though we could purchase a smaller property outright in the UK once we sell up, we are drawn to the idea of renting. Only hitch that we see in this plan is the fact that we have a small dog. From what I have gathered, it is hard to find a place to rent with pets.

Re: Renting for life?
 

Just look at any of the many, many small towns in the counties outside the M25, apart from Surrey, which is just stupidly overpriced. Check out the likes of Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire (direct train from Milton Keynes - I know many, many people who commute from there daily and live in lovely houses), Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire (about 45 minutes on fast train), parts of Wiltshire etc etc. I even have friends who commute direct from Leicester, Warwickshire and North Somerset as they live near the fast train routes, rather than those that stop at every single stop.

Obviously you'd have to factor in the cost of an annual rail ticket, which is GPB3k or so from the surrounding counties. Even so on a GBP70k salary, most banks will lend you GBP210k with a 5% deposit on a house. If you are prepared to buy a fixer-upper in a nice area (you know the saying, worst house in nice area) rather than a brand new house, you could see some real capital gain with a bit of effort tidying up a garden, new kitchen & bathroom and some cosmetic TLC, that doesn't require a builder to be employed to acheive. If that doesn't float your boat, I can see lots of brand new developments with 3 bed semi's going for less than GBP200k or detatched for the low GBP200's.

Re: Renting for life?
 

Yes, buying a second home first has a lot to recommend it, especially with the longer annual vacation time found in the Old World. Somewhere that has excellent value for money and within a few hours' drive from your rented home.
Example - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-30945773.html