Hi. I would like to thank Rebecca for giving me the opportunity to share with you my thoughts about buying or renting a property. My name is Anca and I am an expat living for the last 4 years and a half in the UK. I wanted to keep in touch with friends and family and this is how www.ancaslifestyle.co.uk started.
I have experience both in renting and owning a property. In the last 10 years I’ve rented then got into home ownership, moved back to rented accommodation before buying a house 1 year and a half ago. There are good and bad aspects with every option.
Moving
Deciding to move to another city or even in the same city, in another neighbourhood is so much easier when you are renting. While moving can be quite stressful, if you plan to change your job in a couple of years, a rented property is a better option. Unless you live in a very sought-out location, selling a property can take up to a year or even more. Also, if you don’t get along with your neighbours, it’s an additional headache.
Home decoration
It is obvious that home ownership allows you to decorate as you like. Even though having a bold colour scheme or changing the house layout can sound like a good idea, if you want to sell, you need to make the home appealing for future buyers. Of course, some buyers would love a low maintenance garden while others are looking for lots of grass and plants to be an appropriate outside space for the kids or dogs.
In a rented property, painting the walls bright green means you’ll have to paint them again in neutral before leaving or you might lose the deposit. You can’t change the kitchen cabinets or the garden and so on.
Money
It’s better to give your hard-earned cash a mortgage because in a “few” years the house will be yours. But, at the same, so many other expenses arise from home ownership, like insurance and very expensive repairs. As a home owner, if you get a 20-25 years mortgage, it’s likely you will have to change the boiler, fix some pipes and repair a leaky roof before you end up paying for it.
In the end, I can say that as life changes, buying and renting are more or less attractive. But it’s good to keep in mind all the aspects before committing to one or another.
Do you want to buy or rent?
~ Anca
Great post Rebecca – we own our home and I often think I’m very lucky to do so, however, in the event that something needs repairing etc its all on us!
Harriet from Toby & Roo recently posted…Parenting matters :: Is telling kids winning doesn’t matter a lie?
We moved to Yorkshire so we could buy our house, as house prices in Sussex are insane, but we’ll be moving back next year and I’m not sure whether we’ll be renting again or not! There are definitely perks for renting… like everything gets fixed for you! xx
Hannah | MakeDo&Push recently posted…Motherhood // The First Night Away (A poem)
This is a really helpful post. Luckily I didn’t have to rent long as like it says I found it better to put my money into a mortgage x
Currently renting and at a great price mind you, would love to buy in the near future though…
Kellie Kearney recently posted…Ikea Antilop High Chair Review
We bought our home nearly 2 years ago. We will have fitted a new boiler in tomorrow (partner is a plumbing and heating engineer), our kitchen ceiling as collapsed and bathroom leaked! But at the end of the day, the house is ours! I do prefer a bought house x
Life as Mum recently posted…Our Family Holiday in South Wales {Part #2} ST. FAGANS CARDIFF
I think it totally depends on what stage of your life you are at whether you would rent or buy. For example when my husband and I first married, we rented in London to experience living there but could never in a million years be able to buy in London! We have now bought outside of London but we’re at that stage where we’ve settled with our own family xx
Sabrina @ The Mummy Stylist recently posted…Tyler’s 3-month baby routine
It is super hard these days to get onto the property ladder , especially down south anyway as its ridiculously expensive! we do own our own home luckily … it definitely depends on what stage you are in your life, if i was a younger me and single with enough money id defiantly go straight and buy something on my own.. its an investment at the end of the day! great post 🙂
Claire Witt recently posted…Out with the Winter.. in with the Spring! | Wardrobe refresh…
We’ve been very fortunate in that we have never had to rent, but the property ladder is so difficult to get on these days! x
Steph Oakes recently posted…Handmade with love // Space 1a Design
Thanks you so much for sharing a wonderful post..