Have You Thought Of Rental?

The housing market certainly moves in cycles. When I was a child everyone seemed to rent, hardly anyone owned their own home, and I grew up on a council estate in a council property and was perfectly happy. Flash forward a few years and my parents were making the most of the right to buy and purchased their council property, making it a home of their own. When I met Pete, we had moved on further, secured a mortgage, and bought our own property. But when the housing market and banking markets suffered their collapse (Northern Rock anyone?), it suddenly became difficult for first time buyers to get that initial mortgage. This is why home rental has its place once again, particularly in some popular and expensive places – for instance, finding rooms to rent in London is a much cheaper option than trying to find an affordable property to buy.

Whilst it is still a dream for many people to own their own home, there are some definite advantages to renting, especially when it comes to your first home. This is all new to you, and you have to get used to paying all those bills and costs, so it may be more beneficial to test the waters by renting first.

Here are some just some of the reasons why rental may work for you.

The property itself

Everything about buying a home is expensive, and homes that you can actually afford to go for may need lots of work doing to them, work which you can’t afford. Renting from a private landlord could help you get used to paying the bills, and give you a property that is all ready to move into. Good,reputable landlords will have landlord insurance which will not only cover them for payments, but also for building issues, accidental damage and flat roof cover, so if you do come across any of these issues, they shouldn’t be your problem.

In some cases you can actually rent a furnished property, perfect if you are starting from scratch and don’t have much yet in the way of furniture. This can make moving in quicker too.

Time

Buying your first home, even if you have no chain, can still take months. Choosing a rental property can be so much quicker which could be useful if you are moving to a new area to start a new job and have to be there quickly.

In the same way, if you need to move again, you may have to give a month’s notice of your intention to quit, but this is so much easier than if you are trying to sell your property, a process that could take months, even, in the worst case scenario, years. Rental is much easier if your job sees you moving around a lot.

Finding out if it suits

OK, so this may not be the most romantic reason to rent, but it is a reason to consider it. When you first move in with a person, the truth is, it could go either way. You could have found your soulmate, the person who you will spend the rest of your life with. But you may equally have moved in with someone you just can’t live with, try as you might. Renting does not have to be permanent, you can move out and move on, far easier than if you were tied in with a mortgage.

Have you ever considered renting?

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