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Property Talk
2nd August - To buy or not to buy...
...that is now the question. A government report published in February stated that the number of rental properties has risen
from 1 million to 3.1 million since 2001. Some property commentators see this increase of rental properties in recent years as
indicative of a shift in the UK mindset towards renting rather than buying. Certainly there are benefits to renting which you
hear argued over and over again. The flexibility, the lack of worry about maintenance, the lack of exposure to the risk of
house prices falling.
However, you only ever hear these arguments from people who rent. What they are less keen to talk about is the insecurity of
renting, not being able to decorate a house to one's own taste, and that at the end of 25 years there is not much to show for
the money invested. You never hear about home owners regretting the moment they decided to step on the property ladder. The
reason that renting is more in vogue currently is that people are finding it harder to raise the deposit required by cautious
lenders, rather than they prefer renting over buying. The answer to the headline question is that if you do not yet own a
property, it is a worthwhile aspiration and worth saving a deposit to achieve. Buying a property to renovate at a lower cost
makes this more achievable, and is the rationale behind pickupaproperty.
The Times has a useful property section every Friday called Bricks and Mortar, which I can highly recommend (now that
they charge for use of their website it is better value in ye olde paper format). Recently they had an article about mid-life
first time buyers (the message is, it's never too late). In short the top tips are as follows:
Don't:
- Delay
- Wait for perfection
- Fret. A house is important, but not as much as the people within it
Do:
- Buy with your heart
- Go for more than you can afford
- Choose with your grown-up children in mind
- Aim to share your home with as many people as possible. "Party and celebrate!"
- Be grateful every day that you own a home of your own
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