Why do people want to own property, well I always say whilst you are young and earning money you don’t consider that at some point your income will decrease because you are too old to work – now this is a very different world now a days. Retirement ages are increasing, some people don’t want to retire because they love their jobs/lifestyle as they are.
My Father was one of these people and at 70 he was still working on our family farm, he didn’t want to stop because he thought he would be very bored having nothing to do, sadly we have lost him now after a battle with cancer. I can however understand his view and think it is important to work to keep your head/brain matter going.
I know my Father is one of them he’s 70 this year, fighting cancer and still runs our family farm. He doesn’t want to stop because that would be boring! Having nothing to do. I can now see what he means I always want a purpose in life and I think it is important to work to keep your head/brain matter going.
But for some people working isn’t an option may be for health reasons so this must be considered. I dread to think what rental income will be like in the next 30 years plus. I cannot see it reducing so if your income goes down, but rents are increasing where do you live, how do you afford to live? This is my main reason for owning my own home and I personally think every young person should consider this. They say in retirement your income reduces 2 thirds well that is a scary amount, could you live now with only 1 third of your income? I know I couldn’t.
Another reason for owning your own home is because it’s yours, you can do what you want with it to a degree and no one can say, sorry we are selling you have to move, or we need the property back get out!
The difference between owning & renting is huge. When renting you have your rent to pay that’s it. No property repairs because you call your landlord and they should if they are a good landlord sort out the problem.
Being a property owner any repairs to the property you will have to cover the cost. In a rising property market this doesn’t bother you too much as most work you would do to the property will add value. In a stable/decreasing market, which we are just coming out of, you do feel that your money is spent on boring items like leakages, painting, windows etc. Not nice holidays, clothes etc. But it’s worth it.
I have owned properties in both scenarios now. My first we doubled the value in 5 years, we bought it thinking it was the height of the market but then it just continued to go up in value. We put new windows in the property, re-decorated throughout, transformed a building to a summerhouse/office and made it a stunning little home for someone. Our latest house we bought at the height of the market in 2007 – intending to do the same. But we also bought with the knowledge that if we needed to, we could live here for at least 10 years – no need to move unless it was of choice. We have put a lot of money into this house because it has needed total renovation, kitchen, bathroom full re-decoration. The garden also needed a huge change and we haven’t finished yet. We bought this property purely for location and its amazing views over towards the White Horse. Would we get the money we have put into the house back, not sure – and to be fair I am not bothered. We love living here and this is a long, long term home and now as our children go to a local school and have friends around here, I doubt we will ever move from this house and I would miss my view!
If we had bought a new build property – we probably would be financially better off in that not only would our mortgage have reduced but also we may not have had to put as much if any money into the property as it would have been perfectly finished from the start. But in our village, are there new builds? – NO. And that’s why we made this choice.
If I see first time buyers, I discuss with them do they want location, new build, a doer upper. If you are buying on location, you may have to opt for a smaller property than you want because you will not look anywhere else. If you go for a new build you may be able to buy a higher value/bigger property because you know you will not have to pay for any work to your new home. If you have spare cash, then you can look for a larger older property in the location you want because you have enough money to pay for the work needed to do your property up.
One thing I have learnt with this job is no-one’s circumstances are the same. Lots of people ask me what’s the cheapest rate available now? I can never answer this because it depends on so many circumstances from an individual’s personal situation.
You may want to buy your own house because you don’t want a monthly rental payment to go to a landlord you would prefer it to benefit you. You also want any growth in the value of a property to benefit you not a landlord.
