Pros and cons of both renting and buying of course. I rented for years in London and other areas of the south east when I was young free & single and never even thought about buying. Positives obviously you could just fuck off generally when you liked, within the confines of a short term tenancy. You could even fuck that off if you could afford to lose the deposit. I wouldn't really say there are negatives, but in this country there is a huge emphasis on property ownership so if you're of that view then it's funding somebody's mortgage I guess.
Since then I've got married & purchased a property just a year or so before the height of the boom in 2005 and then remortgaged twice. First time I went with a broker. Second time I got a better rate than my broker was offering so done it myself. Third time was when interest rates hit the low (which they're still at) and went onto a very low rate with HSBC, which has no restrictions on overpaying & tracks the BOE rate. So took advantage of that.
Then about a year ago another major change meant I had to relocate. Just at the time when the market was prob at its lowest ebb. Put the property on the market for a bit, few viewings, no offers. So I have subsequently become a 'reluctant landlord' with the property rented out to tenants, and me also renting my gaff in my new location.
Anyone else in the 'reluctant landlord' boat? Maybe needs its own thread. Never had any intentions of going down this route and it's all full of headaches at times. Last tenants had a fight and fucked off without paying the rent etc. Now got new ones in and to date every thing going smoothly. So coming up to a year as a landlord. Rent covers the mortgage which is the main thing.
Anyway now I've got an 'offer in principle' for a new mortgage for a new house purchase, which effectively means I'll be servicing two mortgages which is pretty scarey, for me anyway. So always will be worrying about always having the other property rented out ok.
So what's the point in all that stuff on the thread? Well that's the disadvantage of owning a property when the market hits a downturn and you have to move for whatever reason (work with me). No flexibility. On the plus side as long as there are tenants then the mortgage will eventually be paid off and in yrs to come it will seem like a big windfall when I sell, assuming I live long enough to enjoy it.
The important thing to remember is that you never really own any property. A mortgage is merely a long term commitment to 'rent' whereby you're guaranteed to stay there without some landlord turfing you out as long as you meet repayments. Yep your dependents may benefit after you pop your clogs but ultimately banks own properties. Your mortgage is merely a long term rental agreement with banks.
I think the point a few have made about the culture hear re ownership being different to Europe is valid. There is huge pressure here to buy, from family, peers, work colleagues, etc. Whereas on the continent many rent all their lives. But then much of the property is leased from govt on the continent, so you generally can rent for a lifetime if you like a particular property/area. Here it's much different as most property is now in private ownership (after the right to buy and mass sell off of council properties), and your future in this respect is only guaranteed as long as your short term tenancy agreement lasts.