Renting Family Home

theofficepest

Given all the talk of people who waited out the Irish Property Bubble, has anyone with a family of say 3 kids been renting in Dublin City, perhaps to ride out the Bubble, perhaps not, say Renting for the last 5-7 years as an example.

What are the costs you have found vs having a mortage? 1200 rent a month over 7 years would equate to an even 100,000 grand, so do the costs really stack up?

what are the pros and cons you have found, flexibility is fine for a single person or couple, but for a family security is probably more important, same schools, friends etc.

I'm really looking for someone who has done it. Do you believe it's worth it.

Many are saying people should have waited, but if you are 30-35 in 2000-2003, and want to start a family, how long can you realistically wait.

cast_iron

Just on the numbers...1200pm for 7 years equates to 59.2k does it not?

I'd say few people did it out of a great wisdom that the flop was just around the corner. More likely it just suited them for a variety of other reasons.

theofficepest

1200 * 12 = 14400 * 7 = 100,000 I could be wrong, math was never my strong point

theofficepest

also, even if they did for another reason, long term did they find it makes sense. I know of some people renting, but they all plan to use it as a stepping stone, rather than a long term solution.

Gloomtastic!

theofficepest wrote: »

also, even if they did for another reason, long term did they find it makes sense. I know of some people renting, but they all plan to use it as a stepping stone, rather than a long term solution.

Renting makes sense due to the fact you can easily budget for the year ahead. My house will cost me rent x 12 months. You have no other outgoings for the property (apart from utilities) as maintenance is the landlord's problem. Not to be underestimated IMHO.

feicim

theofficepest wrote: »

....what are the pros and cons you have found, flexibility is fine for a single person or couple, but for a family security is probably more important, same schools, friends etc.

I'm really looking for someone who has done it. Do you believe it's worth it.

whether or not its worth does depend on a number of things

your point of view
some people like the thought of the security of living in the same place, being able to decorate / modify the property to your own taste.

whether or not you got a tracker mortgage
if you bought up to 2002/3 and have a tracker mortgages house prices could drop even lower than they are now and over the 25 years you might find you haven't lost out. the sale price of your house is only part of the overall price you pay. i.e. the sale price + interest. thw way things are going here its looking likely that there will be a big gap between ECB rate and lending rate from banks. Your house that has dropped by a 50%, but has a tracker may still work out cheaper than buying the house @50% with a variable rate mortgage set by the irish banks.

the money you have saved in rent
as you point out you would have spent 100k in rent since 2003, so instead that is really coming off the overall total cost of the house. (sale price + interest). you might pick up a house now for 100-200k cheaper but between the 100k rent spent and higher interest repayments you could be no better or no worse off.

tenchi-fan

I'll say one thing, there is a negative equity thread on this board and it makes me angry with all the people accusing home owners of being greedy.

Renting isn't for everyone, and most people I know who rented instead of bought were financially secure enough that they rented very nice homes and did not have to worry about the affect of rising rents. A lot of managers where I worked rented instead of bought.

For a start, they will retire on brilliant pensions giving them financial security into their retirement. I personally wouldn't like to try to pay rent when I'm an old age pensioner. The government will have extended the retirement age to 67 and have already eliminated PRSI/health levy relief on pension contributions.. they are also eliminating tax relief at the marginal rate.

Higher paid workers who rented also had a few thousand discretionary income to sink into their rented accommodation, a luxury which not many workers could afford - especially in a market where the landlord would be only too happy to rent out his property to some one else rather than redecorate it.

Everyone likes stability in life and the people who needed stability the most were people on modest incomes. That is why you will see very few people who rented when they had the option to buy.

cast_iron

theofficepest wrote: »

1200 * 12 = 14400 * 7 = 100,000 I could be wrong, math was never my strong point

Woops. **Runs off to check bank account**:D

keithclancy

Renting in Ireland is a bit crap.

If they regulated it a bit more (forced landlords to meet minimum standards and requirements)

You'll find a lot of dumps before you'll find someplace nice.