Renting: place doesn't feel like our own, so thinking of buying.

Janey_Mac

I've been renting hither and yon in Dublin city centre for around seven years now, and my partner and I are now talking about living somewhere just us again after a few years of house sharing. (No problems with the houseshare, I have to add. Have been living very happily with some dear friends, but it's time to have our own place.)

We are probably going to try to buy in the next few years. I've been warned off buying, and I know having to pay almost as much for a mortgage as we would have for rent and having to maintain a house on top of it won't be easy, not to mention increased commuting costs.

But I am sick to death of not being able to paint or paper the walls or put up paintings or change fittings. I'm sick of moving into places with cupboards full of other people's left-behind stuff, and of being stuck with whatever furniture is there because we have nowhere to store it if we replace it. I'm sick of being denied permission to install an antenna for broadband, and of not being allowed to have a pet if we decided to get one.

I'm sick, in short, of not feeling like a place is our own, (because in a very real sense it's not.)

Are there any renters out there who have managed to make a place their own? Any advice?

Idbatterim

Op if your looking to buy a long term property i.e. not an apartment, yes it probably makes sense, if you buy at the right price & your finances allow it. Renting can save you a fortune when prices are dropping steeply as they have done, but renting in the LONG term, say 15,20, 25 years etc. makes no sense...

Graces7

Idbatterim wrote: »

Op if your looking to buy a long term property i.e. not an apartment, yes it probably makes sense, if you buy at the right price & your finances allow it. Renting can save you a fortune when prices are dropping steeply as they have done, but renting in the LONG term, say 15,20, 25 years etc. makes no sense...

I beg to disagree. And for many of us, there is no choice. And as time passes, houses eat more and more money in upkeep etc.

dewsbury

I understand the frustrations of renting.

However, I would stick with renting until 2013 (at least).

The general Euro situation is volatile and economies are very unsure.

Look at it this way;

(1) Prices could and probably will decrease even more.

(2) If prices did start going up then it will be a very slow process (there will be no panic buying).

Perhaps you could spend an extra 15% on the next place you rent (as a little luxury for yourself).

The Big Red Button

Janey_Mac wrote: »

I've been renting hither and yon in Dublin city centre for around seven years now, and my partner and I are now talking about living somewhere just us again after a few years of house sharing. (No problems with the houseshare, I have to add. Have been living very happily with some dear friends, but it's time to have our own place.)

We are probably going to try to buy in the next few years. I've been warned off buying, and I know having to pay almost as much for a mortgage as we would have for rent and having to maintain a house on top of it won't be easy, not to mention increased commuting costs.

But I am sick to death of not being able to paint or paper the walls or put up paintings or change fittings. I'm sick of moving into places with cupboards full of other people's left-behind stuff, and of being stuck with whatever furniture is there because we have nowhere to store it if we replace it. I'm sick of being denied permission to install an antenna for broadband, and of not being allowed to have a pet if we decided to get one.

I'm sick, in short, of not feeling like a place is our own, (because in a very real sense it's not.)

Are there any renters out there who have managed to make a place their own? Any advice?

You can negotiate on most of the above. Obviously, you haven't been able to so far - at least, not to the same extent - if you were living in house-shares. But, if you rent a place of your own, I'd imagine you'd be a lot happier.

Firstly, I would never agree to move in somewhere where cupboards are full of other peoples' stuff - just arrange for the landlord to dispose of it before you move in.

Landlords will usually be delighted for you to take charge of painting/papering the place, once they approve of the colour schemes, and they should cover (at least) the cost of materials.

With regard to pets - if you're in the place long-term, and have a good relationship built up with the landlord, I can't see many landlords having a problem with you keeping pets.

You say you're sick of not being able to make a place feel like your own - but that makes sense, as you have been house-sharing until now, if I'm reading your post correctly?

If I were you, I'd make a proper go of renting a place on a long-term basis for just yourselves, before considering buying a place.

PickledLime

Just my own personal take, but being tied to a mortgage for 30+ years wouldn't make a house feel like my own.

Bank still owns it, and everything that goes wrong is coming out of your pocket to rectify.

professore

Janey_Mac wrote: »

But I am sick to death of not being able to paint or paper the walls or put up paintings or change fittings. I'm sick of moving into places with cupboards full of other people's left-behind stuff, and of being stuck with whatever furniture is there because we have nowhere to store it if we replace it. I'm sick of being denied permission to install an antenna for broadband, and of not being allowed to have a pet if we decided to get one.

I'm sick, in short, of not feeling like a place is our own, (because in a very real sense it's not.)

Are there any renters out there who have managed to make a place their own? Any advice?

In Belgium - and I believe most Northern European countries, you get 9 year leases as standard - longer if you want. You get an unfurnished apartment, you can paint the walls, do anything pretty much an owner can do, furnish it to your heart's content. Apartments are fine, affordable, and big enough for families.

Rents are only allowed to increase at the rate of inflation during the lease, decreed by law. If either party wants to break the lease, it's 3 months minimum on top of whatever rent is owed. You NEVER see the landlord unless you want to - I believe he has to make an appointment to see you.

Then if you do decide to buy a house later, you already have all the furniture for it. A very different experience to renting here.

[EDIT - Just a thought, offer something like this to a landlord, get it all on paper, I bet they would snap your hand off in the current climate]

Idbatterim

I beg to disagree. And for many of us, there is no choice. And as time passes, houses eat more and more money in upkeep etc.

First of all let me clarify that Im not one of the "rent is dead money" brigade, it obviously isnt. I am currently renting myself for a number of reasons, I like the flexibility, couldnt afford to buy being the two main ones. But IF the OP is in a position to buy it may make sense...

Janey_Mac

PickledLime wrote: »

Just my own personal take, but being tied to a mortgage for 30+ years wouldn't make a house feel like my own.

Bank still owns it, and everything that goes wrong is coming out of your pocket to rectify.

Heh, that's what would make it feel like mine!

Well, it'll take a lottery win or those prize bonds my granny got me fro my christening finally getting me some cash for me to own a house outright any time soon, and a mortgaged house would feel more like mine than a rented one.

Janey_Mac

Hmm. Looks like we've had dodgier landlords than I thought!

We haven't always been in houseshares, but the only place we rented just ourselves was in a listed building and the landlord was very protective of it, so no broadband antenna, no paintings on the walls.

He was also the only landlord I've ever had that was signed up with the PTRB, so I think I have had a fairly bad bunch overall when it came to things like the house not being clean when we moved in. (That place was spotless with no stuff left other than kitchenware.) I just assumed that that was how things were, and it was only in total dumps where the landlord didn't care enough to maintain the place that s/he wouldn't mind what the tenants did with the walls and the floors! (We got out of that place. There's only so many times you can pay your rent in cash to an Italian restaurant for the owner to pick up when he returns from Sicily before the "funding organised crime" feeling gets too much to handle.)

I reckon what's happened is that we've always gone for maximum size for minimum price, so we get the sloppy landlords who aren't as conscientious.

We'll probably have to rent for another year or two anyway to build up more of a deposit for a house, and I will definitely be less likely to assume stuff like the house left a mess or not getting the lease back to us is normal.

Janey_Mac

dewsbury wrote: »

I understand the frustrations of renting.

However, I would stick with renting until 2013 (at least).

The general Euro situation is volatile and economies are very unsure.

Look at it this way;

(1) Prices could and probably will decrease even more.

(2) If prices did start going up then it will be a very slow process (there will be no panic buying).

Perhaps you could spend an extra 15% on the next place you rent (as a little luxury for yourself).

It would probably be 2013 by the time we moved out anyway, and if we decide to buy there will probably be another year added onto that, so there will have been a chunk of wait-and-see time for the economy. (We're screwed if it gets post-apocalyptic and we've moved back to a barter economy though. )