Owning a house

cena

I wish I could afford to buy a house, cause this renting is a waste of money. Only best bit of renting is if something need fixing you don't have to pay the plumber for a call out etc

Anyone else feel the same?

Pat Mustard

Tis dead money OP. What a fella like you wants is a massive fcuking mortgage.:pac:

Mint Aero

Renting is a fools game, buying is where it's at :cool:

chopper6

Money down the drain,renting.

kwestfan08

cena wrote: »

I wish I could afford to buy a house, cause this renting is a waste of money. Only best bit of renting is if something need fixing you don't have to pay the plumber for a call out etc

Anyone else feel the same?

And not being tied to the one place, able to move if you don't like the area etc

Femme_Fatale

cena wrote: »

I wish I could afford to buy a house, cause this renting is a waste of money.

Ok there is nothing wrong with wanting to buy a house - I'm not remotely a member of the "People who take out mortgages are fools" brigade. Renting forever is an understandably unappealing prospect to many people. But how is it a waste of money? It's a really necessary service, seeing as it's the only alternative to taking out a mortgage. It's a service with a return, like any other service you pay for. Maybe look at moving into somewhere with cheaper rent? Rent should be at a set rate though, IMO.

Teagwee

With property tax, septic tank charges, water charges, communication tax etc, I feel as if I'm only renting my house even though I 'own' it - and I still have to fix everything that goes wrong

jester77

So true OP, much better paying interest to the banks instead of rent to landlords. Sure most landlords are only cowboys, bankers are sound and deserve their big bonuses.

Lando Griffin

And dont talk to me if you want to add a 2 car garage to one side of the house.
You would think those in the Planning dept would have feck all to do these days and just pasd the feckin thing.

OneArt

All the taxes, water charges etc. coupled with the constant f*cking maintenance of the roof, heating system and all that sh!t that owning a property brings, it's a bigger pain in the arse than renting.

"Dead money" my hole. In that case the money you pay for your car and health insurance is also "dead money".

We all die in the end anyway and our houses get overgrown with weeds and vines and become either the playhouses of ravenous monkey-lions (this will be in the future) or oiling stations for robot prostitutes.

Holsten

Depends on individual circumstances.

You have to look at both from a long term perspective, e.g 10+ years.

Do up the maths to see if it's better to rent or buy.

chopper6

Lando Griffin wrote: »

And dont talk to me if you want to add a 2 car garage to one side of the house.
You would think those in the Planning dept would have feck all to do these days and just pasd the feckin thing.

I needed planning permission to add a driveway to the front of the house!

cena

Lando Griffin wrote: »

And dont talk to me if you want to add a 2 car garage to one side of the house.
You would think those in the Planning dept would have feck all to do these days and just pasd the feckin thing.

We once had a a one car garage. Brother took it over as his work shop before we sold it.

Henlars67

It would take me up until I'm 70 to spend on rent what repayments on a house would cost me.

I also don't have to spend any money on repairs, paint etc. It's much easier to move if I ever need to for whatever reason.

As it stands I wouldn't get a mortgage but even if I can in a few years time there is absolutely no way that I will.

I really don't see the advantage of buying over renting.

It's just an Irish thing that people think they have to buy their own home. The rate of home ownership here is almost 70%, compared to Germany where it's just over 40% and the Germans seem to be getting on just fine.

cena

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Ok there is nothing wrong with wanting to buy a house - I'm not remotely a member of the "People who take out mortgages are fools" brigade. Renting forever is an understandably unappealing prospect to many people. But how is it a waste of money? It's a really necessary service, seeing as it's the only alternative to taking out a mortgage. It's a service with a return, like any other service you pay for. Maybe look at moving into somewhere with cheaper rent? Rent should be at a set rate though, IMO.

What would suggest should be a set rate?
I'm not on about a big mortgage. I don't need a big house

theblaqueguy

Just buy a tent and camp in the local field its alot cheaper than renting

chopper6

theblaqueguy wrote: »

Just buy a tent and camp in the local field its alot cheaper than renting

BUY a tent?

You dont know much about saving money do you?

cena

theblaqueguy wrote: »

Just buy a tent and camp in the local field its alot cheaper than renting

Did you not hear of the tent tax coming in?

evolving_doors

OneArt wrote: »

All the taxes, water charges etc. coupled with the constant f*cking maintenance of the roof, heating system and all that sh!t that owning a property brings, it's a bigger pain in the arse than renting.

"Dead money" my hole. In that case the money you pay for your car and health insurance is also "dead money".

We all die in the end anyway and our houses get overgrown with weeds and vines and become either the playhouses of ravenous monkey-lions (this will be in the future) or oiling stations for robot prostitutes.

Renting..
Dead Money..

Hmm let me see now ..(consults goolge for these ancient phrases)

Vaguely familiar words I've heard before .... aggghhhhh it's started again...

Quick...Buy now OP and flip it in 5 years you'll be minted...
Prices are only going to go up

Have you considered decking yet?

Charlie19

Mortgage all the way.

Because if I live till my 80s or so.
I'm loving the idea of having the option to either

Leave the property to the family or cash in and go on a cruise.

keith16

Charlie19 wrote: »

go on a cruise.

I was on a cruise once. Tom Cruise.

MadsL

Just bought a house. I have never worked as hard in my life with all the stuff needed doing to it.

Only reason we bought is that rents are bad value in the area..

Renting can be cheaper than buying, as long as you invest the money you would have put into the house to offset the lack of return on your rent money.

guppy

I've been renting 10 years. My son was born during this time. I definitely see the benefits of renting, but I just want my own house now to decorate and furnish as I want. I want double glazing and not have to live with windows that steam up all winter long. I want better quality fittings.

Renting is seen as a stop gap in Ireland. If the system was different, I could do all of the above in my rented accommodation and I'd be happier, but it's rare in Ireland to be able to redecorate a rental property yourself, and I've no incentive to invest in upgrading it. The landlord won't bother either as it's less profit for him

KyussBishop

Some interesting links along my Google travels:
http://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/gmaps_rankings.jsp?indexToShow=getAffordabilityIndex&year=2013
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_home_ownership_rate
http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Europe/ireland/price-gdp-per-cap

From what I understand, the rental market in Ireland isn't all too good compared to the continent, and there's much room for improvement there - I always thought house prices here were a bit ridiculous myself (and, compared to the US at least, there's room for improvement), but apparently (judging by first link) it's not too bad compared to other places.

Ireland is certainly unusual in its high rate of home ownership, and I think a transition to a better regulated/organized rental market would be a good thing - there are also some other interesting alternatives that are less explored, like co-op rental communities, where the places are community-owned rather than managed by a landlord or letting agency:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative


I'm surprised that home-ownership isn't a more common thing, because when you compare the actual material cost of building a home versus the average persons salary, it should not be unfeasible at all for most people, but it is the premium placed on land/location and the interest payments on a mortgage (which are compounded and become extremely punishing the longer the mortgage goes on - for no reason other than to profit the banks, and it doesn't even need to be setup this way), which make it impractical.

In my own opinion, I don't think it should be that way - I think home ownership should become a more acceptable standard, and that provision of land/housing should be protected against rent-seeking and speculative bubbles like we saw in the run up to the economic crisis.

Houses (and the land they are on) are literally the most expensive things the average person will ever buy, so manipulating control over land/housing and how credit is made available for mortgages, is one of the primary ways of wielding significant political/economic/social control over the rest of society (to both ensure people have to put in a lot of work/labour to afford a home, while also extracting a huge share of the compensation i.e. money they earn for that labour).

Being able to change living arrangements on a whim based on current situation is worth it for the "dead money".. Bit of downturn in finances, move somewhere cheaper. Things looking good, get something nicer. Job in another part of the city/country/world, move.

I think people should only get mortgages well into their 30's with big % of it being down payment.

mojesius

Unless I get a cash windfall, I can't see myself buying. I've seen some nice places on Daft.ie in nice areas recently, but most of them have insane annual service charge fees or else they're are in serious need of a costly revamp, so I'm not bothered (Am I bovvered?!)

I rent a really nice, affordable apartment in the city centre, everything including work on my doorstep, landlord is excellent, no commuting costs unless I'm going to visit family, friends etc., no need for a car and flexibility to end my lease if and when I need to.

What bugs me about the rental market in Ireland is that it's so backward it discourages people from renting long-term. We have no rent control/stabilisation schemes similar to cities in Germany, France or Belgium where you can rent the same place for years without the rent being unfairly increased when the landlord decides to do so.

Irishcrx

I own a house and it has it's good points and bad points. Good points being that i can decorate it to my own , plan for the future with kids etc , I enjoy maintaining it as it's mine , I don't mind putting money into it as it's a long term thing , I hated having to move all the time, I'm not at the mercy of landlords (Rented for years and can be a nightmare dealing with them or estate agents). Bad points being all the taxes and charges but that's part of it.

Depends on situation as well, you have some people who have huge mortgages and are stuck with them say €1500 - €2000 a month plus everything on top of that when they could have rented a place for say €900 - €1200 a month.

Or you could have some who have small enough mortgages and the rates aren't too bad at the minute so they could be paying €550 a month for their mortgage in a 3 bed semi which they own and someone else could be paying €1100 a month for a dingy 2 bedroom house which they are renting and has a a**hole for a landlord. I know people in each of these situations.

JP85

One of the nice things about owning your own house is that you can have decent furniture and not cheap plastic/ IKEA cr@p all over the place

Irishcrx

JP85 wrote: »

One of the nice things about owning your own house is that you can have decent furniture and not cheap plastic/ IKEA cr@p all over the place

Take that back sir, IKEA is a place of wonder and cheer. I can't even remember life before Ikea it would be like medevial times all over again.

I love Ikea, love it - I especially love it on a Saturday when I have to covertly make my way around the army of buggies to avoid being knocked down. Their low price food, well better than a can of pedigree chum and who doesn't enjoy being in a que for an hour and a half at the end of it all.

What a great day out, and sure the furniture if guaranteed to last at least 6 month's

flanzer

As a mortgage holder myself, I'd still prefer to spend just over a 1/3 of my life paying for a mortgage, than spending he whole of my life paying rent. Thank you very much

Kintarō Hattori

JP85 wrote: »

One of the nice things about owning your own house is that you can have decent furniture and not cheap plastic/ IKEA cr@p all over the place

Irishcrx wrote: »

Take that back sir, IKEA is a place of wonder and cheer. I can't even remember life before Ikea it would be like medevial times all over again.

What a great day out, and sure the furniture if guaranteed to last at least 6 month's

In fairness to them they have price and quality to suit a wide variety of people. Spend cheaply and you'll get cheap furniture. Go up the scale and the quality of their furniture is much better. Their kitchens are guaranteed for 25 fecking years!

Irishcrx

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

In fairness to them they have price and quality to suit a wide variety of people. Spend cheaply and you'll get cheap furniture. Go up the scale and the quality of their furniture is much better. Their kitchens are guaranteed for 25 fecking years!

Yeah no I'm just taking the piss, There is some great stuff in Ikea. I got a TV unit in there last year for €80, fantastic it is. I really like their kitchens as well.

UCDVet

I wish people would stop with the blanket statements like, 'Renting is a waste of money'.

If that were true, nobody would rent.

Of course there are advantages of renting.
Of course there are advantages of owning.

If you can't honestly identify them, you probably have no business owning a home.

Menas

To buy or to rent. It is down the what the individual is comfortable with and what their long term plans are.

When I was younger and living the good life I loved renting but as I got older and married with kids then buying suited me as I wanted to customize my living space.
In a few years I will be mortgage free and cant wait for that day, but it is a pain in the arse looking after the property sometimes.
But having said that, with a wife and kid - moving house would be a real pain in the arse for me now.

Irishcrx

Trigger Happy wrote: »

To buy or to rent. It is down the what the individual is comfortable with and what their long term plans are.

When I was younger and living the good life I loved renting but as I got older and married with kids then buying suited me as I wanted to customize my living space.
In a few years I will be mortgage free and cant wait for that day, but it is a pain in the arse looking after the property sometimes.
But having said that, with a wife and kid - moving house would be a real pain in the arse for me now.

This is pretty much bang on the money. Renting is easier when you are younger, don't want the responsibility of the property and just want to get on with living life as much as you can, you can move house easily or area whatever. Later in life, not so much and as most get older and have families they want a stable envoirment and control over there living space. It's fairly easy really.

Our mindset & goals in life change as we get older. Well for the majority of us anyway.

Legs.Eleven

My parents are never finished fixing their house. Feck that.



Here I am sitting in my rented flat slap bang in the centre of a European capital city a 2 minute walk from some of Pablo Picasso and Dali's most famous masterpieces, 5 minute walk from the very centre, a short walk from all the best bars and restaurants in the city, a 30 second walk from one of the best metro systems in the world etc.


With my salary, I could never afford to buy a flat located somewhere like this. If something goes wrong, we call the landlord who has to fork out the money to fix it. I can up and leave tomorrow and move to any other neighbourhood in the city or even another country if I wish without the baggage of a mortgage.

Rent gives you massive freedom. I'm paying rent for the service of accommodation. I'm getting something in return. How is it wasted money?

Menas

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

How is it wasted money?

Simple - it's not wasted money. It is like a farmer saying that paying for fruit and veg is wasted money when you can grow it yourself.

Legs.Eleven

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Simple - it's not wasted money. It is like a farmer saying that paying for fruit and veg is wasted money when you can grow it yourself.

I can see the appeal of home ownership with a family, of course but buying just because you believe rent is dead money doesn't make sense to me.

wolfpawnat

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Rent should be at a set rate though, IMO.

Are you insane? The absolute shíte quality of some of the boom apartments don't deserve to be half the price they are. It would end up like the upward only rents situation in Dublin City for a finish!

I rent at the moment, and my MIL is harping on that my OH should get rid of me now because I am in no hurry to buy. He is in college and I am unemployed at the moment so not sure where she thinks we'd get a mortgage from anyway. She is disgusted that we are not considering our pensions and buying next year as soon as he finishes, but we feel it will take us at least 5 years to get a good job, get settled, get a good portion ready to pay ourselves. Some people in Ireland are obsessed with home ownership, that obsession has helped f*ck over the country. Build, build, build, over pay, over pay, over pay.

And besides, if no one rented, how would some people pay off the mortgages?

That said, I would love to rip up the cream carpets (who the fck puts cream carpets in a place) and paint the walls with good quality paint!

SV

flanzer wrote: »

As a mortgage holder myself, I'd still prefer to spend just over a 1/3 of my life paying for a mortgage, than spending he whole of my life paying rent. Thank you very much

Yeah but you're pretty much stuck where you are. good luck if you ever want to travel or move.

foxyboxer

OneArt wrote: »

All the taxes, water charges etc. coupled with the constant f*cking maintenance of the roof, heating system and all that sh!t that owning a property brings, it's a bigger pain in the arse than renting.

As Tyler Durden said, "The things you own, end up owning you".

Can't wait to buy myself, sick of sharing and I couldn't face paying 900 to 1200 euro per month to rent my own place when (with a decent deposit) I could have the same place for around 600 per month in a mortgage (+ some additional costs of ownership). Pay back more months you have spare cash etc and you wouldn't feel clearing a sensible sized mortgage.

I'd be disappointed if I don't own my own place by the time I'm 30 (which isn't giving me much time now). I would also have no great plan on the first place I'd buy being the place I live forever, buy smartly in places that are easy to rent and you can easily buy somewhere else while having a rental income also.

I can't understand people who are happy to rent long term. I'd never feel really at home unless I owned the place.

TomoBhoy

Buy a house for 200, 000 pay bank back 400, 000 ! Unless I won the lotto or came in to a ****load of money theres no way I'd ever get a mortgage, ireland needs to sort out proper rental rights and go towards a more European view on renting and downsizing.

I want to have my own garden and watch it grow over the years - that would be difficult to do in rented accommodation.

Irishcrx

Deleted User wrote: »

I want to have my own garden and watch it grow over the years - that would be difficult to do in rented accommodation.

'Maybe I don't really wanna know.....how your garden grows I just wanna fly'

Sorry - had to be done.

everdead.ie

I'd like to buy once I know I''m settling down at the moment I don't know where I will be working in the next few years so no point tying myself down and limiting my opportunities.

foxyboxer

I would only begin to even think about buying a house if we ever wanted to start a family. There would be a lot of upheaval renting and moving constantly. I think for people of my generation (30's), we realise that there are no more jobs for life i.e. 9 to 5 until you're 65.

That leads to a lifestyle in which you have to flexible in terms of working and the attractiveness of owning a house is affected by this reality.

So in essence.

Want a family? Own a home.
Free and single? Rent away.

borderlinemeath

Renting isn't dead money, it's money paid for a service received.
The interest on a mortgage is the same, it's the payment for use of the banks money.

Both work for different life stages. Renting is grand at the start of your working life, the ability to move at short notice, maybe when you don't have any job stability or any family responsibilities. Likewise for owning, families take precedent over 'convenience' and living in an apartment within walking distance of the cities best bars and nightclubs.

Owning your own home can be a pain in the backside, with (what seems like) never ending mortgage repayments, property taxes, maintenance & repairs, proposed water rates etc. But on the flip side it can be hugely rewarding, you have a stability in the knowledge that your landlord isn't going to sell the house from under you, you can decorate and furnish to your own taste without fear of deposit retention. Children are always going to be a factor, when they are in school you have a tie to the particular area and renting on the current trend of short leases can be daunting, given that rental prices have increased in the major cities in the past year. It's all well and good saying "just up and leave and move to a cheaper place", when you have to uproot kids from local schools, sports clubs and friends, it's just not that simple.

When your finally finished paying your mortgage you'll probably be well into your 50s or 60s. This is the one thing I never could understand about the 'I never want to own anywhere or have a noose of a mortgage around my neck' people. When it's time for retirement what do you do? If you have a decent pension are you going to continue to rent and spend all your pension plan on existing into old age? The state pension isn't all that much and the thoughts of moving into social housing for OAPs is not something I would be looking forward to at retirement. The knowledge that I'll have somewhere to call my home and if necessary to sell or put towards my care in old age is why I bought my own home.

tin79

I am ten years into a 30 year mortgage. It really made sense to buy for us. Family home, 3 bed with loft conversion, reasonable garden, area is grand, in Dublin where work is, close to the airport for travelling (which we both do a lot) commuting not too bad, close to family and amenities, creches etc.

We are on a tracker mortgage. Lived at home for a while to save a reasonable deposit. At the moment the mortgage repayment is a good bit less than rent on the same place would be. Couple up the road in a similar place are paying 200 more per month in rent than we are on our mortgage. With water charges (estimated), property tax etc it would still be cheaper over the year for us than it would be to rent the same. Maintenance is minimal as I do it all myself for the most part (bar servicing the gas boiler).

In 20 years I will be able to live rent/mortgage free with an asset that will be worth a few hundred thousand. If I was renting all that time I would own nothing and would still have to pay rent every month.

So for me it made sense to buy. As someone said above if you cant see that the decision to rent or buy isn't absolute and is down to personal circumstance then you sir are an idiot.

Menas

I think the obsession with buying in Ireland comes down to two key influences.

1) Hangover from the British occupation when the landlord class abused the privilege and treated most of their tenants with distain. Take the Balinglass evictions of 1846 for example when the landlady had the army evicted 300 people on one day so she could raze the village and move to pasture. None were in arrears and no alternative accommodation was offered. Indeed, neighboring villagers were threatened with eviction if they offered shelter to any of the evictees.

2) We do not have much security of tenure. In the oft quoted European example tenants can stay in the same accommodation endlessly with no more than inflationary rent increases (I am pretty sure I a right on this but someone more knowledgeable may offer more facts). That is not the case in ireland where you can be moved on once your 12 month contract ends.

suicide_circus

We Irish love owning. Its basically down to our primal fear that Lord Cruelbury of the manor is gonna start rack renting us and then the blight will set in and we'll end up on a ship to Botany Bay.

This is my field!!!!