Obsession with homeownership

whiteonion · 15-01-2011 04:06PM #1

Why is this country obsessed with homeownership? In many other countries people who have advanced quite far in their careers, work in middle management etc are happy to let their families live in a rented flat, whereas in Ireland people have been buying apartment as soon as they get their first graduate job.

I don't understand this obsession at all, me I never owned a house and I'm happy to rent.

Jesus Wept · 15-01-2011 04:06PM

We have poor rights as tenants, it won't change unless that changes.

J K · 15-01-2011 04:08PM

The Land white onion. The Land.
You wouldn't understand it.

slavetothegrind · 15-01-2011 04:10PM

i didn't haul all that seaweed for years for nothin'!

phasers · 15-01-2011 04:11PM

I think it all goes back to when The Brits stole our land and made us pay rent to live on it. Tenaments wouldn't have helped either, Ireland have a very poor history with rented accommodation.

The dream was always to own your own land, I think it just carried on down the generations.

whiteonion · 15-01-2011 04:12PM

The-Rigger wrote: »

We have poor rights as tenants, it won't change unless that changes.

Compared to what other countries?

crossmolinalad · 15-01-2011 04:12PM

I did rent houses for 3 years
In that time i had to move houses 6 times
seen nice house once
All the other ones were just good enough to live in
Most of them had poor heating some dodgy crappy kitchens bathrooms and dirty furniture
So i decided after 3 years to buy my own home

squeakyduck · 15-01-2011 04:14PM

Rent is wasted money, its of benefit to you as you get a house to stay in and live but it's not going anywhere you're no closer to having your own house.

Personally I'd love to own my own house. I'd love to have somewhere permanent to have all my stuff and a house to come home to.

drdeadlift · 15-01-2011 04:15PM

whiteonion wrote: »

Compared to what other countries?

France/Spain

15-01-2011 04:15PM

squeakyduck wrote: »

Rent is wasted money.

Not this tired old line again

I'm amazed people even use the bus - bus fares are wasted money when you could buy a car!
Buying in the shop is wasted money when you could buy a farm!

crossmolinalad · 15-01-2011 04:18PM

drdeadlift wrote: »

France/Spain

The Netherlands

whiteonion · 15-01-2011 04:20PM

squeakyduck wrote: »

Rent is wasted money, its of benefit to you as you get a house to stay in and live but it's not going anywhere you're no closer to having your own house.

Personally I'd love to own my own house. I'd love to have somewhere permanent to have all my stuff and a house to come home to.

If you move around every couple of years it's probably better to rent, you don't flip houses in just a month these days.

15-01-2011 04:22PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Not this tired old line again

I'm amazed people even use the bus - bus fares are wasted money when you could buy a car!
Buying in the shop is wasted money when you could buy a farm!

They are some poor comparisons tbh.

So paying rent of on average of E70 per week to have absolutely nothing to show after it at the end is better then buying a house and one day not having to pay anything but bills?

Oh by the way

Bus- cheaper costs, you don't need to pay tax, insurance, cars eventually have ZERO value.

As for the farm compared to a shop.... I needn't get into that one

BornToBe? · 15-01-2011 04:22PM

Well if you had any small idea of Irish history you would understand.

IT'S MY LAND!!!!

(Then I got carried away by a celtic tiger, re morgaged the house to buy giant tv's, blu ray thingys, and have at least 2 holidays a year, and now the bank owns it.........again)

Tar.Aldarion · 15-01-2011 04:24PM

No way I'd want a house unless rich...You can't move around as freely etc pointless and boring being in same place

15-01-2011 04:24PM

gilberto_eire wrote: »

They are some poor comparisons tbh.

So paying rent of on average of E70 per week to have absolutely nothing to show after it at the end is better then buying a house and one day not having to pay anything but bills?

What on earth is this "nothing to show after it" business? You have nothing to show after buying and eating your food either.
You pay to get shelter and flexibility. You have a home for all the time you're paying rent. You can buy a house if you are that obsessed with owning it, but that doesn't make rent "wasted money" just because you get something different from it

kippy · 15-01-2011 04:26PM

whiteonion wrote: »

Why is this country obsessed with homeownership? In many other countries people who have advanced quite far in their careers, work in middle management etc are happy to let their families live in a rented flat, whereas in Ireland people have been buying apartment as soon as they get their first graduate job.

I don't understand this obsession at all, me I never owned a house and I'm happy to rent.

Theres actually no problems at all with a person wanting to own their own house. None, zero. Its quite sad that the lesson that many people tend to draw from the events of the past few years revolves around the fact that owning ones own house is a bad thing.
The issues occur when that want, as you say, generates into an obsession sometimes driven by media and those with vested interests in it.
Ultimately the person buying the property needs to weigh up a large amount of pros and cons to see if buying a property at a particular time suits them

As others have said, you are happy to rent now, however renting in this country is VERY unfamily and un elderly friendly, things have to change.

I've rented when it suited me. When it suited me to buy I bought, I have a property which I weighed up the pros and cons of buying.

AckwelFoley · 15-01-2011 04:27PM

gilberto_eire wrote: »

They are some poor comparisons tbh.

So paying rent of on average of E70 per week to have absolutely nothing to show after it at the end is better then buying a house and one day not having to pay anything but bills?

70 euro a week that you can walk away from.

You wont get a mortgage for 70 quid a week.

You will be paying a significant sum of your money to the bank every month for the greater part of your adult life.

I do believe in owning your own home. But the "rent is dead money" is a theory sold to us by the banks that has got alot of people into financial bother

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 15-01-2011 04:30PM

The-Rigger wrote: »

We have poor rights as tenants, it won't change unless that changes.

What? Have you any idea of what you are talking about? It's the landlords that don't have many rights. The law is very much in the favour of the tenant. Just because you don't know your rights, doesn't mean you don't have any. I'd say you never even investigated or tried to find out your rights as a tenant.

squeakyduck wrote: »

Rent is wasted money, its of benefit to you as you get a house to stay in and live but it's not going anywhere you're no closer to having your own house.

Personally I'd love to own my own house. I'd love to have somewhere permanent to have all my stuff and a house to come home to.

Rent is not wasted money. You get to live in a house/apartment which you pay for. You're statement is ilogical.

It would be nice to own a house or two, but then you're stuck there for some time. You're not going to sell it too fast in this climate. 40 years of debts? No thanks.

15-01-2011 04:31PM

Because most landlords are ****.

kippy · 15-01-2011 04:31PM

snyper wrote: »

70 euro a week that you can walk away from.

You wont get a mortgage for 70 quid a week.

You will be paying a significant sum of your money to the bank every month for the greater part of your adult life.

I do believe in owning your own home. But the "rent is dead money" is a theory sold to us by the banks that has got alot of people into financial bother

Again,
it all depends on your circumstances.
There were many people in this country who bought houses within their means and at mortgage rates that compared favorable to rental prices at the time.

Also, the "obsession" didnt really cover everyone, from reading these boards, there were plenty people who never bought a house and continue to rent. I am sure however, that when the notice that financially it would make more sense to buy and when their own situation changes, I am sure they will buy.

Doublin · 15-01-2011 04:33PM

Yes, whenever I met up with the father during the late 90's/00's, first question from him was why haven't you bought a house in Ireland yet.

I tried to argue with him that the price increases were unsustainable, Ireland were not a special case to similiar house bubbles historically around the world & I was used to the way things were done on the continent.

In fairness, he came out on top, both him & his partner sold their houses in Dublin & moved to the country comfortably but I never saw myself committing to staying in Ireland for life.

rossie1977 · 15-01-2011 04:34PM

ireland has the highest home ownership in the developed world

kippy · 15-01-2011 04:34PM

Samara White Washboard wrote: »

What? Have you any idea of what you are talking about? It's the landlords that don't have many rights. The law is very much in the favour of the tenant. Just because you don't know your rights, doesn't mean you don't have any. I'd say you never even investigated or tried to find out your rights as a tenant.

Rent is not wasted money. You get to live in a house/apartment which you pay for. You're statement is ilogical.

It would be nice to own a house or two, but then you're stuck there for some time. You're not going to sell it too fast in this climate. 40 years of debts? No thanks.

Again,
A lot of people make assumptions about all mortgage holders.
The main on is that they have taken out 40 year mortgages.
The next on is that they took out 100% mortgages. (even that they put cars onto these mortgages)

And finally that they intend selling their houses at some stage.

You'll find that the vast majority of mortgage holders DO NOT fall within these strict criteria.

ballsymchugh · 15-01-2011 04:34PM

it may have something to do with wanting to have something substantial to pass to the next generation. if you die in a rented house, you leave someone else to pick up the tab.

bluefinger · 15-01-2011 04:35PM

this might sound silly whiteonion but can you provide some evidence that Irish people are obsessed with home ownership?

rossie1977 · 15-01-2011 04:37PM

bluefinger wrote: »

this might sound silly whiteonion but can you provide some evidence that Irish people are obsessed with home ownership?

post 23 should do it

mikom · 15-01-2011 04:38PM

whiteonion wrote: »

Why is this country obsessed with homeownership?

They're all hopped up on sugar.
First you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the house.

bluefinger · 15-01-2011 04:40PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

post 23 should do it

post 23 says nothing about obsession in fairness

kippy · 15-01-2011 04:41PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

ireland has the highest home ownership in the developed world

11 year old Data?

Bearing in mind that was before the tiger years.

AckwelFoley · 15-01-2011 04:43PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Because most landlords are ****.

:mad:

Obsession with homeownership

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