WHY I HATE THE HOUSING MARKET EVEN THOUGH I RENT
Despite having lived in Scotland for only two years, I have moved house three times. And it's about to increase to four now.You see, despite the media's constant screaming about a RECESSION!!! OH MY GOD!!!, Scottish house prices are on the rise - although actual sales have fallen, my landlord has decided that now is the time to sell the flat that I live in. Even though I have relayed the message, via my letting agency, that I want to live in that flat for a very, very, very long time (pretty much until I die), my landlord is determined to sell it.
I hate moving house so much, that I briefly considered buying the flat, just to avoid the hassle of moving. Although banks and mortgage lenders were giving away 100% mortgages a year ago like they were candy, such deals no longer exist.
Once again, we're in a climate of "responsible" lending so really, what bank is going to give me a mortgage without a down payment? And as for down payments, who the hell has £10,000 ($20,000 Canadian!) lying around to drop on a flat? Definitely not first time buyers. And definitely not first time buyers with massive student loans ( i.e. me).
I'm sort of hoping that the flat doesn't sell (it's kind of a dump - but a quaint one!), so I can live in it for a long long time. Well, until the next mortgage free-for-all rolls around and I too can get a 100% mortgage (and think about the repercussions later), and buy my own flat because I AM SICK OF LANDLORDS DECIDING ON A WHIM TO SELL THE FLAT I LIVE IN!!!!!!!!!!!
Jesus. It makes me nostalgic for Toronto, where everyone rents until they're 40!
6 comments:
Woe! I'm surprised, actually, that they think they're going to sell. The flat we just moved into was on the market for several months and didn't sell, even though they were trying to sell it at £10,000 under what they'd originally purchased it for, four years ago. The market just isn't moving here, because people are doing more contingent selling - where they purchase their new home only contingent upon selling the home they're living in - so there's the odd situation of lots of houses being up for sale & offers being made at reasonable rates, but of nothing really moving.
It's a bad situation, really, despite that the prices are up. The volume of sales is down, which is what counts. So, unless they can get a first-time buyer in there, it's not going to happen - and what first-time buyer would go for that, when all the indicators suggest that the housing market is beginning a slump, anticipated to bottom out in about 3 years. It's much smarter to rent until the prices stop declining.
pretend I didn't forget the question mark at the end of the second-to-last sentence. 'kay? 'kay.
Ok.
And yeah, I hope it doesn;t sell and am confused as to why he suddenly wants to sell now?!
When our lease was running out last month, my landlord said he needed to "discuss something with us." I was sure he was going to say he was selling the flat, but instead he told us he was increasing the rent. Only by 25 pounds, but still.
So, basically, I'm paying more to live in a flat that is about half as nice as when I moved in two and half years ago (when everything was nice and new and not falling apart.)
Do they have rent to own in the UK? So you can pay a bit more rent that goes towards the downpayment? Is it even possbile?
If they did have rent to own, would you want to own it?
Why has it gone downhill?
Post a Comment