Rent vs Buying

[Guest guest4504]

Hi. I have been reading more lately that renting in OZ rather than buying is more favourable than in the UK due to rental assist and other perks. Has this been the case for many of yourselves on here ? Does the thought of you owning your own go after having a long term let. Also with this, what sort of effect does it have with neighbours and the thought of people taking more pride in their own owned property. I'm not saying those who rent live in hovels, But if an area / street has a high rental market then you will see higher family turnover come and go and more likely not to be more ' close '. From where we have lived there has been very few rentals in the vicinity therefore always the same faces.

[Guest BurgessFamily]

There are probably more 'hovels' with owner occupiers, i can't imagine a landlord letting them leave cars and 'junk' etc... rusting away on the front 'lawn'. It's the area that makes the real difference.

 

Rent assistance is only for those on low income (under $70,000 roughly, though it depends on the number of dependants). By renting you don't pay rates (council tax) and you often only pay the excess on the water usage. The cost of renting is generally very low compared to the cost of ownership, though you don't get any capital gain from renting.

 

First time buyers get $7,000 off the federal government, plus if it's a new build you get another $8,000 off the state government. You will have to pay stamp duty though, and if you are building you can save money by paying the stamp duty on the land value (before the house is built).

 

If house prices keep going up, you'd be better off buying - on the otherhand... if they are falling, you'd be better off renting.

[Guest guest4504]

A fair point on the upkeep statement, Just been curious on the preferred method of brits who had rather buy than rent when in UK. I am on the fence to direction of house prices, although more leaning to a downward turn.

[sueoc]

Renting is a Mugs game....or is it?There are many factors to consider for each of us,depending on our particular circumstances IMO.Many come here with little financially,start out by renting,and find that after a while when the work comes in,that they can have a great lifestyle,and save,without the responsibility of a hefty mortgage.Who can say they have got it wrong?Indeed,in Europe many live their lives happily as tenants.Then others come here having sold their properties in the UK,and have a fair sum to put down on a property here,and find they can buy a house of their dreams,and live the dream.Who can say they have got it wrong?Others(like me)will rent and save until they are sure they want to actually live here long term,and then decide to buy.At the end of the day,it is great to have your own little piece of Australia,so long as it does not cripple you financially,and ruin the dream.

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

But if an area / street has a high rental market then you will see higher family turnover come and go and more likely not to be more ' close '.

 

I think it depends on the people renting though - we have rented all our lives, and probably due to not having enough money will for the rest of our lives (we certainly could never ever afford property in the UK based on our incomes/possible incomes and property/land prices and lack of any family assistance), but that doesn't mean we want to be transient - lots of people we know have rented for most of their lives, but have spent 5 yrs + in one house - we still want to put down roots, live in a community and get to know our neighbours.

 

I think its just the mind set of renting in the UK as most people aspire to buy their own home here - if you see yourself as only renting for a short period of time the lack of care argument etc makes sense, but if you don't see owning a property as a right (that we seem to think it is in this country), then it doesn't have to be that way. Indeed, we have improved and added value to all the houses we have lived in one way or another (always with permission I hasten to add lol - we don't move in and start renovating off bat!)

[sueoc]

I think it depends on the people renting though - we have rented all our lives, and probably due to not having enough money will for the rest of our lives (we certainly could never ever afford property in the UK based on our incomes/possible incomes and property/land prices and lack of any family assistance), but that doesn't mean we want to be transient - lots of people we know have rented for most of their lives, but have spent 5 yrs + in one house - we still want to put down roots, live in a community and get to know our neighbours.

 

I think its just the mind set of renting in the UK as most people aspire to buy their own home here - if you see yourself as only renting for a short period of time the lack of care argument etc makes sense, but if you don't see owning a property as a right (that we seem to think it is in this country), then it doesn't have to be that way. Indeed, we have improved and added value to all the houses we have lived in one way or another (always with permission I hasten to add lol - we don't move in and start renovating off bat!)

I agree,but the Rental scene here is totally different ,we have found.Like a letter from God is required to hang a picture,and a Major freakout from the Agents if there is a Cobweb on the outside of the Window at inspection time.!Must admit though,many are not too bad.Still,it can be a culture shock,believe me.

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

I agree,but the Rental scene here is totally different ,we have found.Like a letter from God is required to hang a picture,and a Major freakout from the Agents if there is a Cobweb on the outside of the Window at inspection time.!Must admit though,many are not too bad.Still,it can be a culture shock,believe me.

 

We've found that in the UK too though - I think its the places that are the pits that are even more reticent to let you do anything to it lol...

 

We've just been eally lucky with some of our landlords (who were sensible and could see a completely rotten shed that was going to literally fall down anyway, being replaced with a brand new one was a much better idea lol), on the flipside been really really unlucky (found ourselves living in a completely illegal flat once) but that worked out ok, as we did loads to the place that if it had been legal we wouldn't have been able to lol.

 

I completely understand if you're renting somewhere even half decent nd the landlord doesn't want you to touch anything (especially things like painting walls, shock horror lol), its when its a dump and you just want to do things like fix the broken toliet or stop the massive leak in the kitchen or something, and you have references from previous landlords saying how good you are at that sort of thing, and they just refuse and threaten you with all sorts if you do anything - grrrr. Oh well, we will be happy as long as we can get to the beach quickly lol

[Anne B]

We have been renting for over a year now and intend to rent for a while longer. I don't really like it, but it does have a lot of advantages over buying, especially when you first get here. We owned our own home for many years in the UK so I just see this as a temporary situation. We live in a really nice area, the neighbours talk to us and we’ve maintained the garden to a good standard so it doesn’t stand out as a rental home at all. As someone else said, you can get badly looked after homes anywhere, but the really awful ones would have to be owner occupied as tenants that bad would get evicted.

 

Some advantages of renting:

-when you first get here there is a lot to sort out and find out so renting is less hassle than trying to buy a house early on

-if you rent for a while it gives you more time to suss out the housing market, how things work here and investigate the options more thoroughly - what kind of house you want, whether to build or not

-if gives you the chance to live in an area without the huge commitment of buying a house, so if you don’t like the neighbourhood you can move elsewhere much more easily and without the huge of expense of moving house (agent’s fees, stamp duty etc)

-you don’t spend every weekend stuck at home doing DIY – if there’s a problem with the house, it’s someone else’s problem! Your weekends are yours to spend down the beach or whatever

-if you think house prices are going to fall (and they are already falling), then it may be more sensible to wait until the prices have hit bottom before buying (and predicting when is impossible). Buying at the peak of a market is not a good idea as you are more likely to get stuck with negative equity

(see http://macrobusiness.com.au/2011/04/negative-equity-hits-thousands-of-wa-homeowners/). However there are some bargains to be had if you want buy at the moment and some desperate sellers (see http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-west+lakes-107344456 - you notice the price listed is 'You Tell Us'). This house is up for rent too. I think the market has further to fall

 

 

Some disadvantages of renting:

-when you are renting it is more difficult to feel 'at home’ and put down roots

-if something about the house annoys you, you can’t fix it or improve it (plug sockets in the wrong place, walls painted a horrible colour, bad patio in the garden etc)

-you often can’t hang any pictures up, so it never seems homely or personal

-the landlord may decide to sell the property, forcing you to move

-it doesn’t seem worth buying curtains or furniture to fit the rental as it is only a temporary home

-there is always the risk that you may get a bad landlord (on the other hand you may buy a house next door to the neighbours from hell!)

 

So there are pros and cons to renting, I wouldn't want to do it forever, but it gives you a lot more flexibility.