Rent or buy? Decisions decisions..

[Rachey]

Not really sure what I'm asking here! But just looking for an opinion

Just now me and OH live in a small 1 bed flat which is rented, my lease is up in April. The flat is half an hour from my Mum which isn't ideal because she will be looking after baby when I go back to work, and I would prefer to be close to her when baby arrives

So I have a few options..

1. In April I move back into my old bedroom at my Mums, update my council house application and let them know that I'm living back with my Mum. There would be my Mum, Dad, brother, sister, me, OH and baby all in a 2 bed flat(the dining room is a 3rd bedroom but the flat is classed as 2 bed). So hopefully I would be offered a council house quickly because of the overcrowding! But I'm worried I end up there when baby comes and although my Mum said it would be fine, I would much rather have my own place, especially since my brother and sister are at school(they're 9 and 6) and baby would be waking them up during the night!

2. I find a flat near my Mum to privately rent again, my rent just now is £400 and we can't really afford much more. I wouldn't get a 2bed in the area I'm after for £400 a month so it would need to be a 1bed which means I won't be able to have a nursery and will need to move again at somepoint when baby is still young.

Orrrrr..

3. We get a mortgage! I'm only 18, OH is 21, and the thought of having a mortgage for 25 years terrifies me lol. I would be 43 when it is paid off I have seen a 2bed flat which is in the same block as my Mum(4 in a block). It's been on the market for 2years so will likely be there in April! We speak to the owner of the flat, and my Mum has been in it and says it's nice! It means I could have the flat the way I would like it for baby coming, and have a nursery ready! Would you go for it?

Sorry for rambling in! Must be the most boring thread ever LOL xxx

 

[lrb]

Hiya.. I personally would pick 3 and get a mortgage..
Im 18 too and my partners 21.. we rented a 1 bed flat for £400 a month for 1 and a bit year. The oh grandma died recently and he was left half the house, mortgage free.. although in two years we will have to get a mortgage to buy his brother out. It does scare me the thought of having it but u get so much more back for owning yiur own place and not having to worry because its rented. But only of u and ur oh are finacially going to be able to afford it aswell as the expense of a little one. The other thing id do is stop with your mum a bit.. its not ideal and for your brother n sister being so young its important they get all there sleep.. but being overcrowded the council should put u as a high priority!

Hope you sort things out x

 

[leibiloo87]

Well if you have the savings to get a mortgage id do that but you need at least a 10% deposit to put down then there are solicitors fees it does cost a fortune plus the added cost that if anything does go wrong you can call a landlord to fix it so you allways need to have a bit saved up for emrgencies. Its a huge thing to take on at 18, personally id say move in with your mum and try get a council house/flat first and if by the time the baby is here you still havnt got one you can look into getting a mortgage as been at your mums will give you chance to save up aswel so its probs the best option.

Good luck with whatever you choose its so hard when your first starting out as a family these days it was hard enough for us 6 yrs ago when it was much easier to get a mortgage and rent was cheaper I dont know how ppl cope these days id be tearing my hair out lol xxx

 

[Rachey]

Thanks so much both of you, both your opinions have helped a lot!

I think going back to my Mums for a while, even just from April-June is probably the best idea. Rather than jumping straight in to anything, it gives us a couple of months to save up and properly think about whats best and what we can afford. If I'm staying with my Mum for those couple of months then hopefully a council house will come up for us which would be ideal! Otherwise I'll need to really think about a mortgage, being in my Mums when baby comes is too much to put on my Mum, and it wouldn't fair on the wee ones.

I was thinking about contacting my landlord and seeing if theres anyway of getting out of our lease just now, I know we can't just walk away and I wouldn't do that, but I wonder if he could put the flat back up for rent and if anyone was interested then they could move in and the landlord wouldn't be losing out on his rent money? Maybe I'm being silly and it's not possible, but it would give us longer to be at my Mums and save up! xxxx

Haha leibiloo87, I am just about tearing my hair out lol! Everything just seems so expensive, seems like you work work work and then your wages come in and go straight back out before you even see them haha! I never realised how easy I had it when I was 16 and living at home, chucked my washing in the basket and it came back washed and ironed, dinner ready on the table, if only it could stay like that xxx

 

[Bead]

Save, save, save as much as you can and get a deposit to buy your own place. It's an investment for the baby's future
Best of luck, whichever option you choose Xx

 

[Rachey]

Thanks Bead, I was just saying to OH that I sooo wish that 9months ago when we decided to rent the flat, I could have known how things would be now. If I had known we would be expecting bubz, we would have stayed living at my Mums, we could have saved up so much more money and been able to buy somewhere in time for baby coming. I suppose life would be alot easier for everyone if we could see into the future though lol! xxx

 

[LouLou1986]

always buy over rent if you have the cash, renting is flushing money down the loo, least if you buy your paying for somthings thats YOURS

 

[xshauna_bazx]

I'd buy my own in a flash if i could but its upto you xxx

 

[Tracey M]

I got 100% mortgage so sometimes you Dont need deposit. It depends on how much mortgage will be and watch out for interest rates going up. The house for sale, you could offer less than value especially if been on market so long. Solicitors fees etc can be added to mortgage. Speak to an expert! This house for sale is right next to mum, ideal!! Council house would also be good but may not get where you want..... Im sure you would get housed quickly. Good luck chick x

 

[midnight]

personally i wouldnt do mortgage on a flat because eventually you will prob want a house and then find it difficult to sell the flat id go back to your mums and wait it out for a council home you would be in a good situation for getting 1 too as you will be classed as over crowded and you never know 10-20 years down the line if the council have given you a house you could buy that for cheap

 

[Rachey]

I didn't know that 100% mortgages even existed Tracey! That's great that the solicitors fees can be added to it, even if we don't go for the mortgage just now, that's really good to know Thanks so much everyone xxx

 

[Constantstar]

We did part buy part rent. Its good because u don't need such a big deposit and gets u on the property ladder so ur not just paying all rent. But u do pay rent on the bit u don't own too. Its helped us to get on the ladder, and we will move to our own place but deposits and fees are so high nowadays. When I bought my share we got a 100 % mortgage which really helped but I don't think they do it anymore x

 

[PinkPunch]

100% mortgages would cost you alot more each month though. The bigger the deposit the better really.

 

[Rachey]

Constantstar that sounds really good the way you did it! Great way to start off

I wish I could just win 10 grand to stick down as a deposit on a house lol every time I'm in Asda I end up buying a scratch card in hope that I'll win something decent, their so tempting haha xxx

 

[midnight]

not many lenders will do 100% mortgages now

 

[Constantstar]

I don't think you can get them anymore!we got ours back in 2008. I think the most they do is 95 % and that's if ur lucky. Generally 85 -90 % seems to be the ltv average. I was looking a couple of months ago! X

 

[leibiloo87]

no they dont do 100% mortgages anymore and very few do 95% mortgages with high interest rates to get a decent interest rate you need at least 15% deposit and exelent credit rating. A lot of new developments do a scheme now where if you have a 5% deposit they give you 15% towards the house interest free for 5 yrs then all you need is an 80% mortgage but the houses are usually at least £150,000 and only certain banks will do those sorts of specialist mortgages and interest rates are high again, plus the added pressure of knowing that in 5 yrs you either have to pay bk the 15% or start paying interest on the money which you borrowed! lol i sound like a right mortgage geek but my husband works at a bank and deals with mortgage applications and my best friend is a mortgage broker so its all I hear about haha. your best moving in with your mum and playing the waiting game for a council house hun x

 

[Rachey]

Hey everyone, thanks sooo much for all the replys, you have all been great! A wee update, my Mum and me are going to pick paint/carpet etc today, Mum's going to paint the room for us The plan is at the end of March we will go back there and hopefully a council house will come up before July! If not I will need to look into a mortgage properly. Hopefully we will be able to save quite a bit while we're staying at my Mums for those few months which can hopefully be spent on baby and doing up a council house xxx

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Id say BUY BUY BUY! If you can afford all that comes with having a mortgage! I see renting as throwing away money and it is possible!

I had my first mortgage when I was 19 and its something I am so glad I did.

Like bead says its an investment for your child/rens future too...go for it xx