Has the age of widespread house ownership now come to an end?

[anotheoldgit]

http://tinyurl.com/2bu32ph

Once people got used to renting their homes, would it really be a bad thing?

Why is it that one is somehow classed inferior if they rent their home, yet it would be deemed 'one-up-man-ship' if they rented their car?

Renting could have it's advantages also, the tenant would not be responsible for repairs and general servicing of equipment..

[Gromit]

I got trapped renting once. It is dead money. At the end of it, you do not have an asset.

It is often more expensive to rent. my 80 year old mother pays twice what I pay for my mortgage payment.

There should be no stigma attached, but people do look down of Council/private renters.

[tamborine]

germans mostly rent homes, those that own them are often the farmers.

http://www.german-way.com/house.html

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

I find it hard to believe your Mother pays twice the amount of your mortgage payment, in rent, doesn't she get any rent allowance etc?

Don't forget that if she did own her home, an had to end up in a nursing home, her 'asset' (as you put it) would end up in the Government coffers to pay for her keep.

/// There should be no stigma attached, but people do look down of Council/private renters.///

Then why aren't car renters classed the same?

[Gromit]

My mother is not entitled to any allowances and pays £280 a month in rent to a social housing trust. My monthly mortgage payment is £135.

Not buying a house to avoid paying for your care in old age is a short sighted option.

It is impossible to tell if a car is rented, hired or company owned from a privately owned one.

[Coobeastie]

It probably works out cheaper than renting towards the end of a mortgage but from my experience only a few years into my mortgage my payments are nearly double what I was paying in rent for a bigger house.

[modeller]

Gromit is that really you ? # I got trapped renting once. It is dead money. At the end of it, you do not have an asset # Where are your Marxist principles ? Owning your own home !
Isn't that some nasty Maggie Thatcher concept ? You will be voting Tory next !

[tamborine]

gromit...does your mum's payment include services & council tax. Is your own property of comparable size ?

[Gromit]

Modeller, I do not have any Marxist principals because I am not a Marxist.

[askyourgran]

My house is bought and paid for. You know AoG work sweat and saved for my house.
Why should I sell it to pay £500 - £600 per month rent? Renting from the local Council has its drawbacks, you may get to live next door to some very undesireable people. Also the maintenance and repairs of council properties depend very much on how much is in the council repairs budget, which from by the look of some of our council properties is nil.

[karenmac60]

Gromit, surely having had a roof over your head and a home to live in all your life is enough of an asset? Why does it have to be about resale value and investments all the time? I rent and am perfectly happy to continue doing so till the day I die. I have a home that I love and am proud of - it doesn't matter to me that I don't own it and it doesn't make it any less of a home to me or my family.

[modeller]

Sorry Gromit substitute Marxism for Labour Principles. Labour Councils fought the Tories for years to stop the selling of council houses. Not just some houses but the whole concept of allowing tenants to buy .

[Gromit]

Modeller,

I still oppose the sale of council houses. I believe they are for the less well off in society, and when occupants reach a level when they can afford to buy, they should buy from the private housing stock and not take a house from someone who needs it.

Even during the 13 years of Labour, very generous discounts were still being offered to sitting council house tenants off the sale of their homes. So Your claim of Labour sympathies does not hold up because they continued the depletion of social housing stock, which is shameful.

Karenmac,
When I was a child, I lived in a council house, for which I am grateful. However, I believe that they are for the very poorest in society, and once you are lucky enough to stand on your own two feet, you should move on and buy a property. Otherwise you are depriving someone less well off than yourself of somewhere to live.

[karenmac60]

That doesn't mean you have to buy though Gromet. Renting is the norm in many parts of the world - America for example. It seems to be Britain that has an obsession with getting on the property ladder, and if you're not on it then people look down their noses at you. I have no hope of ever getting on it with property prices now being so ridiculous - how anyone can justify charging upwards of £80,000 for a 2 bed flat is beyond me, and how anyone can afford to pay it is an even bigger mystery.

[craft1948]

I paid my mortgage off when I was 40, so have had no rent or mortgage payments for the last 22 years.......makes a big difference to my standard of living now I'm a pensioner.

[Mamyalynne]

I too rent and have lived in the same wonderful location for 31 years, I do not envy those who are paying large amounts for their homes and having to pay for any maintenance required, but each to their own. What tickles me is when people say, 'so and so has bought a lovely house, in such a street' not for about 25 years they haven't.

I may add I rent privately.

[Mamyalynne]

Craft that is a good position to be in, you are lucky in that respect and I presume you love where you are, as do I.

[Gromit]

Karenmac

I do agree. Prices have become ridiculous and beyond the reach of many families. It is for those very people that social housing is for.

[youngmafbog]

House prices are high at the moment but that can only last whilst money is around to pay that figure. Your house is only worth what someone is hapy and able to pay.
Unfortunatley unscroupulous lenders started lending daft muliples of income. This fuelled the price rise. It is quite simple, if the lender only provide 2.5 time annual salary then the lower end will equal that plus a smqall deposit.

I see no problem with renting. I have had to rent property whilst also owning my own due to the nature of my work. I felt no stigma but I did find it a bit restrictive (cant just hang pictures for instance or change the colour).

I agree with most of Gromits points, although each to their own of course.

[R1Geezer]

I sometimes wonder about the whole thing, I mean when I started on the housing ladder the dream was to be mortgage free and own the home. Now if I tell you that my council tax today is more than my first mortgage I think you can see that being mortgage free becomes less and less relevant as time marches on! In my case though I could not afford to rent my house at market rate so I guess it was worth it to some degree.

[modeller]

Gromit ! #Even during the 13 years of Labour, very generous discounts were still being offered to sitting council house tenants off the sale of their homes. So Your claim of Labour sympathies does not hold up because they continued the depletion of social housing stock, which is shameful. #
So why did Labour continue those Tory values which you describe as shameful. First and foremost they knew that is is what the electorate wanted .
They were prepared to dump their Socialist Doctrine to get votes. Labour Councillors themselves jumped at the chance to get their own home. I live in an area where thousands of council houses were built in the 50s and 60s . We have estates of 5000 or more and most of those tenants were in full employment . We are surrounded by trading estates.
But there were problems many of those estates became ' sink estates ' as we call them today . Why ? Because most people were not prepared to do anything for themselves.
" Leave it to the council . " became the watchword.
And then came Maggie who understood what working people wanted. The Result ! Almost overnight those estates were transformed into nice places to live . Houses and Gardens that people were proud to own.
Did Maggie get it 100% right ? No ! I think some dedicated properties should have been excluded ,e.g. old peoples's bungalows and those adapted for people with special needs.
Should there be more Social Housing ? Of course there should, but give people the opportunity to own their home if that is what they want.

The situation today is summed up by youngmaf #Unfortunatley unscroupulous lenders started lending daft muliples of income. This fuelled the price rise. . #