Quick Question Thread

[The Moonster]

3 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

Shite like that is why I rent.

It's really not that much hassle. Obviously buying a house requires a sizeable deposit but if you've got the choice of buying or renting you'd need to be a complete mug to choose renting just so you avoid filling out some forms. 

 

[DiegoDiego]

I've never heard anyone say "I really enjoyed buying/selling my house, can't wait to do that again." This forum alone has hundreds of posts from people saying what a fankle it is.

[Derry Alli]

People put a lot of time, effort and money into housing for themselves and their own pockets (BTL both singular and multiples) . They justify it by calling it an investment or something to leave behind for their families and then in another topic will complain about homelessness and the actions of governments and how they should be held accountable without a single hint of irony. 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Mr. Alli

[invergowrie arab]

Last solicitors I was with were really good. A weekly email update on a Friday about what had been done and what was outstanding. Even when no progress on anything.

I get it's stressful to have that much of your life and money in someone else's hands but bugging them on a daily basis won't make It go faster. 

If you aren't hearing I think a weekly phone call is reasonable.

[The Moonster]

6 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

I've never heard anyone say "I really enjoyed buying/selling my house, can't wait to do that again." This forum alone has hundreds of posts from people saying what a fankle it is.

Uh huh, and folk who rent are forever on here saying what a dream it is for them.

Either option comes with it's problems, I just think it's a bit daft to plough thousands more into your housing than is actually required all to save a wee bit of hassle. The joy of being handed the keys to a house you own must feel better than being handed someone else's keys that you need to give back in X amount of time. 

[Shandon Par]

I think there’s a great deal of right-wing brainwashing in this country that places home ownership at the top of the tree in terms of status, happiness and various other indicators of achievement. It so often seems like folk wishing their lives away over a pile of bricks. You can own a castle but be miserable and have a partner that hates you. Conversely you can rent a wee place and have the most fulfilling life. Your home, IMO, is just a base from which to live your life. 
 

Of course being stuck in a horrible place with a terrible landlord can be stressful but your house isn’t going to fix what goes on in your head. 
 

 

[invergowrie arab]

If you can afford to buy the main advantage being one day you hope to have no rent or mortgage.

That's it 

[DA Baracus]

Yup, having your own place means you won't need to find money for rent when you are retired.

As someone who will almost certainly never be allowed a mortgage, not being able to afford to pay rent when I retire, should I still be alive, is a huge concern and fear.

[jimbaxters]

4 minutes ago, Pato said:

If you don't mind me asking, why do you think this?

[DA Baracus]

11 minutes ago, Pato said:

If you don't mind me asking, why do you think this?

Abysmal credit history.

Plus it will be a struggle to save enough for a deposit as well as all the associated fees.

[Deanburn Dave]

Currently in the process of buying a flat, but date of entry isn’t until the summer. My solicitor is taking days if not weeks to respond to emails and seems to have no urgency to complete the missives. Is it possible to change your solicitor at this point? Has anyone on here done it? 

What's your fee arrangement ? Agreed flat rate or "time and line". If it's the later all those unnecessary phone calls you're making to him are just racking up your bill. Leave your lawyer to get on with it and if they feck it up sue him/her.

[DiegoDiego]

Uh huh, and folk who rent are forever on here saying what a dream it is for them.
Either option comes with it's problems, I just think it's a bit daft to plough thousands more into your housing than is actually required all to save a wee bit of hassle. The joy of being handed the keys to a house you own must feel better than being handed someone else's keys that you need to give back in X amount of time. 

Perhaps I've just been lucky but in 20+ years of renting I honestly don't have a single complaint.

In purely financial terms buying vs renting isn't a clear cut choice, it depends on prices in the area, that's taking into account owning a house once your mortgage is paid off. Personal circumstances generally tip the scales towards renting, though if work from home sticks around that could change.

Any joy from having keys to a place you own would in my case be rapidly usurped by the dread of having to file insurance claims, and paying for new boilers, windows, ovens, microwaves yourself, painting shite and fixing broken plumbing.

Then if you're offered a job in another part of the country/abroad you have to go through the whole sell/buy process again. Nah, not for me.

[The Moonster]

26 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

Perhaps I've just been lucky but in 20+ years of renting I honestly don't have a single complaint.

In purely financial terms buying vs renting isn't a clear cut choice, it depends on prices in the area, that's taking into account owning a house once your mortgage is paid off. Personal circumstances generally tip the scales towards renting, though if work from home sticks around that could change.

Any joy from having keys to a place you own would in my case be rapidly usurped by the dread of having to file insurance claims, and paying for new boilers, windows, ovens, microwaves yourself, painting shite and fixing broken plumbing.

Then if you're offered a job in another part of the country/abroad you have to go through the whole sell/buy process again. Nah, not for me.

I guess it comes down to personal preference, you prefer convenience over value, I'd rather get value for money and be slightly inconvenienced. 

I'd rather be able to fix that shit myself than be waiting god knows how long for Mr Landlord to get his finger out and carry out the cheapest possible repair. The vast majority of people I know who rent complain about this sort of stuff. Perhaps you've been lucky with excellent landlords who do everything at the drop of a hat but I think it's a bit of a lottery. My pals heating packed in a couple of years back when we had a a bad cold snap, he spent a week with no heating because the landlord ignored him, eventually the landlord dropped off a wee oil heater for him. It took 2 months to sort the boiler. You'd have that sorted in a week if you were responsible. 

[DA Baracus]

45 minutes ago, Pato said:

Do you think you could scrape together 5 grand over, say, 5 years? And am I correct in saying notes of defaults on your credit record go after 6 years?

Yes, wouldn't have any issue saving that.

But even then my credit history is such that, from what I gather, I have zero chance of getting a mortgage.

[invergowrie arab]

1 minute ago, DA Baracus said:

Yes, wouldn't have any issue saving that.

But even then my credit history is such that, from what I gather, I have zero chance of getting a mortgage.

You can build up good credit really quickly though.

Also, it might affect your interest rate but shouldn't stop you getting one entirely.

Go and see a mortgage broker and I bet half the stuff you are worried about wont actually be an issue and if it is you have had a day out in the town.

[Ludo*1]

3 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

Yes, wouldn't have any issue saving that.

But even then my credit history is such that, from what I gather, I have zero chance of getting a mortgage.

Your credit history is easily improved over a period of 5 year. Obviously don't know your circumstances, but worth using a website like clearscore.com which tells you what your credit rating is and shows you everything that's caused a positive and negative impact on it.

Free to use and been invaluable to me in building my credit score back up to the point that my score is now well above the average.

 

[DiegoDiego]

I guess it comes down to personal preference, you prefer convenience over value, I'd rather get value for money and be slightly inconvenienced.

Aye, it's absolutely down to personal preference. I understand how folk who have had all the children they plan on and live somewhere where there are thousands of jobs within commuting distance would buy somewhere.

Buying a house would have been a disaster for me though as I've moved roughly once a year since turning eighteen.

It's so much easier and cheaper to move if you're renting. I probably would have had to turn down some pretty great opportunities in the past if I'd been a homeowner. I put a lot of value in freedom, being relatively tied down to a single address or investment isn't for me.

[DA Baracus]

44 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

You can build up good credit really quickly though.

Also, it might affect your interest rate but shouldn't stop you getting one entirely.

Go and see a mortgage broker and I bet half the stuff you are worried about wont actually be an issue and if it is you have had a day out in the town.

 

44 minutes ago, Pato said:

Even with by that point 5+ years of paying rent and bills? That would do a lot to repair things. All they're after is evidence you can regularly meet the monthly costs (& will be able to meet them if they rise a little). I dunno you'll obviously have better insight than me but I'd be surprised if you had zero chance.

 

44 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said:

Your credit history is easily improved over a period of 5 year. Obviously don't know your circumstances, but worth using a website like clearscore.com which tells you what your credit rating is and shows you everything that's caused a positive and negative impact on it.

Free to use and been invaluable to me in building my credit score back up to the point that my score is now well above the average.

 

I don't actually have any debt as such, save for the stuff in my Debt Arrangement Scheme, which finishes next December. I was absolutely fucked mentally when I did it and was pretty much talked in to it, mainly to make the problems go away. Wish I'd done something else though as it's been pish. So 5 years for that to f**k off puts me at 42, and how likely is it I'd get a mortgage long enough to be affordable at that age? Especially given my salary is pretty limited and very unlikely to go up much.

I had a lot of paydays loans. All were paid back but I hear even just a couple will absolutely f**k your credit record when lenders look at your borrowing history, and I had quite a bit more than 'a couple'. Haven't taken any out since 2019. Paid off the two credit cards I had as well.

My rent was, until COVID, always paid cash in hand, and although I have all the hand written receipts for them, I doubt that means anything.

Edited April 28, 2021 by DA Baracus

[101]

Just now, DA Baracus said:

So 5 years for that to f**k off puts me at 42, and how likely is it I'd get a mortgage long enough to be affordable at that age

They ask you when you plan to retire but if you said 70 you could get a 28 year mortgage in 5 years time the state pension age might be 70 so that would be seen as "normal"

[Ludo*1]

2 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

 

 

I don't actually have any debt as such, save for the stuff in my Debt Arrangement Scheme, which finishes next December. I was absolutely fucked mentally when I did it and was pretty much talked in to it, mainly to make the problems go away. Wish I'd done something else though as it's been pish. So 5 years for that to f**k off puts me at 42, and how likely is it I'd get a mortgage long enough to be affordable at that age? Especially given my salary is pretty limited and very unlikely to go up much.

I had a lot of paydays loans. All were paid back but I hear even just a couple will absolutely f**k your credit record when lenders look at your borrowing history, and I had quite a bit more than 'a couple'. Haven't taken any out since 2019. Paid off the two credit cards I had as well.

My rent was, until COVID, always paid cash in hand, and although I have all the hand written receipts for them, I doubt that means anything.

As I say, honestly, give that clearscore website a bash. See what it says your credit is at. Takes about 5-10 minutes to check.