Who's The Oldest Renter Here? I'm 44 This Month.

[canbuywontbuy]

I'm proud to say I've never bought a property in the UK, and I'm 44 this month! Mind you, I've spent many years out of the UK, and will be spending many more away from Blighty. Last time I was in debt was 1993. Biggest pain in all this time was last year when a landlord ended the contract and I wanted to stay. Other than that, can't complain. Lived and worked in quite a few countries. Collected a lot of memories along the way. Am I doing it wrong?

[porca misèria]

I'm proud to say I've never bought a property in the UK, and I'm 44 this month!

Don't get carried away. I'm 54, and have fled the UK twice in my adult life. First time when I was priced out not just of buying but also of renting; second time when I was out of a job and found one elsewhere.

[Guest]

I'm nearly 40. Never bought. If prices come down 20% soon I can buy with a 3x salary mortgage a house I'd be happy to live in for life.

[Bland Unsight]

Don't get carried away. I'm 54, and have fled the UK twice in my adult life. First time when I was priced out not just of buying but also of renting; second time when I was out of a job and found one elsewhere.

Do you attribute your dyed in the wool conviviality and sunny disposition to all that renting?

(This joke is offered with a great deal of respect. You've got to be in the running for the most (apparently) miserable HPCer, and there is plenty of quality in that particular field. I apologise in advance for any unintended offence. I think it would be fitting if you are in fact the oldest renter on HPC, it would transform you to folk hero status in my eyes.)

[porca misèria]

Do you attribute your dyed in the wool conviviality and sunny disposition to all that renting?

(This joke is offered with a great deal of respect. You've got to be in the running for the most (apparently) miserable HPCer, and there is plenty of quality in that particular field. I apologise in advance for any unintended offence. I think it would be fitting if you are in fact the oldest renter on HPC, it would transform you to folk hero status in my eyes.)

That second paragraph is entirely superfluous. At least insofar as it's addressed to me.

There's a lot of extreme sentiment here. It ranges from entirely sensible and rational to cloud-cuckoo land and generational bigotry. In the face of that, I may find myself arguing a position here that appears entirely different to what I would say in a different forum.

Thus in another forum where popular sentiment says something like "housing is a market driven by supply and demand" I would put the regular HPC line "no it isn't; large scale government interventions screw up the market, driving up prices and rents." But when faced with popular sentiment that thinks there was some golden age when I was young, I have to point out that's utterly wrong too.

And then I have to think: yes my parents had a house I could never afford, which they bought when my dad (then a lecturer) was in his late 30s. Did that make them better-off than me? Compared to me in the 1980s, yes certainly. Compared to me in more recent times, since returning from abroad, no. Although I'm still renting, that no longer really matters so much, as the quality of what I can rent is just incomparably better.

Oh, and I'm far from the oldest renter here. We have some who have been retired for years.

[200p]

Hornby Trains are feeling the pain because of all these renters. Please buy a |£10K trainset and set it up in the loft.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

Do you attribute your dyed in the wool conviviality and sunny disposition to all that renting?

(This joke is offered with a great deal of respect. You've got to be in the running for the most (apparently) miserable HPCer, and there is plenty of quality in that particular field. I apologise in advance for any unintended offence. I think it would be fitting if you are in fact the oldest renter on HPC, it would transform you to folk hero status in my eyes.)

There is no running for most miserable hpc'er as there's one absolute shoo-in and it ain't the pig.

Besides Bruce, or should I say Mr Banner, is much older than that.

Edited February 13, 2016 by 25 year mortgage 8itch

[Bland Unsight]

Besides Bruce, or should I say Mr Banner, is much older than that.

I think that Mr Banner has owned in the past IIRC and the OP was looking for an HPCer who had never owned.

This top misery you have in mind - do they still post here on the HP&TE forum or are they sheltering in the loving arms of Off-topic?

[Man of Kent]

I am also 44 this month, have never owned, and have no realistic prospect of ever owning my own home.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

I think that Mr Banner has owned in the past IIRC and the OP was looking for an HPCer who had never owned.

This top misery you have in mind - do they still post here on the HP&TE forum or are they sheltering in the loving arms of Off-topic?

Fairy muff, I suppose what you're looking for is the oldest poster eligible for the one of Curious George's mad FTB schemes.

Most miserable poster must be the home owner who resides in OT that I'm thinking of.

[MARTINX9]

46 - decent salary but not quite enough it seems for anywhere decent in London since I returned. But rent a very nice zone 3 flat for £900 a month.

Have inherited a remote rural house in Ireland - no other house for half a mile and only half an hours drive from an airport with two flights a day to London. It's so remote it won't sell but it's a good option if there is ever a zombie apocalypse!!

Still my parents own a house in the capital which they bought for the princely sum of £5000 on 1.5 times a postal workers salary. So maybe I - or more likely a care home - may be a London properrty owner one day.

[sPinwheel]

I'm proud to say I've never bought a property in the UK, and I'm 44 this month!

Did you ever buy outside the UK?

[South Lorne]

I'm proud to say I've never bought a property in the UK, and I'm 44 this month! Mind you, I've spent many years out of the UK, and will be spending many more away from Blighty. Last time I was in debt was 1993. Biggest pain in all this time was last year when a landlord ended the contract and I wanted to stay. Other than that, can't complain. Lived and worked in quite a few countries. Collected a lot of memories along the way. Am I doing it wrong?

...the majority of Germans double your age have never bought ...

[Bland Unsight]

...the majority of Germans double your age have never bought ...

Do they also spend their thirties on ASTs, getting constantly moved from pillar to post to suit the investment preferences of a bunch of over-leveraged boomer c**ts? It appears not.

[daviduk]

38 now. Never owned my own house. Renting the cheapest place I can find. Still over £1000 a month for a 2 bed craphole. I've completely given up on owning anywhere. Even the place I'm renting would cost £330,000 ish to buy. Can't relocate as I'm a single dad, and my daughter's mum won't move. One of my biggest annoyances is how the previous generations think we can't afford houses because we have a tablet. Or eat out once in a while. My dad managed to buy a house in Fulham aged 24 on a single average council wage. And my grandmother & grandfather bought a 4 story house in Putney near the Thames at around the same age (dinner lady and firefighter). I nearly bought a house for £180,000 five years ago. But it seemed madness for such a small place in a rough area. It's now knocking on for £400,000. Totally disengaged with it all nowadays. I work enough so I can pay my bills each month, and a bit more for the savings, then I don't bother much. What's the point.

[RentingForever]

48 this year.

In my case I've discovered that temperamentally I'm much happier jumping around places and jobs every 3 to 5 years. I've "owned" twice, but never really liked the sense of being tied down and sold up to return to renting both times. Even if the property market wasn't insane I'd probably still rent. I'm very envious of how the Germans have it sorted.

I'll probably buy - for cash, somewhere out of the southeast bubble - when I retire. But rent until then.

[jfk]

38 now. Never owned my own house. Renting the cheapest place I can find. Still over £1000 a month for a 2 bed craphole. I've completely given up on owning anywhere. Even the place I'm renting would cost £330,000 ish to buy. Can't relocate as I'm a single dad, and my daughter's mum won't move. One of my biggest annoyances is how the previous generations think we can't afford houses because we have a tablet. Or eat out once in a while. My dad managed to buy a house in Fulham aged 24 on a single average council wage. And my grandmother & grandfather bought a 4 story house in Putney near the Thames at around the same age (dinner lady and firefighter). I nearly bought a house for £180,000 five years ago. But it seemed madness for such a small place in a rough area. It's now knocking on for £400,000. Totally disengaged with it all nowadays. I work enough so I can pay my bills each month, and a bit more for the savings, then I don't bother much. What's the point.

Jesus. I really feel for you mate. Similar situation to you when I separated from my missus Shit isn't it.

[South Lorne]

Do they also spend their thirties on ASTs, getting constantly moved from pillar to post to suit the investment preferences of a bunch of over-leveraged boomer c**ts? It appears not.

..always research your Landlord ...that's called Risk Management ( in laymans' terms = commonsense) ...get ahead of the curve ...not behind.....

[South Lorne]

38 now. Never owned my own house. Renting the cheapest place I can find. Still over £1000 a month for a 2 bed craphole. I've completely given up on owning anywhere. Even the place I'm renting would cost £330,000 ish to buy. Can't relocate as I'm a single dad, and my daughter's mum won't move. One of my biggest annoyances is how the previous generations think we can't afford houses because we have a tablet. Or eat out once in a while. My dad managed to buy a house in Fulham aged 24 on a single average council wage. And my grandmother & grandfather bought a 4 story house in Putney near the Thames at around the same age (dinner lady and firefighter). I nearly bought a house for £180,000 five years ago. But it seemed madness for such a small place in a rough area. It's now knocking on for £400,000. Totally disengaged with it all nowadays. I work enough so I can pay my bills each month, and a bit more for the savings, then I don't bother much. What's the point.

......you could be proved right with the world recession bubbling before it hits...this time London will not be immune....

[canbuywontbuy]

Did you ever buy outside the UK?

In Thailand in 2008. Heading back there later this year. You can buy an apartment/flat/condo there outright as a foreigner.

[canbuywontbuy]

38 now. Never owned my own house. Renting the cheapest place I can find. Still over £1000 a month for a 2 bed craphole. I've completely given up on owning anywhere. Even the place I'm renting would cost £330,000 ish to buy. Can't relocate as I'm a single dad, and my daughter's mum won't move. One of my biggest annoyances is how the previous generations think we can't afford houses because we have a tablet. Or eat out once in a while. My dad managed to buy a house in Fulham aged 24 on a single average council wage. And my grandmother & grandfather bought a 4 story house in Putney near the Thames at around the same age (dinner lady and firefighter). I nearly bought a house for £180,000 five years ago. But it seemed madness for such a small place in a rough area. It's now knocking on for £400,000. Totally disengaged with it all nowadays. I work enough so I can pay my bills each month, and a bit more for the savings, then I don't bother much. What's the point.

Same here. I imagine there are many like us who think - well I could earn more money (I run my own business) - I could work more hours (heck, I could work FULLTIME hours!), but what's the point in busting a gut? It's not so much saving more money, as having more chips in the casino you have to gamble with. I can't be bothered. I'm more interested in what visa I can get in various countries and having a plan B. A Norman Normal plan A of getting a mortgage and putting into a pension is like lying down in front of a steam roller and patiently waiting to get squashed.

[Wayward]

I'm mid 40s. I STR in 2006 and went abroad for a year and never bought since. Seemed like a good move until the evil policies of our enlightened leaders really started to work a few years ago and now I am many £10Ks down on where I would have been if I had kept a position in SE UK housing. Now I refuse to buy in to the grotesque system - in fact I opt out of the modern economy as much as I can here in the UK and only really spend abroad. I don't drive, I don't have a TV, made large pension cons to min tax, this isn't my computer etc. The UK economy is a ship of fools.

[canbuywontbuy]

I'm mid 40s. I STR in 2006 and went abroad for a year and never bought since. Seemed like a good move until the evil policies of our enlightened leaders really started to work a few years ago and now I am many £10Ks down on where I would have been if I had kept a position in SE UK housing. Now I refuse to buy in to the grotesque system - in fact I opt out of the modern economy as much as I can here in the UK and only really spend abroad. I don't drive, I don't have a TV, made large pension cons to min tax, this isn't my computer etc. The UK economy is a ship of fools.

I think it's gotten way past the point now where a lot of people who WOULD HAVE opted in to the system....now - like you and I - simply choose not to (even though we could). As you say, it's become grotesque.

[Bland Unsight]

..always research your Landlord ...that's called Risk Management ( in laymans' terms = commonsense) ...get ahead of the curve ...not behind.....

Bit dismissive. Research is all well and good, but decent security of tenure with a right for the tenant to break (but not the landlord) would be a damn sight more useful. One of the grotesque aspects of the present situation is the ridiculous asymmetry between tenants with substantial savings and good earnings and over-leveraged BTL tw@ts embedded in both the lending practices and the ASTs that follow from the 1986 Housing Act.

Do you rent, South Lorne? Or do you own? If you are renting, I'm enormously impressed by your sangfroid. To what do you attribute it?

[Bland Unsight]

I think it's gotten way past the point now where a lot of people who WOULD HAVE opted in to the system....now - like you and I - simply choose not to (even though we could). As you say, it's become grotesque.

Agree, but probably worth noting that people with this perspective are probably over-represented in the population of regular HPC posters.

I remember getting into a benny with some now ex-poster, (easy2012 IIRC) about whether someone who refused to buy at these prices was just speculating on house prices in the same way that a BTL investor was speculating, but was just a bear not a bull. I could see the line of argument but it just pushed me to my present position which is that I refuse to bid boom prices financed with post-boom lending. Hence my policy is that I am not buying whilst there is 75% LTV interest-only BTL in the market. The people who took out the stupid lending can eat their losses; I am not jumping into their grave.

Of course, there exists a possibility that BTL survives essentially in its present form and as a material part of the mortgage market. Whilst this looks less and less likely going forward, it is not impossible. However, the way the maths looks now I'll have accrued savings and pension enough to enable me to rent as long as I am likely to live.

If BTL vanishes and house prices hold up, then it'll be back to the drawing board for me regarding how the hell we've managed to hold on at boom prices when owner-occupiers no longer have access to boom lending.

Anyway, 2016 is shaping up to be a great deal more interesting that 2011-2015, so not quite time to throw in the towel yet and enable some PovertyLater w@nker to exit with their winnings.