Here’s a handy flowchart that’ll tell you if it’s better to rent or buy a home

Alan Lowery — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 10:27:45 +0000

Rent or Buy? Choosing whether to buy or Rent a home could be one of the most important decisions you make in your life. Are you ready to settle down? Will one price work out better than the other?

Buying your own home can be expensive but could save you money over the years. Renting offers less freedom to live by your own rules but more flexibility if you need to move. Here are the benefits of each and how to decide whether to rent or buy.

Whether you rent or buy depends on your financial situation, like how you’d like to manage your savings, if you have an emergency fund, and whether you’d rather try to fix your broken toilet yourself or just complain to your superintendent.

It’s also a decision that’s harder and harder to make for young people, as financial inequality leads more young people to simply live with their parents, and to put off buying a home until later in their lives.

Check out our handy chart, first put together by Business Insider, that factors in all the major decisions you need to make when choosing whether you are renting or buying a home.

Should you buy a home?

The benefits of buying

Your monthly repayments go towards buying your home, not into a landlord’s pocket
You fully own your home at the end of the mortgage’s term, and can then live rent free
You could make a profit if house prices rise
You can live by your own rules without needing a landlord’s permission (e.g. having pets)
You can make changes to the property such as redecorating or landscaping the garden
Renovations and changes you make could increase your home’s value
No landlord who could make you move house because they want to sell
Buying can sometimes be cheaper than renting

The drawbacks of buying

Upfront costs like mortgage fees and stamp duty can make it pricier than renting
If you get a joint mortgage and separate, it can be complicated to sell the property
Interest rate rises can increase your monthly payments (unless you get a fixed rate)
You have to pay for repairs, including if something urgent goes wrong like a leak
Moving can take a long time because you have to sell your home first
If your finances become tighter, moving to a cheaper property can take a long time
There are financial consequences if you fall behind on repayments, like getting into debt
If you fell too far behind you could face bankruptcy or your home being repossessed

Should you rent a home?

The benefits of renting

It can be easier to move house quickly when you need to
Finding and renting a home is usually quicker than the process of buying
No risk of losing money if the property’s price goes down
Your landlord has to pay for repairs and renovations
It is often cheaper and rental payments rarely change, making it easier to budget
You may be able to rent a bigger home in a nicer area than you could afford to buy

The drawbacks of renting

All of your rent payments go to your landlord, not towards owning a home
If you never buy a house you have to pay rent for your whole life, even after you retire
If your landlord decides to sell or get new tenants, you have to move out
Your landlord can set rules and restrict changes you can make to the property
You have to pay a deposit, and the landlord may keep some or all of it
Your landlord could decide to increase your rent
Improving the property could increase its price, but this only benefits the landlord

Which is cheaper?

It is usually cheaper to rent in the short term because:

The rent you pay could be lower than mortgage repayments would cost
The deposit you pay is usually much less than the initial costs of buying a home

The post Here’s a handy flowchart that’ll tell you if it’s better to rent or buy a home appeared first on Elite Estates & Lettings.

Nationwide increases 10-year mortgage rates

Alan Lowery — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 13:41:49 +0000

Nationwide has increased the rates on some of its 10-year fixed mortgages by 0.3 percentage points as mortgage rates across the board seem likely to rise.

Last week Skipton Building Society increased rates on some mortgages by 0.37 percentage points, while another mutual, West Bromwich, scrapped its market-leading 10-year fix.

Nationwide’s cheapest 10-year fix now costs 2.99pc, with a £999 fee, for a minimum deposit of 40pc.

ADVERTISING

The increased rates are not unexpected, as UK mortgage rates are heavily influenced by movements in the global financial markets. “Swap rates” – the rates lenders pay to secure money in the market – have been increasing steadily since September and mortgage rates typically follow suit shortly afterwards.

For someone borrowing 60pc of the value of a £350,000 home for 25 years, the total cost of Nationwide’s 2.99pc fix over the 10-year term would be £120,880 including fees. The cheapest option for the same scenario is HSBC’s fee-free 2.49pc deal, which would cost £113,150 over the fixed term – a substantial saving.

Mortgage rates hit record lows this year, as swap rates sank between January and September, with a particularly sharp fall after the EU referendum.

Lenders have not acted as quickly to increase rates, but it is unlikely that undercutting will continue.

David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker London & Country, said: “The days of every lender announcement bringing a new low in fixed rates seem to be drawing to a close.”

He said the intensely competitive mortgage market was keeping some rates low, but added that increasing swap rates could be viewed as an indicator of pressure on lenders to increase the rates paid by borrowers.

The post Nationwide increases 10-year mortgage rates appeared first on Elite Estates & Lettings.

building society Archives - Elite Estates & Lettings