Renting & TTC

[Sooz]

This is one of my biggest bugbears at the moment and one of the major things that will probably keep me WTT long after the wedding: myself & H2B are renting and are not likely to be in a position to buy for the next 2-3 years.

Everyone keeps telling me that before Mrs Thatcher came to power it was perfectly normal for people to rent most of their lives and raise a family in a rented home and it never did anyone any harm, but there is just this little niggling part of me that feels you should have a home before you have a child...is this silly or do others feel like this?

Is anyone planning to TTC whilst still renting and if so what are your reasons for doing so? I guess I'm looking for some unbiased input here.

Sx

 

[BritAcrossSea]

I don't think it matters at all if you're renting. I'm in a position now where we own our house but before, I used to rent. There are perks to both. As long as you feel ready for babies and wherever you are living feels like home then why not go for it? If in a couple of years you still feel you want to buy and you're in a position to then that's great but I wouldn't let it put me off.

 

[toffee87]

I feel the same, however, renting isn't that bad. It's getting you a roof over your head, and it can still be 'your' home whilst you're there. It's not a waste, unless you don't need a house at all lol.

 

[bunnyg82]

to be honest, I am having the opposite thought! We own our house and it's such a struggle that I wish we could sell up and buy a 3 bed - what we are paying for our 2 bed, would get us a lovely rented family home, but we can't afford to sell in this current climate. I say go for it, but ultimately it's up to you. I would just say buying isnt necessarily all you think it will be - certainly for us I wish we hadn't bothered!!

 

[sparkswillfly]

If I waited till I could afford to buy a house we wouldnt be able to have children for another 10-15 years! Or never at all. I dont think it matters if you rent the your home or own it. Its still a home.........

 

[jackiea85]

I think as long as you have somewhere to live it doesn't matter whether you own it or are renting it, we are renting at the moment and it really doesn't bother me. We are hoping to start saving for our deposit soon so we can buy in 3-4 years time but to be honest I'm happy here, although we don't own our house it does feel like home xx

 

[MaryJ]

With the way the banks over here are reluctant to hand out money - more and more people are renting and will be renting for a long long time yet. If we all waited till we owned a house before having children nobody would be getting pregnant right now.

 

[freckleonear]

To be completely honest, hubby and I will probably never afford a house until we inherit from his parents. We live in the most unaffordable area in the UK, with high house prices and low wages.

I do sometimes daydream about owning our own home, but it's not going to happen any time soon and renting is really not that bad. It'll be easier to move if we decide we need more space in a couple of years time too.

 

[Drazic<3]

I rent, and plan to do so for the forseeable future.
As has been said, as long as you can afford to keep a roof over your babies head, it doesnt matter sweety

 

[SpecialK]

I am an avid supporter of renting. I too would like to own a house one day and probably will be in the position to do so in the next year or two. However, I think people rush into buying way too soon. I always hear people saying "you're mortgage would be about the same as your rent so why wouldn't you buy?". Well, a couple of reasons...property taxes, maintenance costs, repair costs, shovelling the friggin driveway, long term committment. I like knowing that if something goes wrong with the plumbing (for example), I make a phone call to the landlord and it gets taken care of. My parking space is covered so no snow shovelling. If I want to move I give 60 days notice and then I'm free - I don't need to sell my unit and all that that entails. The unexpected expenses are something I am not willing to take on right now - I want a big safety net before I take that on. I have also loved moving for the past 7 years. I've lived in 7 apartments in 7 years. I like to experience different parts of the City and get a feel for the communities. Then I feel I can make an educated decision on where to put down the roots...

Oh my gosh...I am long winded...so sorry...point of the story, "rent away!"

 

[Jewels]

I don't think it matters either! As Sparkswillfly mentions, a home is still a home.

 

[apple84]

I think it's fine to have a baby while you're renting. Currently hubby and I rent the top floor of a large house. We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and big deck, and backyard and a park across the street. The only thing we could afford to buy right now would be a one-bedroom apartment (we live in Vancouver, BC, Canada - very expensive!).

I'd rather wait a year or so until we can buy a bigger place to fit the new little family we hope to start. At first my hubby was stuck on owning before TTC and my heart sunk to think of waiting another year, but after a bit of house shopping he agreed to TTC this summer! I'm so excited!

 

[luckyme225]

We will still be renting when we try for #2. We love where we live, the house is big and the location is perfect. I've never even thought twice about renting while TTC. While owning a house is a nice thing, I enjoy renting because I have someone to do my landscaping and if something goes wrong (like my dryer went out awhile ago) the company I'm renting from has to come fix it at no cost to us. It's nice for me to have one less thing to worry about.

 

[WTTMommy]

I don't have much to add either. We're currently renting and probably won't be in a position to buy for a long, long time. We live in Toronto so renting is no cheap feat either! As long as you can provide some sort of shelter for baby and you, I don't think it's important how exactly you're there, as long as you're there!

 

[louibee]

I'm going for it way before we own home.

 

[mumtobe25]

its only the uk which have the thing of buying propertys in america they rent all there lives and it is very unsal for people to own there house..i rent and prob always will but if something goes wrong its nice to know i dont have to pay for anything to be fixed...its still my home and if i want to move i can with no hassle...

Im currently expecting and dont think owning my on home is important - if i waited to buy (even though preg was a huge shock and not planned) i would never have a baby

 

[Sooz]

Thanks for everyones input so far, I think I let a few comments I had overheard in the past worry me a little. I agree that buying your home seem to be a very UK orientated venture, but I guess that may well change with the way borrowing has become so restricted.

Maybe more people will be returning to renting again in the future.

 

[louibee]

I'm not from the US or the UK but I always thought it was the other way around Americans more into buying a mortgage is almost always cheaper than rent in the US, I also think UK is more expensive therefore harder to own property there but what do i know

 

[mikababy]

Not sure if it is good or bad, but we have 2 mortgages, as we live in our house that we bought very cheap (before the recession) that we are renovating and we rent out my husband's little terraced place down south.

The only thing I would say is try and get a decent landlord that you know will be open to you renting out their property long term (if you want to stay there that is!) because theoretically if we needed to move back into the property for any reason then we could give our tenants their 2 month's notice and they would be out on their ear.

You really wouldn't want that with a tiny baby. There are unfortunately some mean old landlords out there!

But really, can't see the problem with it, as long as you know you are secure.

 

[lilmissmup]

We are buying our own house before we have a baby.

I have rented for 5 years now and am soooo sick of it, can't decorate, not allowed our cats *sssshhh don't say anything* and do sometimes feel its dead money.

I don't like this house much though, if i rented somewhere nicer maybe I wouldn't mind.

I also think it will be even harder to buy if I am only working part time or not at all so best to do it now but it is depressing thinking it might take another year or 2 before we can buy.