Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who doesn't have a mortgage

[shirlls]

I don't mean to sound in any way materialistic as I am a great believer in 'the best things in life is free' attitude and would place my child and my family's health and happiness above material wealth any day. However, even though that of course remains true, I am gradually feeling a bit like I am the only one out of most people I know who still rents their house and hasn't bought yet and it is making me feel really crap and as though I am being left behind in life (I am 32). Of course, there are loads of people still renting and there is absolutely nothing wrong with renting, please don't think I am saying there is, but it's just how I am feeling at the moment.

Recently, all my immediate friends have got on the property ladder, and a lot of talk is about mortgages, and the next thing they are going to do with their house, papering, painting, etc. I just sit there with nothing to say as OH and I are struggling to make ends meet without any extra left to save for a deposit, and paying someone else's mortgage and have to ask permission to even put a picture up! Not forgetting our inspections every 2 months just to remind us the flat isn't ours.

I was at a mother and baby group today, and they all talked about their mortgages and 2 of the ladies have just bought a house and I just felt like the spare part. One of the ladies asked me about my house and when I said I was renting she looked at me with a look of pity! How I feel is not helped by my mum and dad, and a friend, making statements like "renting is like throwing money down the drain".

Why do some people feel the need to make you feel even more crap about it, or treat you like renting is so bad?

 

[greats]

We rent! We only live in a 1 bedroom apartment, though it's quite a big apartment. My parents NEVER owned a house, we always rented b/c they had such bad credit to where they wouldn't even get approved for a mortgage. My goal is to own a house by the time I'm in my mid-30's so I have a ways to go, but don't worry about it, sometimes it ends up being cheaper to rent than own depending on where you live

 

[Amy2701]

We rent, and to be honest I'd be quite happy for it to stay that way. Mortgages are scary... And it's soooo difficult to even get on the property ladder to begin with these days. X

 

[lomelly]

I know how you feel... A lot of friends and people I know have houses they own or just bought... I'm 28 and no where near that point. I hope you're able to get to where you want to be soon I'm thinking of picking up a second job (very few hrs) or having DH do it so we can save..

 

[Keyval]

We rent and I agree with above I'm quite happy this way I would hate the pressure of a mortgage right now. House prices Are going down thought with the resession here in Ireland so maybe in a few years

 

[Citycroft]

It's so so tough to get on the property ladder as a first time buyer in the UK since the recession; I think that the number of people renting is going to go up and up. We bought our first house a year ago and without a mahoosive chunk of money from my Mum and Dad for our deposit, we would never have managed it.
It really annoys me the stigma attached to renting here; on the continent it's considered the norm to rent even amongst really wealthy people.
Far better to rent than over stretch yourself to paying a mortgage you would struggle to afford; that's my opinion anyway. And as for the people that make you feel somehow inadequate for not owning your own house - stuff em!!

 

[Lady_Bee]

We rent! I don't think we will be homeowners for quite a few years yet.

I don't know anyone really who has a mortgage, apart from my sister and one of my friends but both of them had help from parents in order to pay the deposit. Do people really sit around yapping about mortgages? How boring. I can think of a million things more fun to talk about.

Don't feel deficient. Lots of people are in your shoes trust me.

 

[shirlls]

Thanks everyone, I think it's more how I feel left out and some people with mortgage's attitudes that gets me. I am usually quite happy renting, I will just concentrate on all the advantages to renting, and I might even remind people of them the next time they start talking about mortgages and house buying!

 

[shirlls]

Do people really sit around yapping about mortgages? How boring. I can think of a million things more fun to talk about.

Me too! Yep, some people really do sit and discuss their mortgage, it's quite sad really! x

 

[monkee12]

We rent aswell hun x

 

[PrincessKay]

I wouldnt even bother going to my baby group if all they talked about was mortgages

Ive had a mortgage since i was 20, we saved up like mad to buy our house but i think it also depends on where you live. My friends in london earn like 100k+ per year and they cant afford a mortgage/deposit and i certainly dont look down my nose at people who dont have a mortgage, as long as you have a nice home for you and your family who cares?!

I honestly wouldnt let it get to you

 

[Nats21]

I know how you feel, we rent and have done for 5 years now, i'd love to be able to decorate how we'd like and have the garden how we'd want it and to be able to put money towards our future rather then just having it go into someone elses pocket never to see it again. Hopefully soon though for us both hun xxx

 

[Sinead]

My dh doesnt even have the luxury of saying he rents anywhere as the mortgage is in my name only!!!!!!!! Its always a difficult question to answer when filling in forms

It makes no difference if you rent or have a mortgage - its your home

 

[Tegans Mama]

Wifey's family all have mortgages. To be honest though, out of all of them, we've lived here in our RENTED house for longer than they have Just take it with a pinch of salt

 

[MrsBop]

To be honest the best thing about renting is if big things go wrong it's not up to you to foot the bill! Our boiler was poisoning us and our immediate neighbours a few years back, it ended with us getting a brand new boiler, if we owned we'd still be paying that off now and would've probably needed a loan to fund it! Also our windows are knackered so hoping next year they replace them (if they don't I'll be looking at taking them to court as they are no longer safe and a danger to our health but that's a whole other story!) again if we owned we'd have to either live with it, save or get into debt to replace. There's pros and cons to both sides imo. x

 

[Tegans Mama]

To be honest the best thing about renting is if big things go wrong it's not up to you to foot the bill! Our boiler was poisoning us and our immediate neighbours a few years back, it ended with us getting a brand new boiler, if we owned we'd still be paying that off now and would've probably needed a loan to fund it! Also our windows are knackered so hoping next year they replace them (if they don't I'll be looking at taking them to court as they are no longer safe and a danger to our health but that's a whole other story!) again if we owned we'd have to either live with it, save or get into debt to replace. There's pros and cons to both sides imo. x

THIS! Completely and utterly this! We have a gas check annually, anything goes wrong someone else sorts it, not us. We've got the best of both worlds to be honest, our landlord is fantastic, we get to change the things we want to change, but if the boiler breaks we won't foot the bill.

 

[RainbowDrop_x]

Another one who rents here!!

I must be honest though it doesn't bother me one bit! Our landlord is quite lenient with decor so we've been able to do the place up to suit us and we also have the added bonus like a PP said about not having to foot the bill for things that go wrong!

It doesn't matter to me whether people own/rent/ or are in a council house, makes no difference to you as a person. Don't let it get to you

 

[Red Rose]

We rented for 6 years and was always sensitive about the fact we didn't have a mortgage. We were saving, but at a very slow rate most of the time and it felt we'd never get there. I moaned all the time about renting and protested about the fact everywhere we lived was magnolia, bland and boring.

Bought a house earlier this year and was overjoyed. Last week, our boiler broke and cost us a good £500 to get fixed. Because the cost of moving, we are struggling financially and whilst we know this is a blip and things WILL improve, I can't help but feel a little guilty for moaning about renting. Our boiler was constantly going wrong and within a day, we had a plumber round to fix it at no charge to us. We had an excellent landlord. Now its just us!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE having our own house, but it does have its dissadvantages and it isn't everything.

 

[Twister]

We are going to be renting soon and tbh I can't see us ever buying. Oh really wants to own a home one day but I'm terrified of having a mortgage lol, seems like such a huge responsibility and I don't think we could ever afford it without a massive deposit. I'm secretly hoping we win the lottery or something so we can buy a house outright and not have to worry!

 

[Natsku]

I rent. I wouldn't try and own a house until I could put a very good deposit down so the mortgage wouldn't be too bad. At least with renting when something goes wrong with the home the landlord has to pay for repairs instead of you!