With the cost of living steadily rising, and house prices continuously buoyant, many in Britain will find themselves considering buying property – either to live in, or to profit from in the long term. Let’s take a look at five key factors that might be pushing you in that direction.
Renting is wasting
Perhaps the most oft-repeated argument against renting is that the money you spend every month is ‘dead’. It’s not going toward the eventual purchase of the house, which means that you’ll be no better off at the end of your term in a given accommodation than you were at the start. By contrast, if you’re buying, then you aren’t really losing any wealth each week – you’re instead slowly making a big investment.
Freedom to change
If you own a house, then you can do whatever you want with it – provided that you obtain the necessary planning permissions. That means painting the walls whatever colour you want, tearing down walls, and refurbishing kitchens and bathrooms. By the time that you’re finished, you might find that your house is entirely different from the one you started with.
Freedom for pets
Many landlords will insist on restrictions for pets. This is understandable, since dogs and cats have a habit of befouling carpets and tearing at furniture. If you’re the homeowner, then this is a risk that you can decide to take yourself. This is great news if you want to bring an animal into your house. With that said, you can often find a landlord that’s a little bit more flexible when it comes to pets, so you needn’t view home ownership as a precondition to owning a pet.
The asset can appreciate
If the housing market continues to boom, then you might find that your property increases in value even if you don’t do anything to improve it. And if you do make improvements, it’s possible that those improvements will help you to make a tidy profit when you eventually do come to sell. Bear in mind that if you’re buying with a view to selling later, then you might be subject, not just to stamp duty, but to other kinds of taxation like capital gains tax.
It’s also worth considering that you’ll be entitled to release equity from your property later on, with the help of an equity release mortgage. This can represent an attractive alternative to downsizing, allowing you to retain the same home.
You can’t be kicked out
Since you’re the person who owns the home, there’s no possibility that you’ll be eventually evicted from it. If you’re feeling insecure in your tenancy, then this might be an excellent reason to make the switch – but bear in mind that you have rights, and can’t be evicted unless a range of criteria is met.
