Still Renting in my 30s

wijam

37 and still renting, no chance of buying the house in the near future. Have been sharig the last 10 years and the main thing is getting good housemates, and that's really the luck of the draw when moving into rented property.

Luckily enough, I've had decent housemates over the year and I think that makes a big difference when I consider renting by myself, no need at the moment, but that will probably change the older I get, as people say, it's a younger generation renting in Ireland.

chris_ie

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I can buy an appartment in Donegal tomorrow they are so cheap but there is no body who wants to live there.

May be less of a demand than Dublin but its a bit harsh to say nobody wants to live in Donegal!

Ray Palmer

noxqs wrote: »

Ray;

Your point of view seems to be property is a pension fund of sorts. I find several problems with that view;
etc....

What you seem to fail to realise is that a property rented out generates income. Stocks and bond dividents aren't really that great the market is generally based on selling them.

The point I am making is your pension better be enough to pay your rent and feed you. After that you have to hope your pension is enough to match inflation. You may notice that rent can go up a lot and on fixed income that can be pretty awful.

I'd rather pay my mortgage and save for a pension so I don't have to pay rent out of my pension. I wouldn't rely on the government to provide me with a place to live becasue I can't afford to live on my pension.

My point stands if you are going to rent all your life you better make sure you have a good pension.

I wasn't saying nobody wants to live in Donegal nobody wants to live in property that is for sale there against the suggestion this could be used to house people who have not got enough money to rent with their pensions.

StillWaters

Ray Palmer wrote: »

The point I am making is your pension better be enough to pay your rent and feed you. After that you have to hope your pension is enough to match inflation. You may notice that rent can go up a lot and on fixed income that can be pretty awful.

I'd rather pay my mortgage and save for a pension so I don't have to pay rent out of my pension. I wouldn't rely on the government to provide me with a place to live becasue I can't afford to live on my pension.

I think that is a time bomb we have, not only people who are renting without providing for an adequate pension to house them in old age, but also people who have interest only mortgages, who too will look to the State to house them.

not even wrong

Ray Palmer wrote: »

The point I am making is your pension better be enough to pay your rent and feed you. After that you have to hope your pension is enough to match inflation. You may notice that rent can go up a lot and on fixed income that can be pretty awful.

I'd rather pay my mortgage and save for a pension so I don't have to pay rent out of my pension. I wouldn't rely on the government to provide me with a place to live becasue I can't afford to live on my pension.

My point stands if you are going to rent all your life you better make sure you have a good pension.

Of course as a general rule it's a better longterm financial decision to buy rather than rent if you can afford to do so, you'd find very few people to disagree with that. But that is a general rule and in the specific context of an insane decade-long property bubble which has yet to fully deflate coupled with the biggest financial crisis since the great depression that general rule does not apply.

The argument is not "buy now versus rent forever", the argument is "buy now versus buy in a few years when things have settled down".

Ray Palmer

not even wrong wrote: »

The argument is not "buy now versus rent forever", the argument is "buy now versus buy in a few years when things have settled down".

What you would be missing there is that the OP is in a now rent forever situation and the advice is make sure you have a good pension.

There is also the fact that there is an age element to the post.

Saying a person in their 30s goes to buy in the next few year how long a mortgage are they going to take out? lets say 25 years
at 30 that means 55 when you paid it off but
at 39 means 64 pretty close to retirement

Yes some saved but out of people I know none saved as much as they could have and not a massive help to buying a house. They buy things like expensive cars instead is what I noticed. Past 40 you are pushing it to buy a home for the first time.

Some will be able to get small mortgages and do it but those are rare enough .

toexpress

think of this way property prices are still falling and there is no sign of any great changes so in time you might be able to buy something for half nothing that cost hundreds of thousands at the height of things. In Portarlington (Co. Laois) you can buy a one bed flat for €45k and a two bed one for €55k. Now an area like Portarlington may not be what you want for the long term but as a starting point, given your age it would be a huge step on the ladder if you could live with it for 5/6 years

Raladic

Ray Palmer wrote: »

My point stands if you are going to rent all your life you better make sure you have a good pension.

Or live in a country where rent law is pretty strict and you have a contract from 100 years ago that can only be adjusted to inflation.

jobless

toexpress wrote: »

think of this way property prices are still falling and there is no sign of any great changes so in time you might be able to buy something for half nothing that cost hundreds of thousands at the height of things. In Portarlington (Co. Laois) you can buy a one bed flat for €45k and a two bed one for €55k. Now an area like Portarlington may not be what you want for the long term but as a starting point, given your age it would be a huge step on the ladder if you could live with it for 5/6 years

that's kind of contradictory.... if prices are still falling why would she buy down there to live for just 5 or 6 years... chances are she'd be selling at a loss when she wants to move...
also i thought the term ladder was dead and gone.... most of those ladders people got on are now slides!

toexpress

jobless wrote: »

that's kind of contradictory.... if prices are still falling why would she buy down there to live for just 5 or 6 years... chances are she'd be selling at a loss when she wants to move...
also i thought the term ladder was dead and gone.... most of those ladders people got on are now slides!

It's not really contradictory at all. Firstly I didn't suggest she move to Portarlington, if there are properties in Portarlington at those prices they are surely to be had elsewhere.

The bottom is going to hit, most likely later this year so therefore sitting on it for 5/6 years is sage advice.

jobless

toexpress wrote: »

It's not really contradictory at all. Firstly I didn't suggest she move to Portarlington, if there are properties in Portarlington at those prices they are surely to be had elsewhere.

The bottom is going to hit, most likely later this year so therefore sitting on it for 5/6 years is sage advice.

eh yeah...probably in places like Portarlington.... but that's not the point... telling someone to but now and move on in 5/6 years time isnt really good advice in a falling market...especially when they will probably make a loss by doing so...
how do you know the bottom will be later this year?...given the **** state the country is in and all the bad budgets yet to come i'd say its still a long way off

Ray Palmer

toexpress wrote: »

It's not really contradictory at all. Firstly I didn't suggest she move to Portarlington, if there are properties in Portarlington at those prices they are surely to be had elsewhere.

That's kind of funny you are effectively saying becasue there isn't demand in one place the same pricing will apply where there is demand. Are you missing the 3 fundamentals of property location,location,location;)

toexpress

Ray Palmer wrote: »

That's kind of funny you are effectively saying becasue there isn't demand in one place the same pricing will apply where there is demand. Are you missing the 3 fundamentals of property location,location,location;)

Right well in the NAMA fire sales there are flats going in Dublin for €60k. You may have to accept the fact that you wont be living in Ballsbridge or the general RaRaRa but there you go such is life.

As for buying when the country is in freefall it's the perfect time regardless of what you might think but it is entirely dependent on your being able to sit on it for a protracted period of time which of course may not be something everyone can do in which case you will lose your shirt.

bohsfan

To get back to the OPs situation and question...

I have just turned 30 and am still renting. I do feel those 'I would love to own my own place' pangs, but that time is a good bit down the line yet. I was living in a houseshare for 4 years after I moved to Dublin. It was good craic sometimes but a nightmare at others. I felt the need to move as I felt a bit old compared to the people who always came to look at spare rooms in our gaff.

My advice is to get yourself prepared for a move. Save a bit of cash (if possible) over the next couple of months- enough so that you would have a deposit without having to wait for your original deposit to be returned.

This will allow you to keep an eye on the market and go and view some houseshare (keep an eye on studios aswell). You then have the cash to put down a deposit on the new place while you hand your notice in at your old place. That should make things easier.

Ray Palmer

toexpress wrote: »

Right well in the NAMA fire sales there are flats going in Dublin for €60k. You may have to accept the fact that you wont be living in Ballsbridge or the general RaRaRa but there you go such is life.

As for buying when the country is in freefall it's the perfect time regardless of what you might think but it is entirely dependent on your being able to sit on it for a protracted period of time which of course may not be something everyone can do in which case you will lose your shirt.

Post a link to a place that is actually complete and ready to move into for 60k in Dublin. I haven't seen them so I would be curious what you can get and does anybody want them.

toexpress

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Post a link to a place that is actually complete and ready to move into for 60k in Dublin. I haven't seen them so I would be curious what you can get and does anybody want them.

I'm sure you can use google. I read about it in the Independent at the time it happened sometime last summer. I don't believe it was "complete" I imagine it had to have things like cookers and hoods and carpets etc installed but that's the same no matter where you buy

quietsailor

rebel without a clue wrote: »

Hi, im 31 year old single female. I have accepted that i'll be renting forever at this!!! Just wondering are there any other males or females around my age that rent and are happy to rent?? I couldnt afford to rent a place on my own so sharing is my only option. The problem is that im finding it hard to find people around my age that rent/share houses. Anybody else think the same????

Hey OP

I'm in the odd situation of being a mature student at UCC and an owner occupier renting out rooms near UCC at the same time. Most of the people who've rented a room off me in the last 2 years are in the 20-25 yr old bracket and I've seen there is a difference in personality/interests/dislikes alright.

I'd go back renting again off a LL if I could find people to move in with - I'd have to rent with people in their mid-30's though and among my group of friends in Cork (circa 40 people) only two of us still rent/haven't gotten married/set up a house with the other half. Its hard enough to find people in this age range.

Maybe you should take a list of all the people on here who are agreeing with you and pm them in the summer when you go looking for a house(I'm joking people, calm down!!)


One thing is though people like us who've been renting for a few years seem to get better deals from the LL/agencies. Maybe its because we (any of my friends who rent) have gone in making lists of damage in the house in fromt of the LL/Agent, pointing out things that have to be fixed before they move in, geting the agents to sign photos etc - the agents/LLs seem to realise we're more steady and also more likely to cause trouble if our deposit is messed with on exit.

Ray Palmer

toexpress wrote: »

I'm sure you can use google. I read about it in the Independent at the time it happened sometime last summer. I don't believe it was "complete" I imagine it had to have things like cookers and hoods and carpets etc installed but that's the same no matter where you buy

I think you will find they were missing things like walls and floors and were not sold as individual units. In other words I don't think they exisited as places you could buy and live in.

Heathen

OP, fear not, do what makes you happy because that is all that matters in life

Im turning 34 in a few weeks and still renting, i could get a mortgage if i wanted as i have 2 jobs and very steady income (have been in full employment for 18 years), but i like the idea that i can up and leave in a heartbeat.. some of life's most amazing opportunities come at a moments notice and i have been lucky enough to be able to up and move around the country when things have come my way in the past..

I have 2 brothers that are stuck here now because they bought in the boom, it really p1sses me off to see this because they have worked their asses off their whole lives and now are stuck with houses they cant sell and in heaps of debt same thing happened to a lot of my close friends.. im not saying that this happens to everyone who buys a house.. just that for me, renting is all i need for now and im happy!

H

XenaLady

Im still renting in my 40s and always will. Its kinda stupid to buy me thinks, when you have a landlord youll always get things repaired without any cost, you are always free to move if ya get bored woth the sofa or the colour of walls.
Even when Ill be gone, its much easier for the minors not to worry about whos gotta do what with the heritage, theyll have their own lifes to worry.
Why should I suffer from mortgages and all instead of living full while I still can. Ill be happy going into a nursing home in my 70s, cant remember anything anymore anyway.

toexpress

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I think you will find they were missing things like walls and floors and were not sold as individual units. In other words I don't think they exisited as places you could buy and live in.

fair enough. I must pass that onto my sister she was telling me before christmas about buying one because a friend of hers did it in the first lot. But I will defer to your more learned self in the matter.

Anyway it's just a suggestion. There is lots and lots of value out there. It might not be exactly what you want but then none of us got what we wanted to start. My first flat was a 2 bed with a tiny galley kitchen in Swiss Cottage

lisasimpson

rebel without a clue wrote: »

Hi, im 31 year old single female. I have accepted that i'll be renting forever at this!!! Just wondering are there any other males or females around my age that rent and are happy to rent?? I couldnt afford to rent a place on my own so sharing is my only option. The problem is that im finding it hard to find people around my age that rent/share houses. Anybody else think the same????

im renting 11 yrs now. would love to have my own place but wont happen for a long time.. it can get v tiring after a while and its a pitty 1 bed apartments are so expensive but then both situations have there pros and cons.

its an irish thing so ur renting at a certain age. its a bit like the whole society thing about being single at a certain age esp if ur female

Stavro Mueller

I still am and it bothers me sometimes. I'd rather be chipping away at a mortgage than renting at this stage of my life. Having said that, the alternative to wounded pride is worse. I know that if I had bought in 2005/2006, I'd be struggling now.

Like a lot of people out there, my take home pay has dropped quite a bit. I know for certain too that I'd now be in negative equity with a nice big mortgage to boot. There is also a bit of uncertainty in my job which may or may not lead to my needing to move. None of these things were issues during the "boom years" really, were they?

While I'd like to rent a place on my own, I'm being pragmatic. I'm in a settled house-share and my house-mates are grand. I'm saving loads on rent/utility bills and it's giving me the opportunity to save money. I don't intend to rent forever and I hope that the money I'm saving now will take the sting out of the mortgage when I do go looking. Prices are falling and I believe they'll continue in that direction for the foreseeable future.

desertcircus

toexpress wrote: »

The bottom is going to hit, most likely later this year so therefore sitting on it for 5/6 years is sage advice.

What's your reasoning behind the assumption that things will bottom out this year? Which factors causing the slump - massive unemployment, banks frantically deleveraging their balance sheets, a huge overhang of unsold property, the swathes of spending cuts being imposed by the IMF - will reverse direction?

jobless

cymbaline wrote: »

I still am and it bothers me sometimes. I'd rather be chipping away at a mortgage than renting at this stage of my life. Having said that, the alternative to wounded pride is worse. I know that if I had bought in 2005/2006, I'd be struggling now.

Like a lot of people out there, my take home pay has dropped quite a bit. I know for certain too that I'd now be in negative equity with a nice big mortgage to boot. There is also a bit of uncertainty in my job which may or may not lead to my needing to move. None of these things were issues during the "boom years" really, were they?

While I'd like to rent a place on my own, I'm being pragmatic. I'm in a settled house-share and my house-mates are grand. I'm saving loads on rent/utility bills and it's giving me the opportunity to save money. I don't intend to rent forever and I hope that the money I'm saving now will take the sting out of the mortgage when I do go looking. Prices are falling and I believe they'll continue in that direction for the foreseeable future.

It may bother you sometimes but when you look at the cold hard facts you are indeed a million times better off...
6/7 years ago renters were seen as mugs by many, now its the other way around...

XenaLady

Heathen wrote: »

I have 2 brothers that are stuck here now because they bought in the boom

H

They can always rent it off and live where ever they want.

jobless

XenaLady wrote: »

They can always rent it off and live where ever they want.

not always possible if the mortgage is more that the rent they might get now......

the problem is that a lot people bought thinking they could sell on in 2-3 years to the next mug

SineadMarie

Would love to have your problem, i'm 29 own a house with an ex thats a horrible horrible person, we're in huge negative equity, count yourself lucky. The only way out for me is huge debts