Decision and more.
Discussion
I’m unsure where to post this. I’ve always wanted to own my own home. But then again I’ve always wanted to go travelling. Being single it’s quite the challenge as I don’t have enough money to do them both at 40. I think in hindsight owning the house and renovating it will be the overall best decision.
You then get the urge of your only here once and should enjoy life. I work as an Engineer. We travel a lot for work. So I gave up owning a car, as I’d only use it on weekends and it seemed to be a waste of money overall, which I’ve put into a private pension instead.
I’ve also seen people live off grid in campers, motorhomes and canal boats. It’s certainly possible, I’m not sure any of them would be for me especially having the work van.
So my question is what would you do? Buy a house, carry on renting or use the house deposit for travelling? Or is there another solution?
You then get the urge of your only here once and should enjoy life. I work as an Engineer. We travel a lot for work. So I gave up owning a car, as I’d only use it on weekends and it seemed to be a waste of money overall, which I’ve put into a private pension instead.
I’ve also seen people live off grid in campers, motorhomes and canal boats. It’s certainly possible, I’m not sure any of them would be for me especially having the work van.
So my question is what would you do? Buy a house, carry on renting or use the house deposit for travelling? Or is there another solution?
Depending on your budget/location, could you buy a house and then rent a room out to cover some or all the mortgage and then go travelling?
I always think re renting, what happens when you’re older? Do you have to carry on working until you drop to pay the rent? If you’re sensible and put money away into investments or a good pension you might be ok.
I always think re renting, what happens when you’re older? Do you have to carry on working until you drop to pay the rent? If you’re sensible and put money away into investments or a good pension you might be ok.
The way I would look at it is that it depends on what the risk is. For example
If you have very little in savings/pension and no house then it's a high risk decision to go travelling because you haven't got much of a sfaety net.
Conversely if you've got 6 months savings and you're likely to walk into a well paying job when you get back from your holidays and you've got £1m in a SIPP then the fact you don't have a house isn't as big a risk.
The questions to ask yourself are what's the probable worst case scenario and, if it happens, could you cope?
If you have very little in savings/pension and no house then it's a high risk decision to go travelling because you haven't got much of a sfaety net.
Conversely if you've got 6 months savings and you're likely to walk into a well paying job when you get back from your holidays and you've got £1m in a SIPP then the fact you don't have a house isn't as big a risk.
The questions to ask yourself are what's the probable worst case scenario and, if it happens, could you cope?
There's more than one way to skin a cat. - What's the actual goal? - Retire early having seen the world, settle down going to the local every friday night, work promotions, etc etc.
imho, property in the UK isn't the great investment that everyone (incorrectly) thinks it is - Yes you need somewhere to live, and yes, there has been a time (at low interest rates and reasonable house price growth) that it seemed a good idea to buy property.
For example, since 2008, adjusted for inflation, I (and everyone else) would have been far better off sticking the equivalent mortgage payments into the S&P500 instead of bricks and mortar. Ask any of the private landlords desperate to exit the market at the moment if they'd rather have stocks than bricks.
My guess is that the UK property market will continue to struggle for the next few years and that now is not the time to buy. You could buy a place, spend 2 years doing it up and feel it's even trickier to then go travel etc.
Without knowing any more of your details - Can't you get an engineering role abroad somewhere (Africa, Middle East, anywhere really) and kill two birds with one stone.
Keep ploughing every spare penny into the pension / ISAs as you go, and have a big ol' lump sum to buy the property further down the line ?
imho, property in the UK isn't the great investment that everyone (incorrectly) thinks it is - Yes you need somewhere to live, and yes, there has been a time (at low interest rates and reasonable house price growth) that it seemed a good idea to buy property.
For example, since 2008, adjusted for inflation, I (and everyone else) would have been far better off sticking the equivalent mortgage payments into the S&P500 instead of bricks and mortar. Ask any of the private landlords desperate to exit the market at the moment if they'd rather have stocks than bricks.
My guess is that the UK property market will continue to struggle for the next few years and that now is not the time to buy. You could buy a place, spend 2 years doing it up and feel it's even trickier to then go travel etc.
Without knowing any more of your details - Can't you get an engineering role abroad somewhere (Africa, Middle East, anywhere really) and kill two birds with one stone.
Keep ploughing every spare penny into the pension / ISAs as you go, and have a big ol' lump sum to buy the property further down the line ?
Owning a house outright makes retiring a lot easier. Imagine paying a monthly rent for 25 years on a pension, you may end up needing £0.5m just to cover rent on a pretty ordinary house. No doubt a lot more than that in 40 years time. In my head it would be better to invest in a house, work to pay that off and once you have some equity in the place rent it out and spend a year travelling.
Auto Artisan said:
I gave up owning a car, as I'd only use it on weekends and it seemed to be a waste of money overall, which I've put into a private pension instead.
That's a good start. If you were maxing out a stocks & shares ISA as well you might find you can sidestep buying a house at this stage.If you bought a house NOW, how much would it cost you - both in immediate cash cost and ongoing mortgage cost? Don't forget the Stamp Duty, survey, solicitor and all the other bits & pieces. Some or all of that cash could be making its way into ISA instead.
Some good advice there. I think I’ll go for the house. The option of renting a room or two is not a bad idea either. I am still planning to keep the Stocks and Shares account with the S&P 500 in and my private pension. I think realistically a side hustle as they call it is needed for the travelling.
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