An open letter to my father – why I don’t want to buy a house

Dearest Dad

I know you don’t get it, but I’m really not interested in buying a house. Every time I say that sentence to you, you finish it for me with the words: right now. The thing is, it’s not that I’m not interested in buying a house at this point in time, but really that I think buying houses is silly.

Here’s why:

1. I’m not British

When I first arrived in the UK at the ripe old age of 20 I fell for the property ladder love story, hook line and sinker. So much so that I went and bought my first house at 23. Now though, I feel this home owner lust is one of the worst examples of traditional wisdom getting it completely wrong – not to mention a good example of groupthink (which I seem to be talking a lot about lately). In a consumerist, capitalist society we’re loathe to question the seemingly obvious sense in buying and owning something. I have quesitoned it – and I ain’t in love no more. Also, the more I’ve travelled and talked to friends the more I’ve realised that this desire to own bricks and mortar is peculiarly British. All over Europe people rent for years without giving it a second though. It feels like an inherited opinion with a distinct whiff of Thatcherism, but more of that some other time.

2. Renting gets me a better place

Renting gets you way better value for money in the short-term too. In London a house that would sell for £500k will be rented out for £500 a week, that’s the rule of thumb. That’s £2000 a month(ish). The mortgage payments would be £2900 (according to the nifty FSA mortage calculator) based on a 25 year mortgage at 5%. But let’s forget payments for a moment and think about saving for a deposit and actually qualifying for that mortgage to begin with. Don’t even get me started on the legal fees and HIPS.

3. Mortgages are bad deals

Every time I tell people that I want to keep renting and not bother buying they say the same thing: but doesn’t it bother you that you’re paying someone else’s mortgage? No, people, it does not bother me in the least. You see, I think mortgages are bad deals. When you work out what you’ve actually paid for your house over the mortgage period you’ll see that it’s shitloads (in the example above that works out at £870k by crudely multiplying the monthly payment by 300 months).

I’d rather let someone else do that and I’ll just get a decent casa a la point 2.

4. It’s not a solid investment

Traditional wisdom again tells us that an investment in property can’t lose. Even though I have friends who sold parts of their souls to scrape together deposits for houses that ended up in negative equity when the crash happened. Property is no longer a sure bet. There are loads of things I’d invest in before I’d even think of property. With £30k in the bank, you better believe I’d invest in a small web business first. At least I’d be in control of the business’s success. The housing market though, I have no control over that.

5. I don’t want to be tied down

I like the freedom renting affords me. I can move easily and experience living in different places. It gives me the freedom to take chances and seize opportunities that I would be far more reluctant to do if I had a mortgage. Because I know that if I earn more or less next year I can change my outgoings and home accordingly. It’s flexible and easy.

So there you have it. I’m renting, happily for the foreseeable future. In fact, I can only see one little instance in which that might change. For me the only upside of buying is the freedom to  knock walls  down or paint them blue (hypothetically of course).  So in the future some time if I fancy a house project, I won’t inflict those impulses on an unsuspecting landlord. I promise.

Your loving daughter,

Lea