The happy tenant: Reasons why it makes sense to rent before you buy

With the price of property going one way only – up, and tighter restrictions made to mortgage applications, more and more people are renting property than ever before. As well as floods of students gleefully getting keys for rented accommodation, people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s are settling down in rented properties. And the trend to rent seems little sign of abating as we head towards a new year. Take a look at the following reasons why tenants are smiling and why it makes sense to rent property.

Try before you buy!

You might enjoy a night out in a certain town or area but would you want to live their full-time? If you buy a property, you’re committed to staying in an area until you sell it. By contrast, when you rent, you’re considerably more flexible and only need stay in the region for the length of your tenancy.

This means you can ‘test the water’ and try an area before you buy. If you don’t like it then you simply move on and if you could see yourself living there permanently, you could look at buying a property there.
With the ever-changing and buoyant housing market the UK is experiencing, renting gives tenants the opportunity to bide their time and enter the property ladder with first-hand experience of the place they want to buy in.

Greater mobility to move to new pastures

Career changes, a promotion, moving children to a new school, or even a redundancy, you never know when you’ll have to ‘up sticks’ and move to a new area. Whilst the prospect of moving can be daunting, if you’re living in rented accommodation, moving on is a whole lot easier and more convenient.

Apart from abiding to the period stated on your tenancy agreement, tenants have much more ‘mobility freedom’ to move to new pastures.

Socialise and be happy with like-minded housemates!

Renting property in shared accommodation or in residential apartments and flats opens up a whole new social world, if you want it that is.
Living alongside people of different ages, backgrounds and professions is likely to generate a new social calendar for you.
Whether you’re a student, professional or are starting afresh, living with housemates can open a brand new chapter in your life.

Do I really want to buy a house with him/her?

A similar principle can be applied to ‘testing the water’ about living with a partner. Renting a property with a partner will give you valuable insight as whether you could take the plunge and buy a property together. All too often do couples take the ‘house buying plunge’ prematurely and are left with the sickening realisation they’ve made a big mistake!
As you can see from the above, there’s plenty of reasons why tenants are smiling.