to buy or not to buy that is the question

[New Dawn]

ok I know there has been a few threads in the past on weather to buy or to sick with renting, but here I go anyway...

I have been looking at land up here.... Dreaming anyway, God its $$$ wish the prices would become more achiavable(sp?) but cant see that EVER happening again... even with BHL pay I cant see the banks ever lending us that much nore do I know if I really want to get into that much det... but its like that everywhere in QLD now asking way too much... part of me thinks we should try to get a place before we have another child as I know that once we have 4 the banks wont want anything to do with us, but the other part of me think we are happy at the moment just renting and not having to pay rates and other stuff that comes along with buying, and we should just wait until the kids are all in school then I can go to work part time and we can buy a house then...

So what do you think do you think we should save like made men and try to get a deposit which up here we would be looking at least $ 40,000 which I think is 10% and that would be just for LAND! to get a place with a house we would have to look at about $ 60k - $ 80k as thats how much places are here... So it would take us at least a year or 2 to save that plus would mean not doing much in that time...

Or

we could sick to renting paying $450 pw and enjoying life and just waiting until we have had all the winkies and they are grown up enough for me to go to work at least part time and get a house then...

LOl I think I have almost talked myself out of buying, but would still be intrusted in what you think...

Plus if you rent do you plan on buying anytime soon or are you happy to keep renting with " dead money " as my father keeps telling me... Or are you too torn between the wanting youre own home and the not wanting to spend quite that much to get it...

the thought of having my own home to do with what we please is the biggest draw card, to be able to paint a wall or get a dog without having to ask someone is something I dream about, we would love to have land to plant out a vege patch and fruit trees, and all that stuff, but with the prices of land it just seems next to impossible...

[Lulu]

But where would you settle for good? You move around a fair bit, would that cramp your style being tied to one place?

Either way, commit 10% of your income until you decide what to do, whilst you don't have rates etc save like you DO!

[misty]

OK first I have to admit an extreme bias towards buying - property is a passion of mine.

Now having said that, it really comes down to lifestyle decisions. Are you happy to sacrifice some of your current lifestyle for potiential future benefits. There is nothing wrong with renting. Also if you did buy, would you be intending on living there forever after - if not then you need to consider how it would go in a resale or as a rental.

Continuing to save until you decide what you want to do is always a good option. You can never have too much of a deposit, and remember that there will be other purchase costs as well.

Good luck with your decision.

[Phteven]

Rent is dead money but so is intrest and stamp duty.
If you're not planning on staying somewhere then I would say that it's pointless buying.
I agree with Lulu re putting 10% aside.

[New Dawn]

Thanks girls, your right lulu we do move a lot, but I kinda hoped that if we brought it would stop the ichy feet feeling I always get... Its really just the cost of places up here that is the killer, but from what I have seen on the net we could get HUGE amount of land and I am talking HUGE like 70+ acres, for $400,000+ and then I have seen houses with land and most the time alot less land than what we have seen for sale, with 3 bedroom house for about $700,000 + so if thats the case if we did buy land and put a house on it we could have the potenal to make a fair bit of money, but thats not the reason I want to buy, like I said I hope that if we brought it would make us sit still, and grow some much needed roots...

But for now we will sit still, save and hope for the best in the next 12mth... I have always believe if its meant to be it will be, so I guess if we get approval for a loan and we find the right place its meant to be...