I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Legal and General’s #MoneyHangouts are really teaching me quite a bit. I thought I was quite up to speed on all things property related after remortgaging last year, but actually sitting down and watching their latest hangout on Property has made me realise just how much more there is to know, and also how many problems there are with property in this country at the moment.
There is a shortage of houses, especially for families, in certain parts of the country and this means that people are finding it harder and harder to find a home. Knowing how the system works is key – especially it seems if you are trying to rent or to get on to the property ladder for the first time.
One thing that really amazes me is just how many costs can be involved in renting a property when you first start. After owning our first flat Mr C and I ended up selling it and then instantly renting it back from the people we had sold it to. It may sound a bit strange but it put us in an excellent position to be able to buy what is now our family home. It wasn’t all that straight forward though, especially since we needed to go through various checks with the letting agents, which included proving to them that we could pay the rent on the property, despite it being less than the mortgage we had been paying on it! For all this of course we had to pay various set up fees, and additional check out fees when we left the property too. These are the sorts of things that you simply might not think about in advance, but do need to be factored in to all your budgeting.
As a home owner I guess I had been a bit head in the sand when it came to understanding how everything works with rental properties nowadays, and I had also been ignoring some of the manifesto pledges about renting and landlords in the run up to the election. But, hearing the news of a few friends recently has made me realise that anyone’s situation can change and hence I think I really should have a bit more understanding of everything, just in case. Also knowing what to do if things go wrong when paying a mortgage and having fallback plans in place is imperative. More necessary things to add to my to do list, but once again I’m grateful to Legal and General for helping me to understand exactly what I need to think about and consider.
Disclaimer: I am being compensated by Legal and General for writing about this #MoneyHangout. All opinions are my own.
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