Owning your own home

Just FYI, interest payments = rent. It is just that your landlord is different, in one case it is the bank, in the other a regular landlord.

Those payments you make OVER AND ABOVE INTEREST (called principal repayments) are simply a choice you make about saving.

You could just as easily rent for 20 years or whatever and save in an ISA every year and the savings would allow you to buy a house outright whereupon you don't have to pay rent OR INTEREST.

Instead you are taking a MASSIVE bet on the property market.
Not that there is anything wrong with that but don't kid yourself that somehow owning a house makes you a better saver.

The irony of that coming from someone who is, with his girlfriend, is renting 2 properties!!
Who would you rent from if people couldn't own more than one property??

I don't understand the point you're making. That I can rent at £625 a month and save a similar amount - then in 30 years buy a house outright? How can I rent and save that much at the same time? And what about the 30 years wasted rent? That's some very flawed thinking there. I'm aware of how mortgages work: at first you pay off hardly any of the debt, then eventually you do, then you own the house. I'm not worried about paying interest - it's a necessary evil.

And your point about me and my girlfriend renting two homes? We live in two different cities. What do you propose we do? It's not ideal, and I hope she'll move to London soon. Probably we'll try to buy at that point, or soon after.

Also, there's no "massive bet" - we want to buy a modest flat and live there for a long time. We aren't banking, particularly, on it going up or down in price - it's more to do with the fact that we want to buy, build an asset, have some stability and control our own destiny more. We want to get towards retirement and know that we have somewhere of our own to live - not continue to pay a landlord until we pop our clogs.

The last bit - "Who would you rent from if people couldn't own more than one property??" - I also don't get. I want to buy, not rent. Of course, the country needs rental properties, but I think the market needs to be more highly regulated, taxed and made more stable. That was my point. I'm not saying people shouldn't be allowed to BTL - just that it needs to be taxed harder. I took a taxi home from work the other day and the driver was telling me about the two flats he rents out in Tottenham - everyone has been making a fast buck, at the expense of renters, and that needs to stop.

No offence, but you're not bringing anything constructive to the debate here...