In a study conducted in 2019 by Rightmove, a massive 40% of 2000 homeowners polled said that moving home was the most stressful event of their lives.
Incredibly, it ranked higher than getting divorced (34%), having a baby (31%), starting a new job (27%) and getting married (25%).
What on earth could make moving house so stressful? Could it be having to save thousands of pounds for a deposit just to be even considered by a mortgage lender? Could it be having to keep your credit rating spotless to even be considered by a mortgage lender?
If it’s none of those things, could it perhaps be the crushing anxiety of being part of a property chain that could collapse at literally any given moment? How about relying on solicitors that have a huge number of clients that never get back to you about anything but who, if they make a mistake, could ruin the whole sale costing you a fortune?
Could it even be the horrendously stressful event of hiring a moving van to pack up every single belonging you’ve acquired over a lifetime? Or could it be having to transport and unpack that into a new property that you’re essentially stuck in for the foreseeable future because it’s so time consuming to sell?
It’s hard to say, but whatever it is in that list that you find the most stressful, it seems that the majority of renters agree with you.
Staying put
In a poll reported in The Mirror, a huge 22% of tenants said that they wouldn’t want a mortgage as it’s too stressful, whilst 48% said that they believe renting offers more flexibility than owning your own home.
According to the article “36 percent feel it enables them to live in a nicer area than if they bought a property.
Renters also like the lack of financial ties, the freedom to move whenever they want – and it makes things easier if you split up with a partner.
A third admitted they don’t even know where they’d like to settle down yet, and 47 percent think they will never own a property in their lifetime.”
So, whilst there is plenty of media energy dedicated to making you feel anxious and unsure about not owning your own home, there are a large number of people out there who feel similarly to you.
Not only is getting on the housing ladder extremely expensive, it’s also hugely time consuming and whilst, yes, there are many advantages, there are also quite a few disadvantages too.
As mentioned within the polling, most acknowledge that it’s not easy to sell a property quickly if you ever need access to cash quickly, or if a relationship breaks down or you simply feel like moving to a new area.
Finally, the responsibility of the property, maintenance and repairs is something that most renters and homeowners would rather not have. It can be laborious and expensive and falls very much in the ‘advantages’ category of renting.
All in all, don’t be in any mad rush to get yourself on the property ladder if you’re renting right now.
