Why renting as a family can be a good thing

Raising children and renting is perhaps not something that people consider a good match. However, in today’s climate, it’s not unusual at all to find a family of renters. In fact, more and more people are renting well into their 30s as the housing ladder becomes out of reach for many.

Renting as a family is certainly nothing to be scoffed at, however. There are plenty of benefits to renting as a family that people just don’t shout about! Here are a few of the main ones…

Freedom and flexibility

Of course, there is an argument for having a stable and secure base when raising a family. Whilst renting can offer this with many landlords looking for long-term tenants, it’s a comfort to know that you are never tied down to one place for too long.

Perhaps the opportunity arises to move to a new city or town. Renting allows you to make these decisions with little trouble and who knows, it could be the best thing your family ever did! Similarly, you may outgrow a property and want to move to somewhere bigger, with more bedrooms and parking. Moving house when you are renting usually takes a couple of months, whereas it can take up to a year if you are buying and selling.

Less financial ties

Money is always something to think about when you raise a family. Whilst paying rent each month can be more expensive than paying a mortgage each month on the same property (depending on the mortgage), there are a lot of other costs that you avoid when renting.

For instance, when you own a home there’s no one else to cover all your home maintenance repairs. If your boiler breaks, that’s down to you to fix. When you rent, it’s down to your landlord as they own the property – just so long as you weren’t the one who caused the damage! Then it falls to you, of course.

Additionally, many rented properties are fully or partly furnished with white goods and appliances. Sometimes, they even come with furniture too such as dining tables and wardrobes. This means you don’t need to spend chunks of money buying all those expensive things you need to run a household, leaving you more money to spend on your family.

You can still make a house a home

How many times have you heard someone say that their rented place doesn’t feel like home, as they know it’s not their property? Of course, there’s logic to this, but after all – a house is just bricks and mortar. It’s who and what is inside that really counts. If you fill your rented property with all the things you love such as family photos, sentimental items and crafts that your children have made, it can easily feel like home.

It can be difficult not being able to decorate as property exactly how you like, as is often the case with rentals. However, it is always worth asking your landlord if you can make changes. The worst they can do is say no. If you build up trust and a good relationship with them though, you might be doing them a favour by giving the place a bit of a spruce up! Just don’t do anything that is going to cause damage or be irreversible. Any good landlord will compare landlord insurance policies to ensure that they are protected as possible, however, it is not a good idea to leave a messy property behind for the next tenant.

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