Horse or House?!

Michen

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How do you work that out Mule? It will likely cost thousands to buy and kit out, thousands a year to keep, assuming no huge vet or training bills.

So that's thousands to start and thousands every year not being saved towards the house, or what an i missing?

I am also keen to know as it will further justify my current decision to keep Bear and not sell him to add to my house deposit and save myself circa £6k a year ???
 

milliepops

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Renting is awful wasted money but I'd still buy the horse ? or 7 of them.... ;) I can't see I'll ever have a deposit for a house but my approach to life has been like paddy's post at the start of the thread :

a horse without question but a reasonably economical breed of horse. Sometimes you can just leave it too late and you get too old when you get your first horse. Best to get in as early as possible.

If (and hopefully you won't) you die in 5 years time how would you feel with the same question?

Seen lots of people cut down in the prime of their life having put off all the things they would have enjoyed, in favour of being sensible and that is heartbreaking.


All that said...... everyone else is right really, you should put horse dreams on ice and save for a house .don't do as I do, do as I say.... ?
 

hollyandivy123

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a house..........you are already spending money on rent which equates hopefully the same cost of a monthly mortgage payment.............then a horse, horses are overpriced at the moment and as the pandemic and brexit takes its hit, they will change to reflect their real value............whilst waiting there will be more horses coming out for sharers etc and you can see if this balances in with your work and other commitments, without overstretching yourself

sorry to be boring..........did you know you can rent a room to a lodger for up to £7,500 without any tax implication which can use to offset the mortgage or full livery fee
 

McFluff

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It depends.
Do you live somewhere you intend to stay, or are you not yet settled? Once you buy, you ideally want to stay there for a bit, unless you’re on a fixer upper route (then you won’t have time for horse).
Have you compared rent v mortgage payments? In some areas, you pay more in rent, in others more in mortgage.
How far away are you from having the deposit you need?
Is there a stepping stone property you can buy - rather than go straight to your ideal house? It’s easier to live in less than ideal, if it’s yours and helping you get to where you want. Or you could rent it out and rent where you want/need to live (or go travelling whatever floats your boat!) , but at least you’re on the ladder.
Sadly, in most areas, the longer you wait to get on the ladder, the harder it is.

You can get your horse fix without your own, and if you have to wait, it feels even sweeter when you get there.
 

Miss_Millie

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I would definitely say house too, even though I'm quite desperate to buy a horse. We have had our house for going on four years now - bought as a fixer-upper, and it has almost doubled in value since then. A house is a good investment, and it's nice to have somewhere to call your own and decorate as you please :)

Also, once deposit was out of the way, having a mortgage has been much cheaper than any rent I have ever paid in my life. Will probably be buying 1st horse in the next couple of years because I've been able to save a lot.
 

Muddywellies

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Sorry to be the fun police but always bricks and mortar over a horse. My first 'house' was a pokey little studio flat, but it was mine (well, the bank's, but you get my drift). My horse had been given to me, and to pay for both mortgage and horse, I worked full time plus worked in a supermarket evenings and weekends. I was extremely lucky though because the market boomed and I made 40k on it in 3 years. The best thing you can do for yourself is get your foot on the housing ladder.
 

AdorableAlice

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House. The aftermath of the pandemic is going to be spectacular in not a good way. Get yourself on the housing ladder before affording it becomes a massive problem for many young people. You only have to look at the finance markets now to see how the banks are tightening up their loan criteria.
 

smolmaus

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Have you done your sums? We just bought our first house and now I’m considering first horse this year. Rent + saving for deposit + horse expenses is a lot to allocate in a budget. If you go house first your mortgage may well be less than rent is now (mine is by £120 a month which is nothing to sniff at) and what I was saving for deposit is now “available” for horse spending with very little change in my overall budget.

If you have a savings target for the house deposit for a kind of house you’d like to buy, you can work out how long it would take you to get there currently. Take an estimated horse cost out of your savings and see how much longer it takes. Is that acceptable? That’s an easier decision to make, for me anyway.
 

mariew

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I would agree with house first too. There isn't really a thing as a cheap horse and they quickly eat up all your money you are trying to save. Then once that is fine go for the horse. Horses are quite expensive at the moment anyway!
 

HashRouge

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I would buy the house but try to find a share horse so that you can have some of the experience of ownership with less of the cost/ responsibility.
That said, I own one (retired) horse and share another and don't own my own house, so I am not one to talk. However, I have money saved for a deposit and earn a solid wage so can add to my savings whilst also (currently) paying rent and paying for my retiree and towards the cost of my share horse. The reason I haven't bought a house yet is because I live in a very expensive area and don't want to buy here. I'm looking for jobs back up north though so fingers crossed I'll be joining the home owners group in the next year or so!
 

asmp

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Not read all the posts but daughter bought her flat a couple of years ago and her mortgage is a lot less than renting would be. Yes, she was given some of the deposit from us but not a huge amount. She has owned a horse for some years (albeit on cheap DIY). Horse was bought cheap as a youngster though and horse prices are very expensive now.
 

JoannaC

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If you're not bothered by renting then horse every time. You only live once and if that's what gives you pleasure then go for it. I had ponies in my youth and gave up when I was 17 then at 22 started sharing horses. At 29 having moved back to my parents after splitting with boyfriend I bought my first horse as an adult. Didn't buy a property until I was 42 and now at 51 own two properties outright (with husband) and one with a mortgage so, depending on your age of course, it is possible to do it back to front :)
 

Wishfilly

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I think it is tough- I bought a horse this year after pretty much giving up on saving for a house. I had a decent sized deposit, but on one salary, I was never going to get a mortgage of the size I needed, and I was never going to be able to save the difference. And yes, my rent is more than repayments would be, but that wouldn't matter to the bank.

I'm trying to hang on to a chunk of my savings, and in 5-6 years when I've progressed in my career, I should be able to borrow enough to buy. But I wasn't willing to put off getting a horse for that long anymore- I'd put it off for most of my twenties as "not being financially sensible".

So I think it depends how realistic buying is- if it's a thing that could happen in the next year or two then I'd put off the horse, but if you're looking at more like 5-6 years, then I'd get the horse!
 

Circe2

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It depends on your financial situation, prospects, family etc.

I’ll use myself as an example: I went for horse

Reasoning? I have a good job, savings I can keep up with despite the horse (instead I don’t eat at restaurants as much, don’t have a gym membership etc), and rent. My partner and I are also “expecting” inheritance from grandparents and parents (I know, this is a huge privilege). We’re currently busting our guts working in a big city we’d never want to permanently live in. We earn enough to rent something much nicer and central than we’d be able to buy, quietly save some money on the side, and I get to have my beloved horse on livery.

I would however not have bought a horse if I imminently wanted children for example, or wasn’t able to put savings aside for eventually a house in the country. If we were ready to move to the country I might’ve bought a house instead of a horse (although we’d prefer to save up to renovate the inherited properties - extremely run down) - but my partner’s job won’t allow us moving out (yet - come on WFH revolution!).

If we did buy something right now, my partner would just end up with a crazy commute, we’d be far from our friends, and it would just be the worst of the two worlds, basically. So it’s totally up to you and your circumstances!


Also: now is a really, really bad time to get a mortgage. I don’t think a lot of people of older generations understand just how risky times are for first time buyers right now. If you have time to wait, I’d wait.
 

Wishfilly

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Also: now is a really, really bad time to get a mortgage. I don’t think a lot of people of older generations understand just how risky times are for first time buyers right now. If you have time to wait, I’d wait.


Yeah, the last thing you want is to end up in negative equity if the market crashes! I don't think that's guaranteed, by any means, and I think it's highly regional, but I would be nervous of buying imminently.
 

EventingMum

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I would see if there can be some sort of compromise eg a part loan/share to allow you a horsey fix whilst still allowing you to save/put down a deposit. If you'd be happy with a low-maintenance horse that could live out and was barefoot it wouldn't necessarily cost too much but you may have to wait to find something suitable.
 

SO1

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I don't have my own house and I am 48 but I don't think if I didn't have a horse I would have one either as I don't earn enough to get a big enough mortgage.

Where I live a one bed flat is at least 250,00 so 10% deposit 25,000 which leaves 225,000 as a mortgage and I don't earn enough to borrow that I could probably only borrow 170,000 max although I can pay quite a lot for rent. It is very difficult to buy on a single income unless you have a very well paid job. Even my boss who earns £73,000 does not own her own flat. House prices have risen more than salaries.

The problem is not just saving for a deposit but also earning enough to get a big enough mortgage from the bank even if your rent is more than your mortgage would be.

I do worry about my old age but my horse has been my saving grace during the lockdown. I live on my own and am quite lonely on lockdown as wfh but at least I can see people at the yard. If I didn't have my horse I would have been incredibly depressed and even more lonely spending months on my own as I don't have close friends or family nearby to form a support bubble with. I do have nice friends at the yard and it is good to be able to see people.
 

OldNag

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House - for reasons as above

Generally your mortgage will be far less than rent and it may well be that mortgages become harder to get in time.

Caution though. Interest rates may not stay this low. I can remember the time when interest rates were 10% +++. I am not saying they will get that bad, bit we are going to be in for turbulent times.

With whatever you save on having a mortgage, please do factor in that it may well be a different situation once you are out of your initial fixed term.

Also, house prices may well drop in next few years. Long term though it is always a wise investment. I have always made good money on houses I have bought.

When I really stretched myself a few years ago, I got a lodger. At that time, the lodger rent actually equated to my mortgage payment so it was worked well for me.

I didn't get my first horse though until I was in my forties with kids so yes, I missed out .
 

Pearlsasinger

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House, without question. You might find that the cost of maintaining a horse will impact on any affordability calculation, which will further limit your house budget as banks will only lend what they calculate you can afford, minus existing obligations.


This^^^^^^. Mortgage companies want you to account for your spending, a horse involves a lot of spending, no matter how cheaply you keep it, unless you happen to have free access to family land. You certainly won't want to still be paying a mortgage when you are of an age when you want to stop working.
 

Pearlsasinger

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Yeah, the last thing you want is to end up in negative equity if the market crashes! I don't think that's guaranteed, by any means, and I think it's highly regional, but I would be nervous of buying imminently.


Negative equity is fine unless you *need* to move for some reason. You just sit tight and wait for things to pick up. But one reason that mortgage companies want bigger deposits these days is to avoid negative equity situations, because they lose money, too.
 
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