Society puts a lot of pressure on us to buy a house. Especially as we enter into our 30s, because it is assumed that we WANT to buy a house, in the near future and it’s on our radar. Why? Because that’s what society tells us we should want. But what if you don’t want to buy a house? Not just in your 30s but maybe ever. This feeling can be confusing because everyone else around you appears to be ‘growing up’ and getting a mortgage, but just seeing a ‘For Sale’ sign can give you the heebie-jeebies.
It won’t be long before you discover that there are plenty of people that feel the same way as you and don’t want to buy a house either. For starters, I have no intention of buying a house. Much to my parents disappointment and the confusion of many friends. But people need to realise that we have a lot more options in life these days. Buying a house is only the right decision if that’s what you want. But buying a house when you don’t want to is potentially a massive mistake with huge consequences.
Here's 6 Reasons Why It's Okay If You Never Want To Buy a House
1. Too Much Commitment
Buying a house is a HUGE commitment. It is probably the biggest commitment you will ever make aside from having children. And it’s actually more of a commitment than signing a marriage certificate. Because if you don’t want to be with someone anymore, you don’t even have to get a divorce, you can just stop being together. BUT you can’t runaway from a mortgage. Well you can try but there’s a team of people that will hunt you down.
A financial strain on anyone is scary because money is never a given. You never know what is around the corner and maybe you don’t want the stress or anxiety that comes with having to pay a mortgage. Not to mention mortgage rates, taxes and estate agent fees to consider when buying and selling.
2. Your Life Isn't Set Up For A Mortgage
If you don’t have a steady income, or you’re not employed full time it can be risky getting a mortgage due to the financial tie. For example if you only do freelance work, this can often mean you can’t always guarantee how much you’re going to bring in at the end of the month. And that can be a scary thought when you have bills to pay. It can also be much harder to get a mortgage with these types of circumstances.
Another reason your life may not be set up to buy a house is if you spend a lot of time travelling. I’m talking 6+ months out of the country. Either because you love travelling, or because it’s part of your job. Whatever your reason, why would you want to spend your hard earned cash on a property you hardly live in?
3. Because It's Really F*cking Expensive
Buying a house is really f*cking expensive. Unless you have found yourself in a position where you can buy the house outright, you could be paying off your mortgage for YEARS. I mean literally your entire life. Okay, even if you don’t buy you still need to rent somewhere which means you’ll be paying rent all of your life too, but at least you have the flexibility. And if you don’t want to pay as much rent, you can find somewhere else for cheaper. You can’t just choose to pay less of your mortgage.
The actual process of buying a house eats into your savings too. You need to pay the estate agent fees, legal fees, Stamp Duty, Mortgage Advice. There are probably more I haven’t even mentioned. And what happens if you buy a house, move in and realise you need to change the roof because of a leak! You’re responsible and need to fork out for the costs. So I really don’t blame you for not wanting to buy a house for this reason.
4. The World Is Not Set Up For Single People
Let’s be honest here, the world is set up in a way that supports couples. So if you’re not in a couple it can become increasingly hard to buy a house and get a mortgage. Plus if you are single, and maybe you want to stay single, no one would blame you if you didn’t want to buy a property and be solely responsible. Because that’s a lot of responsibility for one person to carry on their shoulders.
There are plenty of single people that buy property on their own, I’m not saying it’s impossible. But it’s definitely harder and more stressful to carry the weight of owning a house, by yourself.
5. You Haven't Found The Place You Want To Call Home
This is the reason I don’t ever want to buy a house. There are so many places in the world that I love and so many places I still haven’t travelled to yet. How can I possibly commit to buying a house and spending a huge amount of money when I don’t know where ‘home’ is for me. As hippie as it might sound, I see the whole earth as my home and that’s genuinely how I feel. I love living everywhere and don’t want to be tied to just one place.
You can still buy a house and travel the world, but there are more responsibilities and cost attached if you do this and it’s trickier to manage if things go wrong.
Even if you don’t permanently travel, you may have lived in a couple of cities or countries but don’t see any of them as somewhere you want to be tied to. As we’ve already recognised, it’s a huge commitment and not a decision taken likely. So if there’s no where you want to call ‘home’, there’s no need to buy a property there.
6. You'd Rather Invest your Money Elsewhere
Maybe finances are not a problem for you and if so that is great. But just because you have the money doesn’t mean you want to buy a house with it. The property market can be volatile and you kinda need to be in the know and have some basic understanding of when is a good time to buy and sell. It makes perfect sense for you to invest your money elsewhere. This could be in stocks, shares and savings accounts. You can actually find a lot of support and help for these types of investments.
There’s a misconception that owning property automatically puts you in a good position in life, but that’s not always the case. You could buy a bad property, buy at a bad time or sell at a bad time. I have seen friends screwed over by this before and lose money. And it can be incredibly daunting if you don’t really know what you are doing.
If you are interested in getting clued up about mortgage so you can explore ALL your investment options, check out Mortgages For Dummies, it’s a good place to start!
You should never feel pressured into buying a house, no matter what society is telling us we should/shouldn’t do. Because it’s your life and you need to wake up everyday knowing you’ve made the right decisions for yourself. And whatever your reason is for not wanting to buy a house, it’s totally valid. You don’t even have to have a reason, sometimes we just feel something isn’t right for us.
If you liked this post, you may also like our series Controversial Conversations:
Is It Normal To Not Want Kids?
What If I Don’t Want A Career?
What If I Don’t Want To Get Married?
Amber x
Sign up for our newsletter to become a part of the Suddenly Thirty community - stay up to date on new posts and community events!