I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to property... because I was taught from a young age that it is of utmost importance that you own the roof over your head. My Dad has always said, "Why make someone else rich by paying him rental, if you can use that to pay for your own roof over your head"?
The problem is that times have changed and the younger generation are faced with high unemployment and very high property prices. The Banks does not give 100% guarantees anymore, so most people have to fork out huge deposits and they simply do not have that. (They also do not have assets to put up for guarantee, so they have to take out loans to pay the deposit too)
The rental scene is very competitive and if you are clever, you can stay in some fancy house that you would never have been able to buy for yourself and you can quickly move to a new place, if the rent goes up too much. (That is to say, if you are not contractually bound in a long-term rental)
