Hi folks,

I'm considering buying a house and sub-letting the spare room(s) to help cover the mortgage so I can get a foot on the "property ladder". Given the house market in England is currently running at high levels of inflation, and prices are the least affordable in decades, many analysts are predicting a crash soon or in the near future. It will be a struggle for me to find the cash to do this and it is a big risk. So I asked, "Will I profit from buying a house?"

24/06/07
17:51 BST
Penrith, UK
2w44 54n40

13 Scorpio rises.

Profit from property is the second from the fourth, hence the 5th house. Lord 5 is Mars at 29 Aries 51. This indicates to me that the profit is not sustainable, and perhaps the market is about to do something funny, as Mars is 9 minutes away from entering Taurus, where he will be in detriment, indicating a lack of profit!

The Moon applies to oppose Lord 5, which indicates to me that any profit gained will not be worth the effort required to get it.

Lord 4 is Jupiter retrograde in Sag - to me this indicates a house would be a good investment (Jupiter strong in own sign), just not now, because Lord 4 is retrograde.

So, Lord 5 imminently entering detriment (in a fixed sign) and opposing my significator (Moon) indicates there will be no profit from buying a house.

The only thing standing out to me is the North Node in the 4th. Perhaps this could show an element of luck in finding somewhere? Or that buying would be good in other respects? (It would certainly give me a sense of security.)

I've also just noticed that Pluto trines Lord 5 and sextiles the Moon. Perhaps this is more testimony for no profit

Any opinions? Has anyone else done a chart for a question like this before?

Keren

I?m finding the question to be confusing.

So I asked, "Will I profit from buying a house?"

Something important is missing from the question: the time frame. If you plan to own the property 15-20 years the chance of profit is better than if you?re looking at 5 years. The question gives the feeling that this is a relatively short-term matter. That could be the answer you?re getting: Short term ? no , long term ? yes. What?s your time frame?

Here?s the first sentence of your post:

I'm considering buying a house and sub-letting the spare room(s) to help cover the mortgage so I can get a foot on the "property ladder".

This offers more confusion. Is your primary focus actually on being able to pull in income to cover the mortgage payments? That?s a completely different matter from making a profit on a house as an investment.

So: Ultimately making an investment profit, or being able to make the payments with the help of rental income profit?

Good point Kirk...

Basically I would like the security of living in my own home. However this is not financially feasible unless I rent out one or more rooms. I am thinking more to the long-term on this, as buying and selling costs lots of money!

So I suppose the REAL question is, will all the financial stuff balance out and will this be an affordable and financially smart move, OR will it be a disaster and will I lose money on it.

One of my big worries is the rising interest rate. I read in the paper this week that a mortgage is now at 6-7% rather than the 5-6% it was a few months ago. Again this has to factor into the question, because even if I'm on a fixed rate for 2 or 3 years, eventually I will have to move onto a higher interest rate (if rates go up), which could increase my mortage payments dramatically and demolish all hope of covering the mortgage with the rental income. I've looked at the figures and a rise of even 0.5% makes a big difference to the workability of this idea. Obviously there would have to be a buffer zone between mortgage and rental income, so in the case of a rate rise I have some room for manouver.

Now I'm even more confused. This is why I tried to make it a simple "profit?" question, because the whole issue is so complex that I couldn't figure out any other way of asking.

Even looking at the long-term, I still see Lord 5 entering detriment in a fixed sign as indicating there will be no financial gain for a long long time. This is not good.

Looking at affordability, I don't know which houses to use. Which house would "mortgage payments" go under? I suppose the tenants would be the 6th house...

Rephrasing: "If I buy a house will I be able to finance it (in the long term) with rental income?"

Perhaps we need to look at Lord 10 to show the price of the house?

I'm probably too close to the issue to see this chart clearly in any case!

Kirk, any suggestions?

Hi Keren,

I would use the 2nd house to indicate your potential for profit. It isn?t the house that makes the profit ? you do (hopefully).

Jupiter ruling the 2nd and 4th and NN on the 4th gives a better prospect of long term benefit but since Jupiter is retrograde things would probably be hard initially ? perhaps it is in your interests to wait a while. It is very difficult to overlook the Moon?s opposition to Mars. Even discounting Mars for the profit, it is still your significator, and it seems clear enough in pointing to trouble if you proceed with whatever you are thinking about with this question. I basically agree with what you?ve read from the chart.

Good luck with this though. I feel for people trying to get into the housing market nowadays.

Deb

I got 18 Scorpio rising. Did I do something wrong?

Kirk, any suggestions?

The only suggestions I can give are non-astrological. My horary skills are still negligent. In fact, my natal chart skills seem to have taken a dive too. I have lost the ability to work with charts and now can only blankly stare at them. Oh well. There surely are better things to be doing.

Don?t push it! If you are going into it alone you must have an ample amount of financial security and certainty. And it can be easier to acquire rental income than employment income. Don?t assume your income will be steady and constant.

Two people buying a house to create a home and raise a family in tend to be in a different (and I believe preferable) state of mind than one person who is getting caught up in investment fever and driven to get his or her share before it all dries up (as if it ever will!) I?m not saying you are driven and have the fever! I am warning about entering into an investment under the influence of fear ? the fear of losing out, and that now is the only time. It?s for you to decide if you are at that point.

Hmm don't know where 18 Scorpio came from. It's definitely 13 on astro.com. Unless I've got it wrong

I hear what you're saying Kirk. There is an element of fear in this - fear of never being able to afford my own home, and fear of getting trapped in a financial nightmare! (Moon in Via Combusta on cusp of 12th!) So either way I'm feeling quite fearful It's not for the money (although putting money into my future rather than the landlord's pocket would be brilliant), it's for my desire for my own safe space instead of the constant hassle and insecurity of never-ending short-term lets (whatever happened to the idea of long leases?).

Deb, I agree with your comments on Jupiter being R. It would be difficult to begin with, not just finding somewhere but keeping everything balanced out until I found suitable tenants. A bit of a tightrope, and a potentially lethal one, which the Moon-Mars opposition certainly looks like to me.

So, the verdict is "not a good idea". Ho-hum. Off we go, back to the letting agents... Maybe I'll try asking again when Jupiter goes direct. Just in case I can then get the answer I want to hear.

I had the same problem as Kirk with the ascendant - I meant to mention that, though it didn't seem to affect anything important in the chart. Perhaps you need to check the time you posted here keren?