What I Rent: Trader Siam, who can afford to buy but prefers renting

Welcome back to What I Rent – Metro’s tenant diary series.

This week we are chatting to Siam Kidd, who has been renting a house with his family in Norwich for the last three-and-a-half years.

Siam says renting currently suits his way of life and buying a house seems ‘illogical’ for him at the moment.

Here’s what Siam has to say about it…

Tell us about yourself

I’m Siam Kidd, 37 years old from Norwich, and I’m a full-time crypto trader and business owner.

How much do you pay to live here?

I’ve been here for 3.5 years now and pay £3,250p/m rent, £330p/m council tax, £350p/m cleaners, £600p/m gardeners, £250p/m water and £2,000p/m in electricity.

Yeah I know, there must be some dodgy wiring here.

And what do you get for what you pay?

We get a lovely house, annex, stables, garages and many acres of garden and woodland. Also, because I’m a crypto trader, renting is perfect as it means I don’t have huge sums of capital parked in a house. Plus, my business growth and crypto returns exceed normal house price appreciation.

Do you feel like you have a good deal?

Yes, it’s a great deal. My businesses contribute to the rent, so that reduces personal outgoings a bit. Also, by not having to deploy huge capital into a house deposit and fees, I am able to grow that saved capital a lot more via my trading and businesses.

So for me, personally, on every financial metric, buying a house is illogical. I’m aware that this will seem bonkers to most.

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Where is your home based? What do you think of the area?

Norwich and it’s a beautiful area with everything one needs. It’s a fine city.

How did you find this property?

On Rightmove.

How have you made this place feel like home?

I don’t really get caught up in emotional and intangible things like ‘feeling like a home’. All I need is my home office and I’m happy. But we’ve made lovely bedrooms for the kids and a nice play area in the garden, so the kids love it.

Have you found it difficult to decorate when renting? Is your landlord happy with you doing bits?

We have an excellent landlord and we don’t really decorate. I’m useless at DIY and don’t really have the time for it anyway. My wife joked that we are sort of glamping in this place.

Do you want to feature in What I Rent?

What I Rent is Metro.co.uk’s weekly series that takes you inside the places people are renting, to give us all a better sense of what’s normal and how much we should be paying.

If you fancy taking part, please email [email protected]. You’ll need to take pictures of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your bedroom or living area.

Make sure you get permission from your housemates! You’ll also need to be okay with sharing how much you’re paying for rent, as that’s pretty important.

We’re not just after the prettiest places out there, by the way. We want the reality of renting, so if you’re currently renting a place you hate, we’d love to see that too (and sympathise greatly!).

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Too much space. We are spoiled with space here. We’re very grateful for this.

Are there any problems with the home you have to deal with?

We just can’t figure out where all this electricity is going. Even with all the heating off for months, the bill is still so high.

Do you have plans to move again any time soon? What about buying a place?

I plan to finally buy my forever home mortgage-free at the end of 2025.

Mortgages are modern day scams in my opinion when you properly look at the numbers. They only make sense if you’re an employee and will stay in that house for 25+ years. But stats show that most people move house every 10 years.

Also, it’s important to gauge house prices against the currency supply, not a nominal figure like the House Price Index as the Pound is rapidly and perpetually devaluing.

So looking at that chart, house prices should have fallen nicely by the end of 2025, which also coincides nicely with the next crypto bull market high.

Also, historically it’s best to buy a couple years after vast interest rate hikes have peaked.

Shall we take a look around?

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

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