Buy the Edinburgh apartment or keep renting with high building fees?

[ClearCanvas]

I can buy a comparable Edinburgh apartment for around £1,096,000, but the mortgage, tax, maintenance and association dues would put my monthly cost well above my current rent. Buying would build equity, yet I may move in five to seven years, so transaction costs and resale liquidity worry me. There is also the possibility of rising building fees or major shared works.

How would you compare the flexibility of renting against ownership over that timeframe? I’m not after a universal rent-versus-buy rule, but practical Edinburgh trade-offs, including reserves, insurance exposure and maintenance intensity.

 

[gate.strong]

I would not treat equity as the deciding argument: part of each payment is still interest and ownership costs, while buying and selling costs have fewer years to be spread over if you leave in five years. Run separate five- and seven-year scenarios using your actual rent, mortgage terms, fees and expected maintenance—without assuming price growth.

Also ask for the building’s reserve position, planned works, insurance history and energy costs. Is keeping it as a rental realistic if resale is slow, or would vacancy and management make that unattractive?