It is not often that one can have their cake and eat it, but in the current state of the real estate market, perhaps we can make an exception. The classic dilemma faced by practically all first time buyers is whether to rent or buy a home. Both these options have their pros and cons, which must be carefully weighed up before making any firm decisions. Buying comes with a huge financial commitment in terms of a deposit and monthly mortgage payments, but with interest rates the way they are if you can stump up the deposit it may well be a good option. On the other hand, renting can be compared to a happy go lucky kinda guy, who lives for the moment and can hop, skip and jump to the next home when they please. The down side is this person is not accumulating an asset.  

We ask, can there be a middle ground? Can a person be happy go lucky with their home choice and still accumulate a home in the long run? The answer is possibly. If you are lucky enough to be able to afford a sizeable deposit for a mortgage it may be possible to get a buy-to-let mortgage on a property, which you can rent out. With any luck the rent should (in theory) cover the cost of the mortgage and a little bit more. This will give you the stability to know that over the long-term the rental income should be able to pay off the mortgage and you will eventually own your own home.

On the flip side, you will be able to rent another property safe in the mind that you are gaining an asset through your buy-to-let investment. This plan of action however, comes with a caveat. It may not always be possible to rent out the house and you will also have to pay for the maintenance of the property. This in reality can be quite expensive and you will still be tied to the commitments of both the buy-to-let as well as your rental contract.