[SYMM]

The idea of not having to pay rent in 30 years time is appealing, but at the moment, there's no way I can afford anything in an area I'd want to live in. Living on my own doesn't really appeal either.
A friend (who's fairly into the whole property thing, owning (with mortgages) 5 houses and 3 flats) recently suggested that I consider buying a flat off-plan in a new development in an area that's going through quite a bit of rennovation (it's fairly central, but is a pretty rough area) to subsequently rent it out. It seems like a good idea, but quite risky and I don't really do risky when it comes to money (or anything else...) so I'll probably just 'think about it' for the next few years...