Why I rent first after 87 moves

We once rented a villa in Thailand that seemed to get almost everything right. We liked the house and the development, and the neighbours appeared lovely. Then the owners of the villa opposite returned. With them came a small dog, which they let outside at about six every morning.

The dog stood near our windows and barked. Houses in that development were close together, and the walls did little to stop the sound. Within a week I was waking up furious with an animal that was simply following its normal routine. We could hardly expect the neighbours to change their life for us.

So we packed and moved. Friends who owned a villa in the same development, and had originally recommended the place, stayed. Our rental agreement gave us a way out of a bad situation. For them, the barking became part of a home they still had to maintain and eventually sell.

No viewing would have revealed the problem. The neighbours were away, the street was quiet and the villa looked exactly as a good Thai villa should. You can choose the right country, city and even neighbourhood, then wake every morning because of one dog across the road.

After 87 moves, I no longer believe that a few hours of viewing provide enough information for a purchase. Some problems take a week to appear. Others need a different season. In an expensive development in Cyprus, our apartment looked excellent when we moved in. During winter, black mould spread across the walls. Had we bought it first, the diagnosis and repair would have become our problem.

Since then, I have paid particular attention to orientation and seasonal behaviour in humid climates. Mould, smells, noise and relationships with neighbours do not fit into a sales presentation. Even a competent technical inspection takes place on one day and cannot always reveal what the property will do months later.

I now sometimes persuade an owner to rent me the exact home I am considering buying. I want to work there through an ordinary week, sleep several nights, and see the building in the morning and evening. When the price is half a million dollars or more, a month of rent is relatively cheap due diligence on my own judgement.

A sea view should be tested in real life too. One friend dreamed of an apartment on the front line. I suggested she rent one for a month first. Within two weeks, the constant sound of the surf was driving her mad and she wanted to leave. The view remained beautiful; she simply did not want to live with it.

Sellers present a property's strengths. Agents want a transaction and developers want payment. There is nothing surprising about that. Once the deal is done, their main job is complete. The owner is left with the early barking, the mould, the surf and the question of how much a quick sale might cost.

When an owner agrees to rent me a property that is for sale, a few weeks inside it usually changes the quality of the decision. I learn who lives nearby, how the household works and whether I want to return after an ordinary working day. Sometimes the desire to buy becomes stronger. Sometimes it becomes obvious that the next buyer can have it.

For our family, renting before buying has become a test of the life contained inside the property. The villa with the dog could have remained our problem for years. Because we rented, it became an address we were able to leave one morning.