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Should I buy?

Hi

My partner and I have a joint income of around £60k with £30k savings, and I'm expecting to inherit £40k shortly so we'll have £70k savings, with no debt aside from undergrad student loans. Neither of us are expecting a substantial pay rise anytime soon. Circumstances mean we need to be within 1.5 hours of Central London for the next 2 years. We're in our late twenties and want to have children in a few years time, though not just yet - so for now we just need a 1-bed but a 2-bed seems more sensible so we don't need to move again too soon.

We are happy with the flat we rent, but I'm worried about 1) having all that cash in the bank not earning much interest and 2) property prices increasing so much that if we wait a couple of years we'll miss our chance.

Does anyone have any general thoughts or things we might think about? I keep trying to research options but it's just so confusing.

Thanks
G
«13

Comments

  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386
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    Keep an eye on how public and political sentiment has changed towards property, and don`t blow your savings in a housing bubble, the PTB are doing everything bar saying outright that they want a crash (They are hoping to use Brexit as a smokescreen) Politically, and more importantly for the banks, a house price correction makes a lot of sense.


    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/house-prices/tory-manifesto-proposes-mapping-owns-land-uk-first-time/
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386
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    The cues from the MSM keep coming, forget the LLL years, HPI is no longer considered a good thing, they are dropping hints all over the place about what needs to happen now....


    http://www.itv.com/news/2017-05-18/amber-rudd-caught-out-over-constituency-house-prices/
  • conqueror01
    conqueror01 Posts: 29 Forumite
    Its only if you think you will move geographically in the nearish future you shouldn't. As otherwise you will ride out any peaks and troughs and not be paying rent (someone else's mortgage). Being on the ladder is better than not being on the ladder.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627
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    What I would suggest is to keep saving for the next couple of years with the view to moving jobs to a cheaper area of the country in order to buy a family home. You will probably earn less but your savings will go much further towards the cost of the house which means that you can have the same lifestyle but earn less and afford a much better property.
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386
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    Its only if you think you will move geographically in the nearish future you shouldn't. As otherwise you will ride out any peaks and troughs and not be paying rent (someone else's mortgage). Being on the ladder is better than not being on the ladder.


    It hasn`t been a "ladder" for some time. Functioning ladders don`t need to be "propped up", and who in their right mind would jump on a ladder that isn`t working properly and needs to be "propped up"?
  • conqueror01
    conqueror01 Posts: 29 Forumite
    It hasn`t been a "ladder" for some time. Functioning ladders don`t need to be "propped up", and who in their right mind would jump on a ladder that isn`t working properly and needs to be "propped up"?

    Yeah I agree things aren't great in many areas...

    To be paying a mortgage is better than to be paying rent though...
  • greengirl89
    greengirl89 Posts: 11
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    Yes - we are paying £14,000 a year rent :(

    I think a key question that would be useful to get thoughts on is how long you should realistically envisage staying in a property for before selling up - e.g. if you know you may want to sell up and move on in 2 years is that too short? 4 years? 6 years? I guess it depends how much the property value has changed, but is there a rule of thumb?
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386
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    Yeah I agree things aren't great in many areas...

    To be paying a mortgage is better than to be paying rent though...


    In any circumstances, at any purchase price? I would beg to differ there, sorry.
  • note3
    note3 Posts: 291 Forumite
    Having myself been stuck in a house that was too small and a bad mortgage deal for the best part of 7 years due to the last recession, I would now advise people plan for a house for the next 10 years. That should generally give enough time to ride out a crash
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,468
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    note3 wrote: »
    Having myself been stuck in a house that was too small and a bad mortgage deal for the best part of 7 years due to the last recession, I would now advise people plan for a house for the next 10 years. That should generally give enough time to ride out a crash

    Seven years? Blimey! Mine's nearly doubled in four. Traditionally, house prices used to double every ten years. You have been very unlucky!

    Hoping to move this year - will be my 8th move in roughly 25 years. Can't imagine only having moved twice in that time!

    Mortgage deals are very good at the moment. If people buy and overpay, they really should be able to avoid the problems you've incurred.

    Jx
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
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