First time buyer. Where to look.

wilto

Have now been renting for 4 months and am sick of it and must get on the property ladder now that me and OH have full time permanent stable jobs.

Combined gross we earn 25k minimum PA so we are looking at a 100k mortgage.

Now the wife is American and we are going to be moving back to the USA in 3 or 4 years, so what would be the best approach. I'm sick of seeing our wasted money so initially hate the idea of being tied down to a mortgage but now I do want to see a return for my hard earned money!

Basically I just want to ask where and what should I look for. Would a 4 or 5 year fixed rate mortgage be a good idea, and make sure there are no exit fees?
I'm a HSBC plus member so i get 0.1% off HSBC mortgages if that helps with anything!

Thanks for all the help.

_Andy_

Hi

Two things

1) With the house market falling as it is, would you see the 'return' that you want?

2) How much deposit do you have saved up at the moment?

wilto

We have 10k deposit.

The problem is we are giving away £550 in rent a month, and i just hate to see that pay somebody elses mortgage. 100K would get you a 2/3 bedroomed house in a decent area of town here.

I know the house market is slowing down but I'm sure you can all see where I'm coming from in terms of a waste of my money on a somebody else's mortgage when I could have my own.

Phatmouse

You are not giving it away you have a roof over your head fully maintained. House prices are going to be worth less in three years time than now so you will make a loss when you come to sell, quick bucks are over and only people who are buying long term will benefit. Scotlands prices may still be rising but that just means they are dafter than us lot, they watched people push house prices to an unsustainable level, then begin to crash and still follow suit!

Buy in america the market may have stabalised enough by then to be a sensible thing to do.

_Andy_

Well in terms of getting a mortgage you shouldn't have an issue.

However if you're thinking of this in terms of an investment and getting a good return in three years, I think you should re-consider. Bear in mind as well as the risk of falling equity (a very real risk at the moment), you'd also have to factor in two lots of solicitors fees (one when buying, one when selling), possible mortgage set up fees, a valuation fee, estate agents fees when selling...
On top of that you've got the cost of having to maintain the home whilst you own it (something most people don't factor in)...add that all up and is the rent money being 'given away'?
Not saying you shouldn't do it if you really want to but you seem quite money driven by it and I don't think buying a home at the moment is going to achieve what you want/think it will.

wilto

Hmmm solicitors fees on my end are covered as my grandfather is a solicitor specialising in housing and family. (I'm 22)

I do see where you're coming from and negative equity could possibly be the big threat in between now and 3 or 4 years time.

I'm not looking to make money, obviously it would be nice but I just want to get that money back or at least some of it at the end when we move instead of just handing it over never to see any part of it again.

Although in 3 to 4 years the house could be kept in the family, I will definitley talk to the parents see what they think. I have 3 younger siblings all entering GCSE final year A levels and in Uni, so the house could quite concievably be kept in the family.

Thanks for your advice, me and wifey have a lot to talk about!

beecher

The interest on a £100,000 mortgage at 6% is £500/month. You may not even get a mortgage at that rate with such a high LTV - at 6.5% you'd be paying £540 interest. So you're only paying between £10 and £50 more by continuing renting, and do not have to pay for maintenance costs or buildings insurance. I know which I'd pick, particularly if your £110,000 loses 10% of the value, quickly leaving you in negative equity.

As an aside, when I was renting I never heard people talk about throwing their money away on rent - it really is a new concept, and the sooner people start thinking about throwing their money away on interest the better in my opinion!

Justiin

If you are worried about where to invest your money, that in future you can get profit, then I will suggest you real estate investment. www.ira-401k-realestate.com/IYF-Video-Opt-In
There is low risk in this investing then any other investment. Since the value prices of property is still increasing, so the investment will gives a good in return.

drbeat

Justiin wrote: »

If you are worried about where to invest your money, that in future you can get profit, then I will suggest you real estate investment. www.ira-401k-realestate.com/IYF-Video-Opt-In
There is low risk in this investing then any other investment. Since the value prices of property is still increasing, so the investment will gives a good in return.

LOL!!!!!!!

drbeat

wilto wrote: »

must get on the property ladder

There you go! The above is exactly what has driven this crazy market for the past 6 years!