Property prices should not really matter

Dan:_4

mr.broderick wrote: »

Anyone buying a house at the moment must be bonkers. I feel sorry for the people who want to buy but houses are just too high for the average joe at the moment. I bought my 1st house some years ago and it was just a little terraced which was 30k ish, it was a huge amount of money to committ to at the time but i did it, i have bought 5 houses and continued to trade up to better and bigger houses. I now have a house with around 50% equity which is amazing really for a guy of my age. I just feel that ftb'ers are setting their sights too high and need to realise that houses are expensive animals to buy and run in any climate.

This is a good post.

The first place I bought was a 1 bedroom flat, because it was all I could afford - but it done me just fine for a few years and have since traded up, and will be looking to move up again in the next few years.

It makes me a laugh when you here young FTBers complaining they can't afford a 4 bed semi with double garage.....

penguine

Dan: wrote: »

This is a good post.

The first place I bought was a 1 bedroom flat, because it was all I could afford - but it done me just fine for a few years and have since traded up, and will be looking to move up again in the next few years.

It makes me a laugh when you here young FTBers complaining they can't afford a 4 bed semi with double garage.....

I've known quite a few FTBers. Not a single one was expecting or planning to buy a 4 bed semi with double garage.

geoffky

!!!! that i want the 4 bed detached....

Gorgeous_George

Falling prices matter to anybody who can say "My house was worth more yesterday/last week/ last month/last year".

IF they had sold yesterday, last week/ last month or last year they could buy that house again today and for less.

Anyone who owns a house tonight will lose money by the time that wake up tomorrow. Those who own the most properties will lose the most.

Enjoy.

GG

wolfman

rumbaba wrote: »

But my main point is that a home is a home, and if your property is your haven - somewhere where you feel comfortable and happy, and love living there - so its fluctuating value doesn't matter in the slightest. Even if you decide to sell when property is at a low it makes no difference providing you're intending on buying in this country.

I can see where you're trying to come from but that's still a ridiculous statement.

If I plan on living in my home indefinitely, fluctuating prices isn't a problem. But I doubt that happens with many if any people.

If I want to sell on a low, that's madness. A low for example, that could mean negative equity, in which case I wouldn't be able to sell. Or I sell, then prices rise, and I can no longer afford the place I previously had!

The same with buying on a high, if the value drops, I'm stuck. No selling and moving on. And people do move on. They get married, they have a family, they get divorced, they get old and the kids have moved out etc... so housing requirements always change.

A house is probably the biggest investment you'll ever make. You can lose a lot of money, or get stuck (due to negative equity) or end up owing the bank and getting black listed. It's not something that should be taken lightly.

I'm holding off buying for now
a) so I can save more and when I do buy, need a smaller mortgage
b) prices are dropping each month so I'd be silly not to wait a little longer and carry on renting
c) With the prices drops if I bought now I'd most likely be in negative equity next month, and that could increase as the months go by. Not the best start to getting a flat.

wolfman

penguine wrote: »

I've known quite a few FTBers. Not a single one was expecting or planning to buy a 4 bed semi with double garage.

I have to agree. I'm an FTB and looking at a 1 bed / 2 bed (one of them small) flat, probably without a garden, or garage. Generally quite small in an "up and coming" part of London.

And what's wrong with want that anyway. Many families rent for a long time, then buy such places because they need that many rooms. There's a notion that you have to buy a shoe box first and trade your way up.

My folks bought there one and only place in London for 30k a long time back. Different value of money then, but they bought a 3 bed house with garage, and 60ft garden. It was a complete state, but still they didn't start off in a studio flat.

mr.broderick

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

Falling prices matter to anybody who can say "My house was worth more yesterday/last week/ last month/last year".

IF they had sold yesterday, last week/ last month or last year they could buy that house again today and for less.

Anyone who owns a house tonight will lose money by the time that wake up tomorrow. Those who own the most properties will lose the most.

Enjoy.

GG

I think you are probably right gg, my 3 year old daughter asked me to paint her bedroom pink last year when we were renting i said i couldn't as it wasn't our house really. She now has her lovely pink bedroom, b.ugger it if our house is worth less tomorrow.

mr.broderick

wolfman wrote: »

I can see where you're trying to come from but that's still a ridiculous statement.

If I plan on living in my home indefinitely, fluctuating prices isn't a problem. But I doubt that happens with many if any people.

If I want to sell on a low, that's madness. A low for example, that could mean negative equity, in which case I wouldn't be able to sell. Or I sell, then prices rise, and I can no longer afford the place I previously had!

The same with buying on a high, if the value drops, I'm stuck. No selling and moving on. And people do move on. They get married, they have a family, they get divorced, they get old and the kids have moved out etc... so housing requirements always change.

A house is probably the biggest investment you'll ever make. You can lose a lot of money, or get stuck (due to negative equity) or end up owing the bank and getting black listed. It's not something that should be taken lightly.

I'm holding off buying for now
a) so I can save more and when I do buy, need a smaller mortgage
b) prices are dropping each month so I'd be silly not to wait a little longer and carry on renting
c) With the prices drops if I bought now I'd most likely be in negative equity next month, and that could increase as the months go by. Not the best start to getting a flat.

Heavens have you actually got any deposit at all?
I think there are a lot of potential ftb'ers out there with little or no deposit, think the lack of 100% mortgages is more to do with the lack of sales than i first anticipated.

mewbie_2

wolfman wrote: »

.... but still they didn't start off in a studio flat.

Absolutely. The studio flat is a fairly recent invention, along with the 1 bed 'home', and the building of estates that squeeze every single unit into the available space. These are the slums of tomorrow.

sdooley

GDB2222 wrote: »

I love the middle one of those, Sue. described as
7 bedrooms, 5 reception rooms
3 bathrooms, Garage, Tower
Really, all houses should have a tower.

You'd be gutted when it fell in the sea though. Probably uninsurable, no wonder the drop in price.