FTB, making an offer on new build tomorrow - advice needed please!

geoffky

your a person who will regret tomorrow for a very long time

pizzagirl

pete96 wrote: »

One thing which has been possibly overlooked during this thread is the fact im in my final year of uni, i have four years experience in a prosperous architects practice with masses of respect/loyalty both ways, and in 12 months time i will be fully qualified and therefore recieve a substantial payrise. I know people will probably now junp on the credit crunch/job security bandwagen, but my company have invested £1000s in me, putting me through uni (paying fees) with the full intention of cashing in on their investment for many years down the line.

In addition, my partner doesn't intend on staying where she is now, and in 1-2 years time im sure will be in a higher position, be it in her current company or another

It seems you made your mind up a longtime ago. So I'm not sure why you came here looking for advice

Kez100

Rose tinted world.

pete96

pizzagirl wrote: »

It seems you made your mind up a longtime ago. So I'm not sure why you came here looking for advice

you obviously cant read properly... i came here looking for advise on my offer. Pipe down, rewind, and speak if you have something constructive to say (beyond some people these days)

pete96

pete96 wrote: »

We did indeed go in and make an offer today of £150K. At the sales centre, the lady seemed pretty adiment that this was nowhere near acceptable, but im not sure whether this was a sale front or truth.

Just got a call half hour ago from her and it went a little like this:
Her: I've heard back from head office and the offer was not acceptable
Me: Ok fine
Her: So i dont know weather you want to increas the offer... They also gave no indication that any offer under £180K would be acceptable
Me: Ok
Her: But if i hear they have change their mind at all i will give you a call back
Me Ok fair enough, bye then

Not too sure how well i played it to be honest, given this was my first ever offer attempt. I just tried my best not to sound deperate, which i guess i acheived. Now should i just sit a wait? Or is there a rule of thumb regarding the time to wait before i call and ask if they will reconsider another offer? Should i be waiting days or weeks?

Would a good angle of attack be to make out we've made an offer on a similar property which has been accepted??

So back on topic, does anyone have anything constructive to say regarding the above?

Thanks!

pete96

pizzagirl wrote: »

Buy it then you mug. And stop attention-seeking on here

do you want to re-think what you just said there...

...again, very constructive:T

geoffky

Pete listen to this story....right i have 250k sat in the bank waiting to pay cash for a four bed house and in aug last year looked at the market and thought no way am i going to enter that market as its crazy and due to fall a hell of a lot...well because i have not bought the house i want is now 200k and the money i have in the bank has earned me 16k in intrest,. so thats 65 thousand pounds i have saved myself by waiting a year... it is too dangerous time to buy a house...i was once caught up in negative equity to the tune of 50k and believe me you do not want to end up in it as you grow to hate the house you live in and are stuck there unless you get repossed like i did then they chased me for ten years to pay it all back.....please wait a year until the market is more clear and you will not get burned....

damanpunk

pete96 wrote: »

Hi,

Yes we've done the sums for bills, with a figure of around £250/month for utilities, council tax and insurance - thats between 2 people. Our mortgage will be in the region £110K (providing a price can be agreed around £160) not £189K like yours. In addition to this we will be having a good friend lodge with us for the first 6-12 month, bringing in an extra £300ish.

Seriously, just don't buy if you will rely on different factors to make your finances comfortable. Wait and buy when you have the high salaries etc in place, any payrises after that is a bonus and cash in your pocket. Prices are on the down, it will benefit you to sit tight.

penguine

Pete, I agree with others who've said that it sounds like you've already made your mind up about buying this house, or at least buying a house very soon. You don't seem to have any real grasp of what negative equity means, yet you're walking straight into it -- with only £1000 deposit you could be in negative equity in less than a month.

If nothing anyone has said here will make you change your mind, then regarding your offer, if you don't hear from the company by the middle of next week then phone them back and say that your original offer still stands -- for another 30 days. Then walk away. If they come back, then go ahead and buy it, if you are determined to. It's your life, and sometimes making mistakes is the best way to learn. If you find you're struggling financially a few months or years down the line, have a look at some of the other forums on MSE for help.

PS: remember if you have second thoughts you can pull out of the purchase at any point before exchange of contracts -- assuming you don't sign some binding agreement with Barratts.

Lavendyr

pete96 wrote: »

with a figure of around £250/month for utilities, council tax and insurance - thats between 2 people.

Just to give you an idea of what you could consider 'normal' expenditure for 2 people in a 2-bed house (though obviously this would vary from region to region & dependent on your energy usage etc)

Council tax - £100 per month (over 12 months)
Gas - £30 per month
Electricity - £25 per month
Home insurance - £15 per month (at least)
Life insurance (often required for mortgages) - £7 per month (estimate)
Water - £20 per month (if you're metered which a new build should be)
Telephone - £15 per month
Internet - £15 per month
TV license - £12 per month
Food - £100 per month (could be less)

Then consider incidental things such as repairs that are not covered by the house builder, garden maintenance, and so on. As well, I know you say you have job security but you should never rely 100% on it - should one of you fall ill and be unable to work (or should your partner become pregnant), could you still pay the mortgage and bills?

pete96 wrote: »

Just got a call half hour ago from her and it went a little like this:
Her: I've heard back from head office and the offer was not acceptable
Me: Ok fine
Her: So i dont know weather you want to increas the offer... They also gave no indication that any offer under £180K would be acceptable
Me: Ok
Her: But if i hear they have change their mind at all i will give you a call back
Me Ok fair enough, bye then

I would gently remind them that you are a proceedable FTB with funds in place and ready to move, while making it clear that you will not be increasing your offer and ask her to let you know if they change their mind. The fact that she included that last bit about changing their minds, I would think, suggests that it's not entirely final and there is room for negotiation. If you think it's worth £155k, go back and offer that - that could open up negotiations.

However, I should say that I am totally with those who say that you are not in a position to buy, especially if you are wanting to sell again in 2-3 years time. If you were buying a home to live in for ten years, it wouldn't be so bad, but without a proper deposit you are running the risk of being in negative equity when you want to sell, meaning that you may not be able to move when you want to, or that you could be forced to sell the house.

Why don't you just save up for a few months, even a year? Save as hard as you can, see how much you can put together. A year from now, house prices are likely to have come down even further.