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

ginvzt

So, did you put an offer in?....

pete96

damanpunk wrote: »

I think your totally nuts to go for this, have you added up all bills such as council tax, electricity, gas, food, petrol........ basically everything you spend money on in a month. I have a similar sized mortgage, £189k but put down 10%. It is a huge commitment, even with a joint income of about £75-90k we still don't live that comfortably (and I'm interest only at the moment too!).

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.

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?

hethmar

Well, the fact they contacted you at all would seem to say that they are hoping for another offer from you. Hang on a while.

Pete, apart from this flat, have you looked at any other properties? I dont know the area so no idea of the prices but if you are determined to buy, a small 2 bed terrace may be a better option - you can always take a lodger to help out with the costs and it wont drop as much as a tacky Barrett flat.

pete96

Really? does curteousy not come into it then for these sort of things lol But yeh i was expecting them to refuse so sit and wait i will. Should i be waiting days or weeks though?

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

hethmar

Pete, have a look at some other properties to get in your mind if you really want this place. And no, business is business, sales people would do the dirty on you in this situation, believe me.

hethmar

Is this the one?

A stunning development of two bedroom apartments and two, three and four bedroom houses, five miles North of Southampton, close to the river Itchen and Lakesdie County Park. Lakeside lies midway between the bustling, vibrant cosmopolitan city of Southampton and England's Winchester, Transport links are well catered for with regular bus services and Southampton International airport only 15 min drive away. HEADSTART SCHEME Buy smart with HEADSTART, you pay 85% and own 100% of your home! Plot 88 - The Perth - Two bedroom coach house with garage. Normal price £195,000 YOU PAY ONLY £165,750

Just had a google, and the houses in the area are cheap compared with my area!

3bed terrace for £160k? - have you checked out any of these?
http://www.findaproperty.com/searchresults.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&areaid=0568&prt=1

pete96

hethmar wrote: »

Pete, have a look at some other properties to get in your mind if you really want this place. And no, business is business, sales people would do the dirty on you in this situation, believe me.

I have done alot of research on orther similar properties - resale 2 bed terraces/end are going for between £140K (more in the town centre) to £170K the further out you go. As far as new build 2 bed, there is very few out there. The only other development which has 2 beds is a Bryant just round the corner from this one. The asking price is the same, and the only available ones there have been reserved.

So on that basis, it would seem £150-£160 would be reasonable in my opinion, if legal fees etc etc were included for that price?

morg_monster

i looked at this thread when it was just a page long, and was convinced it was going to turn into a mudslinging nastiness-filled debacle with the OP getting defensive and the responders getting seriously irritated as personal insults were exchanged ... I'm pleasantly surprised ... Can I just congratulate all involved on a mature, polite, well informed debate ... and an example of a very useful "is it a good time to buy now?"-type thread that perhaps we should sticky!!

(Is it just coincidence that it is not on the houseprices sub-board?! good call to post here OP, you do not want to imagine the grief you would have got if you had posted there ...)

pete96

hethmar wrote: »

Is this the one?

A stunning development of two bedroom apartments and two, three and four bedroom houses, five miles North of Southampton, close to the river Itchen and Lakesdie County Park. Lakeside lies midway between the bustling, vibrant cosmopolitan city of Southampton and England's Winchester, Transport links are well catered for with regular bus services and Southampton International airport only 15 min drive away. HEADSTART SCHEME Buy smart with HEADSTART, you pay 85% and own 100% of your home! Plot 88 - The Perth - Two bedroom coach house with garage. Normal price £195,000 YOU PAY ONLY £165,750

Just had a google, and the houses in the area are cheap compared with my area!

3bed terrace for £160k? - have you checked out any of these?
http://www.findaproperty.com/searchresults.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&areaid=0568&prt=1

no that doesn't sound right as with this development the airport is about 5 min drive away. Its called Axis. And no we're not looking at a coach house (which i believe is just a flat) is a 2 bed semi/terrace.

morg_monster

Having said that, though, I do want to now give my opinion!

My fiance and I are pretty desperate to buy at the moment. We are both 27, been together for 7 years, been working for 4 years or so in London (I know, therein lies the problem!), and living together in a 1bed flat for 2 and a bit years. We are getting married next july and want nothing more than to come back from our honeymoon to our own house. Based on prices at the moment in the kind of areas we are interested in, we have a 15-20% deposit for a 2or 3 bed terraced house and would "only" be looking at a 4x salary multiple on my OH (I am about to start a PhD, and actually my take home salary will be circa 18k, but noone will take that into account!). Pretty affordable, but still the current situation is making us hesitant, and we have been dreaming of this for at least a year, and are ready to settle somewhere we can start our family in a few years. Trust me, we are desparate, well I am at least, but the thought of our hard-saved cash being wasted through nequity makes me go cold.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but it seems that you have just begun thinking about this recently (I mean thinking seriously - obviously most people would like to have their own house) because a friend has done it. It just seems like such a huge, huge step to take if you haven't been mulling it over for a while. Do you live together currently? Where is the harm, seriously, in waiting even 6 months to do this? You can't honestly say it would impair your quality of life that much?

Finally - if I had followed my friends over the last couple of years who have bought, I would be sitting in a cramped flat which was worth exactly the same or less than when I had bought it, wishing I could move somewhere bigger to move on to the next stage of my life but knowing that it would probably be impossible for a good couple of years at least. I'm really glad I didn't follow their lead! I bet if you told your friend some of the things you have learned on this thread, he would turn white...