How will we know??????

Eon4

How will we know when to jump back into the housing pool again?

In a nutshell....wesold in June are living rent free with family, it's fine and we are welcome for as long as it takes but we obviously want our own home again at some point.

We have no debt, money in the bank (up to 50% deposit) and know our financial limit for our next mortgage.

We are watching the market and know where we want to live.....obviously my "dream" home is not in my budget and even another 20-30% drop woun't put us there so we will have to take the plunge eventually!

We viewed a house yesterday which has real potential and ticks loads of boxes but I was hoping to rule it out.....it is the only potential for us on the market at the minute in the village.

Am I missing something if I couldn't see the difference between offering 20% below the asking price now....... or waiting until the market drops another 20% and hoping there is something suitable at that time?

Apart from us saving a bit more money, what other benefits are there to hanging on?

I feel very confused!!!...how will we ever know when to move???:rolleyes:

Tiger_greeneyes

When you find your ideal house at the right price for you then why not jump back in then? That's what we've done. We relocated in March this year and have just bought again. The house we wanted is in a lovely road that we'd never have been able to afford a few months ago - the last time a house came up for sale in that road was about eight years ago.

Anyway, I suppose it depends whether you're looking for an investment or a home - you could view it as both, but if you're going to be there long term, what does it matter what the market is doing? It's only relevant when you come to sell it.

Eon4

Thanks...it is definitely a home we want not an investment as we have two small children and quality of life is one is one of the reasons we sold our last place after 2.5 years.

I'll put your reply down as a tick in the move now box in my head :rotfl: might just see which way the replies swing as I am going from one to the other by the hour on this one. If this house went under offer tomorrow I am not sure if I would be gutted or relieved not to have had to make the decision!!! What a coward!!!

Tiger_greeneyes

Tell you what, as you want a family home, why not take the financial side out of it - forget it exists and see how you feel. Go and look at houses and see what happens. If you don't find 'the one' then stay put until you do. Don't rush it for the sake of it because you're in the best possible position anyone could actually be in. Why not go and see a few houses you like that are out of your price range? You never know what sort of offer people might accept. The house we bought was originally valued at £200k - in the last year it went down in price a couple of times and ended up at £160k - we bought it for £133k. It's our dream home (for now lol!) and we'll be there for a long time.

This is your ideal time to find your ideal home - make the most of it

Eon4

Thats good advice....Thanks, and well done on finding your dream home!

Tiger_greeneyes

Thanks Eon4, I'm happy it's helped a bit I think this really is a brilliant time to buy if you're looking for your long-term family home. I always find that your ideal home is always just above your maximum budget! Take advantage of that while you can, it doesn't happen very often. We'd never have been able to buy the house we love if the market hadn't declined so much. In fact, we were worried about not being able to even get back on the housing ladder four or five months ago.

I hope you find your dream home soon, it's a great feeling when you do

Kez100

You won't really know - not until much later.

In 1991 with 30% drops having happened and a few months increases in HP we jumped onto the market thinking it was the bottom. It wasn't.

We sold in 1994 for 10% less than we bought.

However, we then bought ...offer of 75k for a house on the market for 120k which we knew bar retirement we willnever want to move from. Offer accepted. With hindsight we can now say that was the bottom of (that) market.

The marker stabilised a bit at that stage but we didn't see noticeable rises for a few years after.

I fully expect this market to have blips of HPI once major falls have happened because there are just so many FTBS who have been waiting for such a long time to buy.

Eon4

Maybe then what I am really asking is how will I know that I have found my dream home rather than when to buy it.....

..... I guess no-one can help me with that can they?:rolleyes:

Tiger_greeneyes

Eon4 wrote: »

Maybe then what I am really asking is how will I know that I have found my dream home rather than when to buy it.....

Spot on!

Eon4 wrote: »

..... I guess no-one can help me with that can they?:rolleyes:

I'm afraid not - it's down to legwork and research - and ultimately, gut feeling. You'll know when it's 'the one', trust me on that one!

I bought in 1993 and went into negative equity for a while but it was irrelevant to me because I wasn't planning on moving. I sold in 1998 when I was ready to move. It's only really about timing if you're buying an investment, rather than a home.

Lotus-eater

You never know you are at the bottom of the market, till it has gone.

The market is still predicted to drop quite a way yet. But of course it might not. If I could get enough off a particular house that I really liked now, I think I would go for it if I was in your position.

Your problem, of course, is getting someone to accept the discounted price,

pinkshoes

Eon4 wrote: »

Maybe then what I am really asking is how will I know that I have found my dream home rather than when to buy it.....?

Because:

1) It'll be in the perfect location
2) It'll have enough bedrooms, living space and outdoor space for your needs
3) The mortgage will be easily manageable
4) You can see yourself living there for the next 20 years!