FTB with Interest Rate Q.

bubblesmoney

what’s the big deal in buying a 4b detached house for 135k. i wonder why people cant believe it. i bought one (NOT a repossession but a part exchange and being sold by a relocation company) in 08 for 135k and it is 4b detached with fridge freezer dishwasher hob oven, 2 double bedrooms one with attached bathroom, plus another bathroom, 2 single bedrooms, 1 lounge, i small dining room, 1 downstairs cloakroom, kitchen, attached garage with internal door which some houses have converted to a 2nd reception room. front +back garden, freehold, 6.5y house nhbc guarantee, 1/2h from big city by metro, metro 10mins walk away from house. 24h tesco extra 1.3miles, quite a few schools with 2-3 miles, all detached 4b houses in development. large number of families with children, quiet area, nice neighbours who were offering me furniture etc for free till i bought my own & who also drop my wife on occasion to the nearby metro when i am not around as my wife doesn’t drive (they offer to drop even though it is less than 10min walk), friendly neighbours and their kids are comfortable enough to hug us and kid around with us since they seem to get along with us well just within a month of moving in, the neighbours on the other side are cool too although more reserved. the area classification is something like this "Often, many of the people who live in this sort of postcode will be well-off working families with mortgages. These are known as type 10 in the ACORN classification and 2.26% of the UK's population live in this type.
Family income
High
Interest in current affairs
Low
Housing - with mortgages
Medium
Educated - to degree
High
Couples with children
Very high
Have satellite TV
Very high

"
hardly a bad area although i hear that it used to be not that a fancy place earlier but it is a regeneration area and a newish development with another new development nearby. metro trains every 1/2h to city(not that i am ever going to use it), bus stop 2min walk away from home, shops 1min walk away from home, gp and post office less than 5 min walk away, banks tesco-extra less than 5 min drive away, retail park 15-20min drive away, artificial ski slope/movie theatres multiplex 15mins drive away. there are compromises (if u can call it that) to make as in 12mins-30mins drive to my workplace depending on traffic. very quiet neighbourhood and not for the partying kind but within reach of city for noisier stuff. not in a flood plain or subsidence area or noisy area. never ever heard a yob scream even on weekends in the last 1.5 months (keeping fingers crossed though).

inspite of all these things which suggest i got a good deal, i am still wondering if i over paid even though i only paid 5£ (yes five pounds extra only) more than early 2003 price. i am certain there wil be equal or much better deals around elsewhere as well.

i had seen semis 4b with conservatory+garage+small garden in front and back needing some renovation marketted at 100k in wakefield city (repossession) which the EA themselves indicated may be available for 70k and which i thought i might offer 50k max but couldnt be bothered buying a place that that needed work

so yes there are cheap places around if u look hard enough. i pay just about 310£ for my mortgage and probbably less soon as i am overpaying it.

if u have a good credit history plus ok deposit then the banks and conveyancing solicitors are DYING to give mortgages to u even now or they would soon go bust if they didn’t give credit to low risk customers.

i never had any problems getting a mortgage plus had negligible costs (far lesser than i had budgeted for). managed to get hsbc lifetime tracker 0.99% above BOE no fees unlimited overpayments allowed plus surprise was spent around 700 for solicitor including searches registry fees etc, homebuyers survey was 180£ via hsbc, no stamp duty.

so lets say property prices go back to what they were 10y ago i.e. 1998, i bought at early 2003 prices, so i might lose about 40k, but i would have spent nearly the same by renting in 5y time, i dont have to ever remortgage so dont have to worry about remortgage costs or negative equity(with regard to remortgaging scenario only). even if i make a capital loss of 30% from early 2003 prices (what i paid, , which probably comes to 30-35% from peak prices anyway) i will make a loss of 5-10k. i can easily take that hit or even 5times that amount. i will moan till eternity if that worst case scenario happens but will still be ok and wont have to worry about whether i can afford my next belly buster sandwich. hope to be mortgage free in less than 4y or a lot sooner if possible. think i took a calculated gamble buying now as i am not looking to make a killing and can take a loss and i just need a place of my own to raise my child and just tired of renting. but guess some people cant understand the fact that some people might buy even in a falling market for personal reasons even if they know they will lose money in the bargain and will have factored that into their calculations. there are other factors to think of when buying property other than just property price appreciation or depreciation for people like me at least.