FTB - Are there any out there?

TDS_2

sympatex wrote: »

FTB, we've offered up to 7.5% off asking price and still get laughed at. I hope they lose their jobs. I wouldn't normally wish it on anyone but when they are clearly so so wrong its infuriating. I went painfully through the figures past sale prices, selected peak as sept 07 where conveninently two identical hosues sold, deducted 20% to get to todays value and a % to protect us which at first we tried 10% and then 7.5%. Got rejected i can't be more fair than that without financial suicide. Ironically the EA said "they won't give it away". EH they bought it in 1997 for 105k and we offered 205k i'd quite like ti earn 10% on my assets every year. Apparently that's not enough.

Sorry to hear that you're not having much luck.

Surely just sit back and wait for the bargains to come to you...?

Phirefly

TDS wrote: »

Prices are certainly lower that Aug 2007. Does that make it a better time to buy? Maybe. Interest rates are pretty low too.

Thats my best friends' reasoning too. That and he considers his continued employment with a huge energy company to be cast-iron guaranteed. And he has a 25% deposit.

sympatex

TDS, yeah all things being equal that makes sense but we do also have that doubt over whether we'll be barred to the mortgage market if we don't take this opportunity. Who knows, if we find the right hosue and the right price which is affordable on one salary we make the jump if not, we'll wait.

jamiecreek

my fianc!e and I are FTBuying now.. we've been looking for around 6 weeks.

Found a 2 bed terraced house in an ideal street 3 days ago. Needs some work - replastering, a bit of damp fixing and needs Gas Central Heating putting in (currently has a few gas fires).

The same house done up down the street is on for £300,000, reduced from £350,000.

We've negotiated the house today to £200,000, just waiting for the part-ex company who's holding the property to confirm they can 'take the hit' with their own bank. I believe they paid more for it than that in October, and I get the impression a part-ex company would have a better feel for prices than myself anyway, so feeling like it could be a bargain.

BiggaThanBen

I am an WTB - waiting to buy

clobber_2

Just seen a LOVELY house on RM. Not going to buy yet - it's at least 15% overpriced IMHO.

For those who are worried about missing the bottom, why? Never in the history of house prices has a crash had a rapid turnaround into a boom. Once they bottom out they'll stay bottomed out for a year or so.

I would like a house but I'm not in any hurry. Strictly speaking I'm not a FTB, but my partner is, and so am I according to PN's definition.

TDS_2

sympatex wrote: »

I'm a FTB with gf and we have our mortgage approved and valid for 6months. Got a good rate from First Direct on a tracker before all the falls in the interest rates so our repayments have dropped by about 25% (should we find a house).

Will this look like such a good deal when BR goes back up (it will). As a FTB also, I personally will be looking for a medium term (5-10yr) fixed rate, as I don't want any surprises. No point getting a very low cost mortgage for 2 or 3 years to then pay more for the remaining 20 years.

sympatex wrote: »

This however presents us with another dilemma, they can go up just as fast as they came down so we will still be no better off as we'll overpay while rates are low.

Are they gonna be low for long enough for you to make a serious dent in the mortgage? Would you not be better renting for this period, saving up a bigger deposit - depends how much rent is vs mortgage at current BR.

At the end of the day, I just don't understand why the mortgage is dictating whether you buy or not. If the mortgage is such a big deal, you must ask yourself whether you're taking on more than you can chew. For me, it's asking prices that will dictate when I will buy.

House prices are not gonna rise (more than RPI) for a good 5 years, so this is a golden opportunity to 'pay off' the potential mortgage. You'll pay off a lot more while renting in a falling market than you will by paying a low mortgage rate for a few years.

sympatex

TDS, All true. The mortgage costs in interest would be about £550 p/m with this mortgage. Looking at what I can rent for £550 in this area a month, a double bedroom in someone elses house. To rent a one bed flat, £700, to rent a similar house to the one potentially being bought 1,000+.

We budgeted for rates originally at 6.29%, the interest rate on our mortgage has now almost halved.

beegee123

We're FTBs and we bought a repo at auction last month. By far the cheapest deal we have seen in our area (originally sold for £250,000 in 2005, we paid £150,000).

As to whether its the best time to buy - the mortgage is £30 a month less than the rent was.

Works for me.

lethal0r

hang in sympatex someone will accept.

where I live there is a needs-a-bit-of-work 3-bed terrace in a nice part of town on for £100k, dropped by £30k since feb 08.
there is a good 2-bed terrace in a crap part of town on for £125k.

obviously one of those guys really needs to sell, the other doesn't. problem is in my area at least there doesn't seem so many who really need to sell, not yet anyway. as the months go by more and more will need to sell.