10 years of hard saving for a house, what should I do now?

Calchas

Sorry for going off topic for a moment.

How do you replace the words in a link with another word? E.g. better

zaphod_beeblebrox_2

Pierre, buy this weeks copy of MONEY WEEK, turn to page 24 .. DONT BUY NOW !

Mort_Gage

Calchas wrote: »

How do you replace the words in a link with another word? E.g. better

You use the following syntax:

(url=<the full URL of the link>) better (/url)

but you replace all the () brackets with [] square brackets (couldn't use square brackets in my example as the text string wouldn't appear otherwise) and you omit the <> brackets around the URL all together.

So in the example posted by G_M the full URL was:

http://www.investec.com/UnitedKingdom/PrivateBan/BankingandTreasuryServices/High5.htm

So the syntax would be:

(url=http://www.investec.com/UnitedKingdom/PrivateBan/BankingandTreasuryServices/High5.htm) better (/url)

but remember to replace the () with [] square brackets !!

Try experimenting by replying and using the 'Preview Post' option to get it right.

Alternatively you could read the MSE FAQ on this subject .

Decadent_Fool

zaphod_beeblebrox wrote: »

Pierre, buy this weeks copy of MONEY WEEK, turn to page 24 .. DONT BUY NOW !

Why? For every doom monger, there is someone else saying now is an ideal opportunity.

To the o/p, I say go with what you feel is right. Imho though you'll there'll be no more money wasted on rent, you've low interest rates, and cheaper homes. If you're in it for the long term, why wait so long as you can afford to stay on the log?

withnell

melbury wrote: »

They said on the news last week that house prices had gone up by 1.9% in January, so have they bottomed out yet?

Depends who you listen to. The papers often quote RightMove, which is based on the average asking price for houses - so as lots of inv bankers put their expensive canary wharf pads on the market, the average prices go up!

thelawnet

Doomcow wrote: »

you need a roof over your head, bite the bullet and buy a house.

without somewhere to live, what use is cash in the bank?

I think the OP has somewhere to live already. They don't have internet connections to cardboard boxes you know.

Hungerdunger

Calchas wrote: »

Sorry for going off topic for a moment.

How do you replace the words in a link with another word? E.g. better

1) Copy the URL from the web page. (Highlight it, then either Ctrl+C or Right Click and select copy)

2) Highlight the word you want to make into a link, then click the "Insert Link" icon (when you are replying to a message it's roughly halfway along the row of icons) and paste the URL.

thelawnet

Decadent_Fool wrote: »

Why? For every doom monger, there is someone else saying now is an ideal opportunity.

To the o/p, I say go with what you feel is right. Imho though you'll there'll be no more money wasted on rent, you've low interest rates, and cheaper homes. If you're in it for the long term, why wait so long as you can afford to stay on the log?

It would be helpful if the OP would post more details about his proposed investment (in his house). The town that he's looking to buy in, how much his rent is, how much income does he has, and how much he's going to spend are very relevant questions.

There's little point in speculating about it, he should answer.

Rent is no more wasted than mortgage interest is wasted. They are almost equivalent, though to mortgage interest you need to add maintenance costs, which you don't pay as a tenant.

At 90% LTV (the best available), the OP is looking at a £250k house:

£2.5k stamp duty
£1.5k survey, conveyancing, etc.
£25k deposit
£99 mortgage arrangement fee (C&G 90% mortgage)

= £29.1k

Leaving him with only £900 of savings.

He'd then be borrowing £225k, on which the interest is £1160/month, £1500/month mortgage payment. Is that more than his rent? It is where I live. Is the mortgage payment affordable? Does he satisfy income multiple requirements?

If he wants a better mortgage deal, then £30k doesn't go very far at all. Going to 75% LTV will find you a much more attractive rate, but then he's only got about £110,000 to spend, which in many parts of the country is unlikely to leave one feeling that the sacrifices involved in "saving hard for a house from my early 20s" (I'm guessing this is 10 years or more of scrimping and saving) was worthwhile.

Why blow 10 years of effort just to take out an expensive mortgage? Interest rates on savings are low, but interest rates on mortgages are very high for first-time buyers, except the rare few with massive deposits.

thelawnet

Pierre0001 wrote: »

I've been saving hard for a house from my early 20s and have about £30,000 sat in a bank. Interest rates have dropped, I'm getting about 2% on about 20,000 pounds, the rest is in ISAS.
Reading the forums many people say to hold on buying a property. I'm worried with the way that the pound is going and the government is talking about printing money, I do not fully understand the implications but from what I can work out if they do this my savings are likely to drop drastically in value. Should I be investing my money in gold? I keep reading the pound will collapse, so I was also wondering would it be worth changing my savings to Euro's and saving with a European bank?

Inflation tends to be global. In this scenario, the euros would also be falling in value.

There is however little sign of inflation at the moment. While governments are indeed printing money, the time to panic was actually ten years ago, when banks were vastly increasing the money supply by over-lending, creating asset price bubbles - not so much now, when they are merely trying to keep things afloat.

Doomcow

thelawnet wrote: »

I think the OP has somewhere to live already. They don't have internet connections to cardboard boxes you know.

maybe they do - there are wi-fi hotspots about the place.

also, there are internet cafe's OP may use.

point still stands, a home is always a good thing and if you can afford it, why not?