Should i Wait?!

alipops1986

Good Evening All!

I am intrigued so felt the need to post about my current situation.

I am a student teacher (22yrs old), about to qualify as a secondary school teacher in three months :rotfl: Also, i have secured my first teaching job so will be in full time employment as of Sept 09 earning just shy of 21k a yr. At the moment i am in the employment based and paid training earning 15k a yr.

However, over the last 2/3 years I have managed to save £10,000 - at the moment i am saving £450 a month. By the summer i am hoping to have roughly £15,000 saved.

I am itching to move out now! However, parents think i should hang on as prices are going to decrease further. Is this about right? Should i stay at home for upto another six months? OR, should i go for it in the summer by buying or even renting?

All opinions welcome!
Alice

scousethife

Im am currently stood at the end of my garden on my laptop and can read the above post from here!

epsilondraconis

You could save even more money if you typed in smaller letters!

My advice would be to wait for another 6 months. During that time, do a lot of research into the areas in which you are interested in buying. Look at the house prices in the area to see how much they are falling etc. Use mouseprice etc.

Okay, another 6 months with your parents doesn't seem great at the moment, but it'll be worthwhile in the end.

poppysarah

Do you know where you'll be teaching?

dottiepeas

I think it wouldn't hurt too much to wait abit longer?....if you're not that desperate to leave your parents, then you could use this time wisely to save abit more for your deposit. Alot of banks are asking for a minimum of 25% deposit nowadays, which is quite alot of money!!

But it also depends on where you are thinking of buying?....I think house prices might fall more in some areas than others...I think if the chosen area is quite popular and desirable, they tend to hold their value abit more. We're in oxford, and the house prices here are still pretty high, even after a slight fall in prices!

Might be worth hanging on abit longer, if you're in no rush to get your own place!...but no one really knows whether/when house prices are going to bottom out....so you could be waiting for a bargain that might never appear!...

Robert_Sterling_3

50 years ago I started a job in secondary school teaching.
The starting salary was £430 per annum
I got extra for working in London
and extra for having a degree
So I started at £728 per annum.
However my first 4 bed edwardian house cost £5,500 and that was after I had taught for 5 years..

Regmir

scousethife wrote: »

Im am currently stood at the end of my garden on my laptop and can read the above post from here!

OP is a teacher (nearly!!) and it is essential in the profession that we all are able to read it clearly;)

Depends how desperate you are to move out! Longer you wait more you save and bigger deposit. If house prices start to move upwards this assumption will fail. If you can afford now go for it when you can, why wait?

Castleman

What's the rush?

If you want to move out of your parents home, do what 95%+ (?) of people under the age of 25 do and rent! There really is no rush for getting on the housing ladder (housing slide?).

Renting first would be a good way forward - learn to manage your finances (it's very different when you have to pay for everything rather than your parents - bills, council tax, insurance etc) and you might find that you couldn't actually afford to buy yet. I know a lot of people with salaries >25k who don't feel comfortable buying (in terms of affordability) even with deposits of 25k+.

Just a though, what's the rush, you can have the rest of yuor life for home ownership! Move in with some mates, if you've never done that before, it's great!

scousethife

I was looking at mortgages yesterday and the really good rates only come with a really big deposit.

Also the interest on a mortgage is like 200% over its lifetime, so you will save a huge amount by saving up more and borrowing less.

charliee_3

i've been waiting since i was 25 for the prices to fall.. ;m 33 now and every one of my friends who bought a housein the meantime i've been like 'ooh risky buying now when the prices are going to plummet any minute' but they havent and now they all have nice houses whilst i am still in rented.. however me and DF are finally taking the plunge.. we have a fixed rate for 5 years which will hopefullly be long enough to ride out this storm and as its a home we are after, not an investment per se, as long as we dont split up or anything nasty like that we should be able weather any temporary price drops.
i dont know how much property is in your area, but you really need about 25% these days as a deposit if you want the best rates (plus money for fees etc) and you will need furntiure, etc . also you will probably be better waiting till you have been at your job for at least 6 months..