I Want A House!

davilown

I want to buy a house, not just for the sake of it, but to decrease the oh's journey times each day by half.
Unfortunately i owe around 18k and pay £650pm on debt. I have 1500 coming in after rent and council tax.
Should I buy now or wait till i've paid it off in three years (loan due to finish in 27 months)?

I know i've asked before but my head is so for the idea of moving that i just don't know what to do!

cheers

:beer: monster

VonBek

Hi There,

Personaly I would say go for it if you can afford it, It is much better to own your house than to be renting.

I am renting because I dont have a choice at the moment, the house had to be sold to clear joint debts when I left my ex wife, now I don't have the money to put a deposit together, Looking like 6 years before I will be in a position to buy again, My view is that those 6 years will be spent giving £700 per month to someone else, At the end of it I will have nothing to show for it.

Still thats life, and at least in 3 years I will be debt free :T , First time in 30 years Ive been in a position like this. And I like the feel of it.

Ian.

lynzpower

just a thought, when I went for my mortgage, the lenders minused my debt x3 and then wouldnt lend me that. It was touch & go as to whether to proceed. I personally woudnt, the bigger deposit you have the better. In 27 months ( if not before) you can start saving that 650 pcm for your deposit and within 6 months, will have a healthy amount. Im not too keen on 100% mortgages

CLAPTON

you dont say your circumstances but if you have £1,500 after rent and council tax can't you pay your debts back more quickly or are you building up a deposit on the house? basically if you can obtain a mortgage AND you can afford to pay it back, there seems no reason why not.

Broken_hearted

I would wait, houses eat money and it's so tempting to stick new carpets, curtains and such on credit.

tyllwyd

If you have 18K debt, does that mean that you'd need a 100% mortgage, so you wouldn't be able to go for the best rates?

What about renting nearer your OH's work?

scottishspendaholic

Broken_hearted wrote:

I would wait, houses eat money and it's so tempting to stick new carpets, curtains and such on credit.

Hi there,

I'm afraid I have to agree - we bought a house 6 months ago and it just eats money - I'm all for owning you own home and getting on the property ladder - but it really drains your finances, especially when you first move in and realise you don't have enough furniture/you need 17 tins of new paint or you just can't live with the washing machine the previous owners left.

Also - we got a 125% mortgage to pay off some debts and do some much needed work in the house (I know - pre lightbulb!) and we now pay £950ish a month in mortgage and insurance repayments and only paid £450 a month in rent.

Sorry to be so negative - hopefully you will be in a better situation in a year or two and it'll fly by - honestly!

scottishspendaholic x

seraphina

I would dearly love a house of our own but it's going to be a few years before we're in a position to buy. In the meantime, renting for us is actually very cheap. We can afford to rent a nicer place than we can buy, and our letting agency is very good about sorting out problems - and when things break, it's not our responsibility, financially or otherwise!

I don't see renting as dead money - we've been waiting to see how our careers establish themselves - and therefore what part of the country is best for us - before we commit to buying, so renting is very flexible for us. Because it's cheaper we can afford to clear more of our debt each month, which means we get to buy sooner, with a clean slate and a mortgage as our only debt.

Think *very* carefully before you buy - a house can be a real millstone around your neck.

But then, I never see a house as an investment - just someplace to live. If you wind up making money on it, all well and good, but don't count on it.

skintchick

I feel the opposite way - I bought my house seven years ago aged 23 and have never looked back. OK, I have to fix things (and had to spend £3,000 on a new boiler last year!) but the house is mine, it has increased in value, and I am secure that as long as I pay my mortgage I will always have a roof over my head, which I find very comforting.

We're all different, and i see the advantages of renting, but it's not for me.

Broken_hearted

Seven years ago houses were a lot cheaper. I bought mine 8 years ago and love having it. I've had to put in new heating, windows and it still needs cosmetic work. I just wouldn't like to take on a huge mortgage now on top of debt.

dinkylou

I agree to some extent with both sides.

Like skintchick I bought a house at 23 and was sooo happy I did otherwise I couldnt afford one now.

But it does eat up alot of your money and I had most of my furniture already.

My advice to you would be to save all of the extra cash you have now (if you have £850 after bills and debt, thats alot) so that you have a house fund.

This could be used either as a deposit (I got a 100% mortgage and mine is competitive) or to pay for furniture/living essentials/legal costs etc.

Then when the 3 years are up and you are in a better financial position then buy a house. You'll have your house/mortgage for a long time and so a few years waiting wont make too much difference.