I Want A House!

skintchick

I didn;t have any furniture but I bought second hand had was given cast offs. I'm still using most of them! I bought a sofa and wardrobe and dining table and chairs but other than that everything I own is second hand.

I still have the original carpets from when the house was built in 1983 too - they are threadbare but I put rugs over them. can't afford to replace them.

All I did was paint the rooms and I did put in a new kitchen (using a loan. Doh).

davilown

tyllwyd wrote:

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?

my rent in minimal (around 250 at present). main prob is the 700 currently paying on debts ie car loan, cc, computer etc

cheers

:beer: monster

davilown

Thanks all for your replies! The house is a new build so most things are covered for a couple of years and the mortgage would be int only for three years. payments would be around 380 for the three years then oh would be qualified so we would pay her wage off the mortgage.

:beer: monster

CD_Man

The longer you put off buying your own place the harder its going to be - Im in the process of buying and thought about saving up a deposit etc but the way I see it the property that Im buying will go up in value roughly £12k a year so in a couple of years I can take out the equity that I've made to pay off any debts etc or to use a deposit on another place :0) - if you can do it now I would do it.

dudleyboy

I know the feelings expressed here. It's slightly frustrating for me. At 23 I wasn't earning enough to raise a mortgage (affordably) so decided to work hard to eventually earn a higher salary that would allow me to pay off debts and raise the funds for a deposit so that I could afford the repayments on a mortgage later.

Now, 5 years later, my debt has almost been completely paid off, my salary has indeed increased, and I STILL can't afford to raise a mortgage because the prices have since shot through the roof.

I'd like to say hindsight is a wonderful thing but there was no way that I could have afforded to buy 5 years ago... although ironically, proportionately, houses were more affordable for me then than they are now.

It's disheartening that the goal posts haven't just moved but have now completely disappeared out of sight... but you can't let it get you down.

I'm currently renting and don't mind... because I have to live somewhere... and it's a nice flat, in a nice area, and the rent is affordable. If I were to buy now, it'd be a crppy flat, in a crppy area, and the repayments wouldn't be affordable... so I keep an eye on the market instead to see how things are going for that one day in the future where i'm either a millionnaire or they build new appartments which aren't "luxury" and therefore affordable.

If you can afford to buy now then do so... but I wouldn't rush into it just because you're afraid of never getting on the ladder. That's just the sort of paranoia that estate agents, via the media, like to whip up so that house prices continue to stay inflated. I'd recommend renting, paying off your current debts (rather than generating more - solicitor fees, decorating, new furniture, etc) and just waiting to see what happens.

And if you end up renting forever... well... what's it matter? You can't take it with you... although fingers crossed it won't come to that.

ladywood

Remember it is not just the cost of the house but the cost of moving that you have to take into account - solicitors, van hire/removal, surveys, mortgage fees possibly plus of course stamp duty - at least a couple of thousand pounds - possibly a lot more.
I wouldn't buy unless you have this in cash - otherwise even with 100% mortgage you will be increasing your debt.

gingin_2

CD_Man wrote:

The longer you put off buying your own place the harder its going to be - Im in the process of buying and thought about saving up a deposit etc but the way I see it the property that Im buying will go up in value roughly £12k a year so in a couple of years I can take out the equity that I've made to pay off any debts etc or to use a deposit on another place :0) - if you can do it now I would do it.

How are you so certain that your property will rise by 12k per year???

library_lady_2

We sold our house back in early 2000 to pay off our cc debts of £7,000 (?) just in a panic not under threat of eviction or anything (no mse then - mores the pity, just scary letters and threats!), the housing market had been static since the panic in the early 90's, so we thought we'd have a breather and save a healthy deposit and buy better in a couple of years, we sold for £43k, 6 months later a neighbouring house was on the market for £65k, they now sell for a £100k!! Thats the housing market for you. Oh had aheart attack within 6 months of selling at only 39 a shock, but thankfully survived, but work went out the window and we are now destined to rent forever (simply can't afford that first step). we're fortunate as oh is now a school caretaker and house (at a small rent taken from wages) comes with the job. I still get angry about the obsession in this country about home ownership even though I know it makes sense particularly with so many people buying to let. I feel for my children who we're not going to be able to help onto that first rung and wonder if they'll ever have the opportunity to buy. Sorry this has become an epic, basically if you can afford it comfortably and you are able to get a mortgage then go for it you never know what is around the corner.

dellamirandola

Not sure how it can make sense to buy with 18 grand worth of debt - given that mortgage lenders/etc are saying that the market should keep pace with earnings (i.e. not go up that much) over the next few years.

The property market has been insane over the last few years and perhaps it'll carry on being insane, but if you buy now you'll be at huge risk of repossession if anything goes wrong. At the moment it sounds like you have a fabulously low rent and you can save more than the money you'd be spending on mortgage interest.

CLAPTON

this boils down to two different issues

firstly the emotional one about house ownership that has been very well aired here with pros and cons and with many interesting contributions

and secondly the financial one as to what mortgage you can get and can you afford it?
have you asked about a mortgage?
have you constructed a budget both for now and for the post purchase situation including all the incidental costs of house ownership....if so I invite you to share with results here.