FTB as usual! Maybe stupid questions

wifeforlife

I'm so sorry for yet another FTB thread!

I just dont know who else to ask to be honest.

Basically, myself and my partner have found our home and want to buy.

It's a new build 3 storey mid townhouse asking price of £140k and includes alarms, tarmac, full kitchen facilities, bathroom suites and the like, we have a deposit saved and before we apply for a mortgage we've noticed something the sales brochure says.

NO DEPOSIT FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS THROUGH CO-OWNERSHIP

So now we're thinking do we apply co-ownership and only buy 90% of the property therefore using our deposit to carpet and paint the property plus buy furniture - also to contribute to solicitors fees and stuff. Then buy the remaining 10% in say 5-10 years time

Or are we better to go ahead as normal, use the deposit for what it is, buy the house and make do until we can save for the rest of non essentials which in effect they are!

Must say the only reason we're even considering this is because we've just recently found out like last week that we're due a baby in January so would prefer to have a home at least comfortable for when it arrives.

Also we're both in fairly stable jobs, myself more so than he

Again sorry for another FTB question

Thanks
Cate

poppysarah

can you buy 90%?

cattie

Would you actually qualify for co-ownership? And if you do would paying rent on the rented part be much less than actually paying the mortgage on a whole house?

It sounds as if money is pretty tight if you don't actually have enough money saved for carpets, furniture & such stuff & if you're having a baby in January, there's going to be a heck of a lot of expense one he/she arrives on the scene.

Perhaps you need first to work out whether now is the right time to be thinking of buying or whether wait untill your financial position improves.

Or if you definitely do want to buy & want a new build, then there seem to be good deals to be had with extra's such as carpets etc. thrown in by developer's from what other poster's are saying on this board. May be an idea to shop around to see what's on offer.

Greenwellies_2

I done co-ownership (shared ownership) 15 years ago.

I'll admit it enabled me to get on the property ladder, but the rent was more than my mortgage (based on 50% share)

New builds are over priced, my lender will not entertain a new build. That's possibly why they're offering to do the deals for you

Put those two together, along with the fees you'll have to pay for the purchase of the remaining share.......

Then the price of that property when you 'staircase' (if it's 100k now, and you pay 90£ for a 90% share) and next time it's 200k, you wont pay £10k, it'll be £20k i.e. current market value. and before you get 'excited' about people saying prices will fall by 10% I bet there is a clause stopping there being a point where the other party does not get their money back.

Don't go into this lightheartedly, it's a BIG commitment, and you get no support.

GW

wifeforlife

poppysarah wrote: »

can you buy 90%?

Sorry for the delay in replying I've been having a manic day in work

Yes we can buy 90%, have been confirmed this information with our mortgage advisor and a friend who works within the co-ownership

Would you actually qualify for co-ownership? And if you do would paying rent on the rented part be much less than actually paying the mortgage on a whole house?

It sounds as if money is pretty tight if you don't actually have enough money saved for carpets, furniture & such stuff & if you're having a baby in January, there's going to be a heck of a lot of expense one he/she arrives on the scene.

Perhaps you need first to work out whether now is the right time to be thinking of buying or whether wait untill your financial position improves.

Or if you definitely do want to buy & want a new build, then there seem to be good deals to be had with extra's such as carpets etc. thrown in by developer's from what other poster's are saying on this board. May be an idea to shop around to see what's on offer.

Yes we do qualify for co-ownership, the rent works out at £29 a month. It's not that money is tight, no different to anyone else, but I've most of my furniture from my own rented property so nothing other than carpets and painting to buy. Oh and a new couch, I should have been more specific. With regards to the baby, we've a child already and have everything from it, pram cot and the like so just nappies and clothing if it's a boy, unless they can wear pink

Prices in NI here are still very high, the house we're interested in is on at 140k and is a replica of a house a relative lives in, same square footage and layout just different location. He bought his house 2005 for 120k so still a difference though, we dont know how much more in NI the prices are going to fall, and we dont have time on our side now. We are waiting to December at the very latest.

Don't go into this lightheartedly, it's a BIG commitment, and you get no support.

I know, this is why we're weighing up all our options! Thanks for taking the time to reply, it's good to have people who can play devils advocate

Cate

terrierlady

no questions are stupid or silly everyone is or was a ftbyr in their lifetime so keep asking the many experts on here will try to help if they can good luck with your purchase.

Greenwellies_2

cathy2702 wrote: »

....the rent works out at £29 a month.

WOW that's cheap, mine was £350 and that was on £27K /50% share

They also put the rent up each year, and not by little amounts either, it started off quite 'reasonable'.

When the boiler broke, we has smashed windows, water poured in from the flat roof..... they gave us no support. All I ever got from them was requests for more money, i.e. when we were thinking of staircasing, we had to pay for them to consider it, then pay for the valuations their solicitors........
That's why I said it's a BIG commitment, with no support.

Good Luck

GW