FTB - what property to choose?

MMG

Hi all, posted before but I've now narrowed the first house purchase down to three.

Quick background - buying as a couple, no children, combined salary approx 57k, no other debts. Mortgage was approved for a previous property around £200k, until the vendors pulled out at last moment :mad:

From cheapest property to most expensive, there is approx £550 difference of mortgage payments per month!

Property 1 - 250k

4 Bed detached, approx 1850 sq ft, new build with garage. Needs carpeting/tiling

Positive - massive, great house garage and garden.

Negative - price! Might be a stretch for a bit, no holidays for a few years anyway!


Property 2 - 190k

3 Bed detached with garage, approx 1300 sq ft. New build but occupied at present. Ready to move into.

Positive - detached, garage and rooms are of a decent size.

Negative - garden is absolutely tiny. Massive building site for other new builds still to be completed across the street.

Property 3 - 170k

3 Bed end townhouse, 1150 sq ft, new build with choice of turnkey finish. No garage, but electric gates enclose driveway.

Positive - Price, nice looking house and can spec it the way that we want. Great sized lounge and kitchen

Negative - Bedrooms are slightly on the small side.


Sorry about the long post. I'd be interested to hear some opinions, especially those who have faced this sort of choice before on whether to stretch themselves for a much bigger home.

DeadCat

Difficult to say without actually seeing them.

I hope you're negotiating big discounts with the developers over the new-builds. There might be less flexibility over price with the occupied one.

Do you actually need 4 bedrooms? Bear in mind the additional running and maintenance costs with a larger house that you are not actually using to its full potential. Also, bear in mind that if the property market stays iffy over the next few years you stand to lose more on the most expensive house.

MMG

Reasonable enough discounts. The two new builds have been reduced recently ,and can haggle a bit more off them also.

Any other opinions?

DVardysShadow

As ftb, I am assuming the savings you have to put down are not that significant -it would be useful to know how much. Assuming you will have a high LTV, it would be 2 or 3. There is no point in crippling yourself financially. Bear in mind new build carries a premium.

MMG

Added links

(prices are prior to what they are roughly accepting)

MMG

DVardysShadow wrote: »

As ftb, I am assuming the savings you have to put down are not that significant -it would be useful to know how much. Assuming you will have a high LTV, it would be 2 or 3. There is no point in crippling yourself financially. Bear in mind new build carries a premium.

Hi there, approx 25%

DeadCat

Is £250k the developers list price? If so, what do you think you could get them down to? Estimate how much its second value would be in this market and offer that amount.


Edit: Just checked the links. Property prices in Ireland have taken a hammering from what I've read. You should offer substantially less on all three properties and then choose the property which has the most realistic price. You're in a very good position as FTB's with a 25% deposit. The owners should be rolling out the red carpet for you and pandering to your every demand.

BitterAndTwisted

I wouldn't go for a new-built at all and if interest rates start creeping back up again how affordable would the mortgage on the most expensive house be? A detached house is better in all respects imo: no noise from the neighbours, so I'd go for that one if I had to

MMG

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I wouldn't go for a new-built at all and if interest rates start creeping back up again how affordable would the mortgage on the most expensive house be? A detached house is better in all respects imo: no noise from the neighbours, so I'd go for that one if I had to

Unfortunately there isnt much choice at the moment outside of the newbuilds!

Detached is obviously better, but dont know if the premium in this instance is worth it. Anyone have any advice?

Fly_Baby

Don't have any advice in terms of buying - just in terms of living in a 3-bed house with 2 children.

If you are regarding this house as your permanent place to live (i.e. not looking to move) then I would think very carefully about the space you need - especially the size of bedrooms. That's where the children will be playing as well as sleeping and very possibly, reading, doing homework, arts and crafts etc. So a 6 sq. m. bedroom will just not do. It will be very annoying. My two are 6 and 2 y.o. and they are forvever upstairs. They share a bedroom as a place to sleep and the other room is their playroom. It is perfect for now but when the younger one gets older I wonder how I am going to manage with the box room for her.

So I would go for more space. The first one doesn't look very pretty to me - it's purely my personal view - but it is big. And the big garden too!

Again, that's IMO. I have sacrificied a number of certain things to live in a bigger house - that's my choice. And I would pay a premium for space - after all, that's your home, a place you come to in the evening, it's not a thing to compromise on.

Bufger

Would you be able to afford it if/when interest rates rise?
Would you be able to afford repayments on one income if it came to it (redundancy etc)
Have you included the estimate on all bills per month (phone, elec, gas, water)
Have you included insurance payments into the monthly outgoings?

Basically if you can still comfortably afford a house with all of these included then its the right one for you. If not then it might look nice for now but will leave you feeling sour when you're throwing all your money at it and only getting heartache back.