FTB - what property to choose?

penguine

MMG wrote: »

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

In that case, is there any way you can wait until there is more choice? Low interest rates at the moment mean a lot of people are holding onto their properties in the hope that they will get more for them down the line, but as unemployment rises this is likely to change.

I personally wouldn't buy a new build as they tend to have smaller rooms and gardens and there's not much possibility of adding value to them later on.

Bibliophile_2

You haven't said what stage of life you're at and your future plans for a family, so it's difficult to advise you.

If you've got good, markeatable job skills and are relatively young then I'd say stretch yourself a little. I always did, and it worked out for me. The first few years are a little hard, but you'll find you were pleased you did it in the long run.

MMG

Thanks for the replies. 25 years old, no children and no plans to within the next 5 years. More than likely dont see it as a home for life, most likely for the next 5 years or so. Both in stable jobs.

Fly_Baby

MMG wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. 25 years old, no children and no plans to within the next 5 years. More than likely dont see it as a home for life, most likely for the next 5 years or so. Both in stable jobs.

In that case, do you really need a 3-bed place? Or a big garden?

Financially, maybe it could be more reasonable to buy a smaller place with a smaller mortgage stretched over, say, 10 years instead of 25? Then pay off as much of capital as possible - shouldn't be difficult with you salaries and the shorter mortgage term where you are paying off capital from the start and not just interest as is the case with longer mortgages.

So when you are more decided on family and a place to live for longer than just 5 years you will have built a lot of equity, your salaries will probably have gone up even more so you will be in good position of buying a family home with an affordable mortgage.

tek-monkey

I have to say that having lived in a number of places, I now would not go without a decent garden. I've had places with none, and places with very small ones, but my current place has nearly 100m of garden and I love it! Takes a fair bit of work though.

emmalita

Out of the three I would probably go for the third. I wouldnt worry about bedroom sizes too much I would be more concerned with the living space. The main thing is being fianancially comfortable, there is no point being sat in a very expensive house with nothing in your purse. The third seems like the better option.

gmgmgm

Third option, if the only problem is small bedrooms.

Bedrooms are used for sleeping in- as long as they're functional, the rest is just a luxury. How many minutes per day do you spend actively using the room (not in bed!)?

Better to have more space where you'll use it during your awake hours.

MMG

Thanks for all the responses! Still undecided, any more input?

barnaby-bear

Fly_Baby wrote: »

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.

I think a lot of this very true.

Moving is expensive and a lot of hassle - plus decorating/fitting furniture in. I'd look at the long term - a house you can live in long term if you had to with whatever children you choose to have and regadless of negative equity / job stability i.e. a house you don't need to move on - so affordable but long term suitable. Think how you will use the space - do you want family to stay if so two double bedrooms may be a must. If you had a couple of kids would you still want family to be able to stay if so 3 decent bedrooms so you can shove both kids in one and use the other as a guest room if needs must might be important. Can you afford it all on one salary+maternity pay/paying for childcare. If lots of floors is there a loo on both floors/do you want young kids on different floors - pottering around for a toilet in the dark. Does fire escape on a 3rd floor bother you? Is that 3rd/4th bedroom important for a study/working from home. If a room is really small would you have to have a kids wardrobe in another room - it can be an odd setup.

Private sunny garden space is important to me - but size not so much - enough so you can put washing out/have mates for a BBQ, a patio table. Also access if you have muddy dogs/bikes etc how do you get to the garden/garage/put the bins out.

Personally I ignore all properties without loft space and rooms instead of a loft.

I guess we've all assumed you are looking for a house to have a family in - perhaps you aren't. Are you planning to have lodgers - would the house be suitable....

VKay

Hello! Had to post after being nosey and looking at your links! Also we are spookily similar in terms of budget- but not age.

Our combined income is £58k and we have a deposit of 50k but we are in our early 30s and so maybe this changes our priorities considerably!! We also have no children.

We set ourselves a budget of buying a house we can afford (at a push) if one of us loses a job, or drops income massively (eg having a baby, changes career). We prob could have bought up to around £200k but frankly we didn't bother to find out. We worked out our monthly budget to see what we could realistically pay each month- so backwards really.

The repayments on the house we are buying for £150k will be just under £600 pm (the same as the rent we pay currently) and we'll fix for a few years. I think your repayments will be quite scary! Are you sure you don't mind not going on holiday, going out for dinner, buying clothes on impulse?!

I read someone said you should stretch whilst youre young, good incomes, no children and I can definitely understand this point of view. Just wanted to put forward another point of view of buying something cheaper/smaller and having your 'freedom' to travel /socialise/save etc whilst you aren't thinking of families!

The houses DO look really fabulous! I wish you lots of luck with your big decisions.