£17,000 lost in 3 years. Advice please

jop8383

rosyw wrote: »

OK, put it into perspective a bit. Where you renting before? if so how much rent were you paying? your loss works out at approx. £472 per month over the threee year period, which hasn't ended up in the LL pocket! if you have the patience to sit tight for a while, things will "eventually" pick up. We bought our house just before the price crash in the 80's, spent nearly £20K on it in the first two years, and it was then valued at £10K less than we paid for it! £30K loss, so I know how you're feeling right now, but it WILL come right in the end, not soon, but eventually.

thanks. ive always been so good with saving etc and now feel like ive been kicked back down because I wanted my own place.

Yeah we are both young (ish!) so a few years wont make that much difference apart from the fact that then the lease may be more of an issue. really feel stuck between rock and hard place! just hope property prices begin to rise again soon! annoying our friends have just had valuation on their home and its gone up by 15K. so unfair!!!

Jo

BitterAndTwisted

Eh, you've still got a roof over your head and presumably two salaries to either start making some serious overpayments on the mortgage or get saving to extend that lease.

jop8383

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Eh, you've still got a roof over your head and presumably two salaries to either start making some serious overpayments on the mortgage or get saving to extend that lease.

i know, I'm not thinking its that bad and I know things have hit people a lot harder. just wanted some advice from people who are bit impartial! is waiting a few years going to cause me problems with lease or woujld people just forget about it for a few years and worry then?

BitterAndTwisted

I wouldn't say forget about it but I would recommend saving every single penny you can to get that lease extended. At 76 years the lease will be verging on unmortgageable for future buyers if you don't.

Eric1

rosyw wrote: »

OK, put it into perspective a bit. Where you renting before? if so how much rent were you paying? your loss works out at approx. £472 per month over the threee year period, which hasn't ended up in the LL pocket!

This is not entirely correct.
£472 per month should have been the OP's equity, and it was paid on top of the interest paid to the lender every month, which has ended up in the lender's pocket.
And where has the £472 x 36 gone? I'm afraid to the same lender's pocket.

pararct

Overpaying the mortgage will draw it down faster, reduce the effects of negative equity if and when it does come and could give you a welcome house fund (quicker) as and when values do recover, and they will it is just a question of time.

It will be the same as saving as it will reduce your current mortgage obligation which you would have to clear when you trade up anyway.

I have been paying into a tracker ISA for around 15 years, lump sum and I drip £100 a Month in. Even if the unit prices move by only a few pennies up or down it amplifies the value or reduction by £1000+ such is the result of the compound factor. The same could be true in the potential future value of your property measured against the outstanding mortgage should you choose to overpay it now.

papalimabravo

pararct wrote: »

How will the OP be better off? Their deposit has been wiped out, to sell now means break even more or less.

There is no deposit to take forward = no lender will entertain a mortgage unless you know of any offering 100% deals?

Touch choice I know OP but you have some hard choices ahead. Sit tight and risk real Negative equity possibly for years to come or sell now and start again.

I guess having no mortgage and no chance of negative equity would be a benefit.

It means renting. This is not the end of the world, and it does allow one to save and move quickly (no chain) if something comes up in the future.

Also, if house prices fall, then smaller deposits will be required in the future. (Hmmm... maybe lower house prices might not be too bad after all...)

pararct wrote: »

There are no other answers I am afraid.... Don't listen to stupid comments like coming price rises over the winter. It is because of such vested interests in pushing property in the first place that you were lulled into the position you are now in.

Some people want to see house prices go up, other want to see them go down. To a degree, everyone has a vested interest in house prices...

Thrugelmir

You need to apply for a lease extension. Be prepared to take your time as it can be a long drawn out affair. Don't appear desperate, negotiate hard.

Serve your Freeholder with a Notice of Claim under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 .

You will be able to get a 90 extension to your lease. The cost of which should be reflected in additional value to the property.

Buying and owning a property is similar to being on a rollercoaster. Markets do rise and fall on a frequent basis.

Overpay your mortgage on a regular basis and its amazing how quickly equity can build. If moving is a priority then make sacrifices to achieve your dream. Hard work does pay off at the end of the day.

From a personal perspective. All I can see in the medium term is downward pressure on house prices. So don't worry about missing the boat. Its not going anywhere fast.

jop8383

the_realist wrote: »

op, just out of interest, how does the rent on similar places compare to your mortgage payments?

pretty similiar.

i am making monthly overpayments. doing all i can to plough as much as i can into this place.

PasturesNew

I'd say that if the current place is adequate/fine, then the best bet is to stay put. Forget about buying somewhere else. Concentrate on saving to get the lease extended. Once extended, save all you can to put towards somewhere else. Then trade up when the maths stacks up.

Theoretically, every day that you don't own an extended lease, it's going to cost you more to buy it. So it's better to extend the lease probably than to pay off more mortgage.

Need the figures to do the maths though.