Tragic case... "This website has failed"

Conrad

quantic wrote: »

I personally feel that anyone who can afford to buy a house, but waits a substancial amount of time to buy so that they can get a good deal is an idiot. I don't care if they get a house for 20k/30k/40k less than they originally would have. Money is not more valuable than time. I don't care what the sums say.

If someone told me (they had a time machine) that my house would be worth 20k less in 5 years time, and that would be the best time to buy it. I would still buy it now. I shopped around and waited a little bit (mostly just to save more deposit though) but waiting 2/3/4/5/6 years... is ludicrous and greedy.

Exactly.
I've long questioned why abstaining buyers measure everything in terms of pounds and pennies.

More to life.

Also it is not hard to saqve a 15% deposit and be able to buy in most parts of the UK.

Take some night work, clean wheelie bins in summer - anything to build the cash pile.

If I lost everything today, I'd have a 15% deposit by the end of summer.

Sir_Humphrey

tara747 wrote: »

I think that each person needs to take responsibility for their own life and decisions, and this guy SHOULD have been saving from 2004 to now! I mean, what has he been doing all that time???? If he hasn't been saving a deposit, why not? Doesn't he want to buy a house? Where does he live?

Sorry, but that HPC thread is getting less believable by the minute.

Saving hard has to be part of the rent now: buy later strategy, if nothing else to hedge in case the market did not fall. The cost of renting compared to buying was very low in until IRs fell (taking into account that renters do not pay service charges and often have furniture and council tax included in the rent).

It would be very risky not to put the difference into savings/investments. If the difference was more than you could afford to save then that would mean it was too expensive to buy, which would make renting a necessity rather than a choice.

It also increases the gain when falls do occur as it increases the % deposit available, and reduces the IR when the buy point is reached. Or you buy a bigger place or a place in a better area with the difference saved up (which is what I plan to do).

quantic

Its all these TV shows, people buy a house, paint the walls and then expect to be millionaires over night. I'd love to make a small fortune on my house as its taken a lot of effort to get it to where it is now. But I see that as a side effect of doing it all, not the goal.

ultrawomble

Conrad wrote: »

Exactly.
I've long questioned why abstaining buyers measure everything in terms of pounds and pennies.

More to life.

Errrm, an abstaining buyer is someone who isn't buying - they've obviously got something better to do in life already.

Sir_Humphrey

The ultimate objective of all this is to build up enough equity to be able to live rent/mortgage free at a certain age. This equity can be built up in many ways over the years, with different ways of holding it being better at different times.

If the chap has not been building up equity in any way, then it should not be a surprise if he is down. Not building up equity (if you can) is the really stupid thing to do, not deciding to hold in bricks and mortar, or cash, or in another sort of way.

That is all there is to it.

ninky_2

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

A cautionary tale on the very real dangers of trying to speculate on timing the markets... And listening to bad advice on the internet.

yeah because no one who took on a mortgage ever came a cropper.

this seemingly never ending debate between bulls and bears is like hearing two religious zealots argue which prophet is the true voice of god. you're so blinded by belief and obsessed with presenting that belief as reality you can't see sense.

B_Blank

ninky wrote: »

yeah because no one who took on a mortgage ever came a cropper.

This seemingly never ending debate between bulls and bears is like hearing two religious zealots argue which prophet is the true voice of god. You're so blinded by belief and obsessed with presenting that belief as reality you can't see sense.

+1,000000000

bendix

ninky wrote: »

yeah because no one who took on a mortgage ever came a cropper.

this seemingly never ending debate between bulls and bears is like hearing two religious zealots argue which prophet is the true voice of god. you're so blinded by belief and obsessed with presenting that belief as reality you can't see sense.

Spot on.

Well said.

tara747

quantic wrote: »

I personally feel that anyone who can afford to buy a house, but waits a substancial amount of time to buy so that they can get a good deal is an idiot. I don't care if they get a house for 20k/30k/40k less than they originally would have. Money is not more valuable than time. I don't care what the sums say.

If someone told me (they had a time machine) that my house would be worth 20k less in 5 years time, and that would be the best time to buy it. I would still buy it now. I shopped around and waited a little bit (mostly just to save more deposit though) but waiting 2/3/4/5/6 years... is ludicrous and greedy.

But we are talking 50%+ falls in 3 years here... the stakes are a lot bigger. Would I wait 5 more years to save £20k? No. Would I wait one more year to save £20k? Yes.

My friends paid £190k in 2007 for a house that is now worth £60k. That's tragic. What would you say to them?

I, too, might have bought by now if the alternative was renting sh*tholes for extortionate amounts that left no room to save. OH and I are renting a lovely house (with CT included) for a very reasonable rent in a very nice area, the LL is fantastic and puts up hooks for our pictures anytime we ask (I know that this is a common 'why to buy' argument lol)! He also sorts out any maintenance issues straight away (although the house was newly renovated when we moved in, and to a high standard I must say).

We are lucky, we have good salaries and are able to save a substantial amount each month. We will buy at some stage in the next 2 years I imagine. When the right house in the right area comes along at the right price. We could buy for cash in some areas here but they are too dodgy to live in. I like to feel safe and have nice surroundings, you see.

StevieJ

tara747 wrote: »

But we are talking 50%+ falls in 3 years here... the stakes are a lot bigger. Would I wait 5 more years to save £20k? No. Would I wait one more year to save £20k? Yes.

My friends paid £190k in 2007 for a house that is now worth £60k. That's tragic. What would you say to them?

Do you live in Northern Ireland?