FTB house hunting 5.5 hours drive away - advice?

8pnoodles

We are buying 5.5 hours drive away.

How on earth do we do this logistically?

Is it possible to view houses and put an offer in, in a week, AND get an ok price? How long can the offers process take? Are we going to need to plan several trips down there? We have very demanding twin 20 month boys which doesn't help, although my parents have offered to come with us and rent a house for a week (where we are buying) and have the boys while we view. Although travel lodge is probably cheaper!

pinkshoes

You need to be VERY organised. Perhaps go and stay over a weekend, and then go and view say 8 houses a day, take photos/notes then discuss them in the evening, do any second viewings the following day.

Any estate agent will realise you are a serious buyer, so should be able to organise for you to see all suitable properties they have on their books.

After your second viewings, perhaps then go the following weekend for a final viewing (s), then make an offer on your favourite.

Davesnave

Why do you need to buy now?

If it were me, I'd sort out something to rent and get to know the area properly before committing to a purchase.

People are only FTBs once, and more likely to make the most of it if they can tackle the buying process in a cool and calm manner. I would expect to gain much more than the rental costs by being in the right place at the right time, the odds of which are greater too in the flatter market of late summer.

8pnoodles

Pink shoes, I am not sure I fancy two trips up there, one weekend after the other, as 5.5 hours in the car with my two is a huge gamble. We will probably night drive, but when we moved from Germany to the UK this year, we did it overnight and one twin decided to stay awake all night long. Just so stressful!

Davesnave, DH is in the army with 4 years or so left before he leaves. If we buy now, my parents will lend us a big deposit, and we will let it out until we need it.
If we wait we will be in the horrendous position of nowhere to live, with no proveable income so we won't be able to get a mortgage. We can get a good mortgage now on DH's salary.
We will both go self-employed once DH leaves the forces, but won't be able to prove expected earnings to a mortgage company so won't be able to buy. We are going to talk to some mortgage advisors in a couple of months. We also want to buy before they start charging FTB stamp duty, so that will save us some cash.

dorset_nurse

Do all your research on the internet! I bought a house 2 hours away and that was hassle enough!
I researched everything through the internet- found a few suitable houses and then looked at the areas they were in and googled for information to check how nice the area was in.
Once I thought I had the house that was best suited I called the EA and arranged a viewing. That day I had a little look around the area and stopped for lunch in the local. I also viewed some shared houses and chose one for the months between the job starting and house completing if needed.
A few days later I put an offer in which was accepted at 14% below the asking price.
I was moving due to work so was in a rush but I had a room lined up for a few months in the mean time in case. I could have afforded to offer more, but I knew once I had moved to the area I could look for other places with a bit less travelling involved.
If I was in your shoes I would look for a rent at the same time so it the right property doesn't pop up or you can't meet the sellers price you have something to fall back on.

BitterAndTwisted

You're thinking about buying a house and not live in it for four years while you let it? Are you aware that you won't qualify for a residential mortgage on that basis? Leaving out for the moment the risks you might be taking in becoming landlords miles and miles way from the property with no experience either.

I think this needs some very serious and detailed research first. Have you and your OH put together a business plan yet?

PasturesNew

For what it's worth I think you're mad to:
- look to buy something so far away when you're not even in the area and can't get to it easily
- buy something miles away, four years ahead of when you need it

Your life could change a lot in the next four years - and even if you did buy the house and let it out, how would you afford the mortgage when you moved into it if you're newly self-employed?

The plan is riddled with traps and this could easily end up being a millstone round your neck that could unravel at any moment into a nightmare.

Procrastinator333

As above, this plan is doomed to failure.

1) Trying to squeeze in a house purchase in to 1 week because it is a lot of effort to travel there is just mad. If you are really going to buy now, then plan it properly. If your parents will come with you, why not just leave the kids with them. You can then go up on multiple weekends. Even if you spend £1,000 on petrol and hotels, it is peanuts compared to getting the wrong house, the wrong price or both.

2) Letting a house out is not something you want to be doing with a 6 hour distance in between. What happens if you get a cal at 3 am because a pipe has burst, or the heating isn't working. Add to this the risk of a bad tenant. If they wreck the place and don't pay rent for 9 months. Could you take that loss?

3) Unless you ave a massive deposit, I don't think you will get a mortgage as it will need to be a btl mortgage. And if you do it will be at a higher rate.

I just don't see how this plan doesn't end in disaster one way or another. My thought would be to wait for your DH to finish in the forces, move there and rent. Spend a few years working out where exactly you want to live and then once you can demonstrate your income buy a place. In the meantime, just keep saving that deposit.

But that is just me. Good luck to you!

8pnoodles

I don't really want to get into a huge justification of what we are doing, I just wanted to know how long the offers process can take.

We already have all your concerns covered. But yes we are mad, nothing new there.

Seanymph

It may be worth just one of you going and viewing a shortlist, and cutting out even more before both of you go.

flora48

Life can change in an instant, mine did, let alone 4 years. Bide your time, how have you decided on the area you are looking at? Will there be self employed opportunites there in 4 years time?
I wish you well whatever you decide.