FTB house hunting 5.5 hours drive away - advice?

andthethreebears

When we moved (2.5hrs away) we ended up renting for 2.5yrs! From reading / short visits we picked completely the wrong area of the city for us, and by renting 2 different properties and spending time getting to know the area we made a much better decision than we would have 'blind'!

It took us 2 consecutive weekends just finding our first rental, we had 8 to view on the first Saturday we arrived 2 had already been let, 2 they didn't have the keys for and 2 wouldn't consider us as we had a pet! Even the best laid plans go awry!

Good luck!

Cissi

Ok, I do agree about all the pitfalls of doing this, but it doesn't have to be impossible! When we bought our first house, we were in a similar situation in many ways - more extreme in some ways, as DH and I were moving here from another European country.

My parents already lived in the UK but 1.5 hours away from where we were moving to (all to do with work/studies). I initially came to stay with my parents for a week; my parents and I did 2 or 3 day trips to look at a large number of possible houses and then narrowed them down to a shortlist of 8 for when DH was able to come with me. He was in the UK for a few days; we decided on our favourite 2 or 3 houses and did second viewings on these within a day or two. Negotiations were then carried out by telephone and we secured the house that we wanted, moving in a few months later.

We were very lucky with timings in that we sold the house for almost twice what we paid for it just 4 years later (1996 to 2000). Very different times now, but as you're looking to do this more long term it may well work for you. Good luck!

joerugby

8pnoodles wrote: »

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.

So, do you have a business plan?

hazyjo

If you can't prove your OH's income in a few years, how can you yourselves be sure of it? Does he have guaranteed work once he leaves the army? If not, do you really want to be stuck with a mortgage? What if the tenants leave?

Know you don't want to hear all this, but people are just concerned. Take a look at other posts on this board from LLs re nightmare tenants, debt and the property market in general. Prices are still generally going down. Can you not do some saving over the next 4 years for a deposit and wait until you have a guaranteed income?

If you do go ahead, you can view, then offer from home. No need to be in the area. I'd view on a Sat morning and arrange a viewing for the Sunday too if I liked it. You need to be absolutely thorough when reading property particulars. If you want three beds, look at three beds. Don't look at two saying you might compromise. In my experience, people rarely do when it comes to things like that. Just be very thorough with your 'essentials' list.

You must have thorough looks round a house if you both like it. Walk round with the owner or agent and either devise a code between yourselves if you like it, or be honest and one of you says how far you've come to view and would they mind if you just had a minute to chat in their kitchen or garden or wherever, then say you'd like another look round now, and look at it through the eyes of a 'second view'. If one of you doesn't like it, wouldn't hurt to have a code for that too! You could always arrange to go back for a view the next day (prob Sun).

It's amazing how quickly houses blend into one when you look at a lot in one day. When we bought the one we're in now, we only looked at another one the same day. Amazing though how many features of the first one we remembered, but forgot a lot of this one we actually bought. It didn't matter a jot though as we knew it was the one for us and loved it. There was lots we didn't like about the other house, but that's the one that stayed in our heads more. I'd hate to view 8 in a day (as suggested above). Four would be my limit, I think. Maybe that's just my horrendous memory though lol!

If it's a 5.5 hour drive, are there flights available to cut down some of the journey? Kids could be looked after and the two of you could get a plane. Not sure where you're living and viewing though.

Jx

chewmylegoff

You'll have to get a BTL mortgage now, so your issue with not being able to prove income is still going to be there, as in 4 years time you'll want to switch from BTL to residential mortgage, and you'll have to prove income to do so.

getmore4less

8pnoodles wrote: »

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.

THe process is instant to long time.

You make an offer at some point the vendor agrees.

You don't even need to view just offer on the basis of on-line info

Unless you will be motgage free when you need to move in, why not look for somewhere when you have a job in civi street or the final postings that's what my parents did.


With 4 years to go you need a good rental not a home so expect to be swapping anyway.

Sounds like you might not even know the area or have family there!

lilac_rainbow

We were looking last year so basically we shortlisted houses from the internet and contacted local estate agents and gave them our requirements and they emailed us suitable properties when they came in. I then arranged a long-weekend visit (fri-mon) and we viewed 8 houses on the Friday and 7 on the Saturday (with any second viewings from the previous day) and we had an offer accepted on one on the Monday. From there on in we left the estate agent and solicitors to deal with it. The purchase actually fell through due to mortgaging problems on our side but you can do it by having a good idea of what you would like, having a realisitic budget and being organised.

When we bought this place we didn't visit it again between the second viewing and owning it and it was only a 45 minute drive.

In 4 years time your husband will have his lump sum and his pension which will help pay the mortgage for a good while if he struggled to find work which is a better position than many would be in. On top of that, he will also have a good amount of resettlement leave so will have some months to find work while still being paid by the army.

Procrastinator333

8pnoodles wrote: »

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.

Then in answer to your opening question....

8pnoodles wrote: »

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?

No to part 1 and the offer process can be as quick as you like. You can speed it up by offering more money. The more you pay above what a house is worth, the quicker the vendor will accept.

At least you are going to make an EA and a seller very happy! All the best with your new lettings business.

puddleduck

8pnoodles wrote: »

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.

You'll still be able to prove income and get a mortgage in 3.5 years' time, by which time the boys will be at school and much easier to travel with / leave. Also your priorities from an area do change once you start the whole school thing with kids, so the longer you leave the buying the more likely you are to find somewhere that will 'fit' for the long term.

I know you say you've got all bases covered, but it doesn't sound like you fully understand mortgage applications and the fact you will have to reapply (with current proof of income) when you move into the property. We thought we'd be fine porting our mortgage when we moved - and it would all happen automatically, but have learnt that not only do we need to reapply but that despite never missing a payment, having over 70% equity, being approved fine 4 years ago and with our income gone up, we would be offered less than half of what they current lend us!

If you want to buy a property to be on the housing ladder, buy one as an investment / business not as a future family home. You could then buy anywhere in the country (or even the World, if you were that way inclined).

Having said all that, if you really want to put an offer in on a property so far away, we've done it twice. Once was pre-kids, and we trekked down every weekend to view new properties on the market. It was early 2000, and frequently if we booked a viewing on a Thursday afternoon, the property had already gone under offer by the Saturday morning and our viewings were cancelled. Very frustrating, and it did take lots of visits. At least you're unlikely to experience that much in the current market!

The second time, we were in NE Scotland, and needed to move to the South coast. 13.5 hours drive each way, with a 2yo and 3yo. We spent a week with my parents' viewing properties and areas within the right commuting distance. Did actually put in an offer on a place, and had it accepted after a couple of weeks (you don't have to be there for the offer and negotiations, so that's fairly irrelevant on whether you can do that bit in a week - there's no need to). As it happened it fell through and the one we ended up living in we actually got our offer accepted without seeing it (my parents viewed it for us and took detailed notes, extra photos and video - we then made the trip down just for a weekend post-offer acceptance and before survey). I do think we should have moved down and rented first, but hindsight is a wonderful thing! Also, I agree with those who say just one of you could go and do viewings - you don't both need to go initially.

Sorry for such a long reply but hope it helps!

8pnoodles

I am told we can get a residential mortgage and let on it, something specific to armed forces personnel, so that isn't a problem (although need to confirm this with a mortgage advisor).
But where is this mythical mortgage you can get starting a new business with no profits on your accounts to prove it? Ok so we have been running the business a while part time but have ploughed all the profits back into kit so we are set up to go full time so can't prove earnings.

Would a mortgage be easy/possible to get when you are six months off retirement?

Finally could someone explain with detailed calculations why paying someone else's mortgage off is better than paying your own? Really? My husband especially is extremely unconvinced.

Plus wouldn't house buying when you are starting a business in a new area be a ridiculously stressful thing to do?

Lastly I just figured out I have rented 15 properties privately, and another 4 from the army. To say I am sick of not being settled and HATE moving is an understatement, and again DH is even less keen to move more than once again.

Oh and my best mate, and also my brother live in this new area and both have been landlords before which is handy if I need help, but was going to find a place to fully manage the property. We could cover the mortgage without renting it out anyway but would be nice to get income from it.

And are house prices going to drop in 3 years? (To whoever said that.) Wow which crystal ball do you have?

[Please be nice to me, we have teethig screaming hell here right now and I can't remember the last time I got enough sleep.]