How depressing - House hunting

Amitoocautious

Hi all, well we have finally decided that we want to take the plunge and buy a place despite us both being property bears as the madness never seems to end and we are fed up of living in our 2 bed rented flat! Not 100% convinced this is the right thing to do but just feel like the last 2 years nothing has changed so what hapens if it continues for ever. We got married last year and we are getting loads of pressure from the inlaws and we want to have bought somewhere before we have kids which will be fairly soon

Anyway we have been househunting and despite us earning a joint salary of almost 85k a year we don't want to overstrecth ourseleves and basically want to do it factored on the one salary which gives us about 165k a year though i won't give up work completly so will go up to 200k but there is nothin decent to buy. We are trying to get a 3 bed that we can stay in so we dont have to move again in a few years but everything we have seen has an issue. Either bad area, stupidly small garden, genereally over priced with loads of work needing to be done

Now I am not saying we deserve something amazing but there is a part of me that thinks we earn good money with very good prospects, we work hard and all we can afford is to live among people who have ended up in a nice cushdy house (which they paid next to nothing for and couldnt afford now) because of the right to buy scheme and so what is the point of trying to succeed.

I know what many will say a FTB should put up with a grotty one bed somewehre and move up the rungs but i think the days of hige capital gain are over and i think there will be a correction and we can't bring up a family in a one bed flat.

Anyway just a bit fed up, does anyone else feel the same or will i just be flamed by the home owners who say we want it all?

Doozergirl

Amitoocautious wrote: »

Now I am not saying we deserve something amazing but there is a part of me that thinks we earn good money with very good prospects, we work hard and all we can afford is to live among people who have ended up in a nice cushdy house (which they paid next to nothing for and couldnt afford now) because of the right to buy scheme and so what is the point of trying to succeed.

It's fine to feel disappointed that you can't get what you want for the money you are prepared to spend (most of us are in that situation), but I think you cheapen your argument with snobberies like that

Amitoocautious

Its not being a snob, its just if you are a normal working couple it feels like you have to work so much harder when others who sometimes choose not to work are sitting pretty in lovely housing association or council properties . I know of one woman who works cash in hand and has a lovely 2 bed house inthe country which is all paid for by benefits etc and so i do sometimes think what is the point of trying.

I don't think its snobby wanting to bring your kids up in a nice area either

Mozette

Well good for you trying not to overstretch yourselves, but you do need to manage your expectations with your budget. You say you are in the South East - I'm amazed you've found anything in your price range. I think you do need a reality check; the fact is, on your budget you will have to have something with an 'issue'. I don't blame anyone for wanting stuff, but you do have to balance what you want with what you are prepared to pay, and make a compromise somewhere.
Sorry, I'm not being negative, just trying to be realistic. You'll either have to up your budget, or buy something a bit grotty & do it up - which is in fact VERY satisfying, I found, and then you do end up with what you want.
Good luck with your search, and don't be too downhearted. It's good to have a bit of a moan anyway!

Amitoocautious

Thanks for the advice Mozette. What we are looking for are grotty places that are in need of doing up so that our money will strecth further. Also, my husband is very handy and wants a project like that but we are struggling to find anywhere like that really or a "developer" comes in and beats us to it.

We are in Basingstoke btw

mags24

There is a growing divide on haves and have-nots in the country, based entirely on when they were able to buy a property. Those who were able to buy 4-5 years ago currently seem to have a massively unfair advantage over those who are only ready to buy now, but find they cannot afford it.

I would say that there will be a correction. You will be able to buy more for your money at some point in the future. The problem is that neither I nor anyone else can specify when. If you manage to buy somewhere you are happy with, then fair enough. I first bought in 1987, and it took 13 years to get out of negative equity. I managed to hang on through those years, and as it was a 3-bed, but in a rough area, we had the space, but the schools were dreadful.

I make no apology for saying that. The local secondary that my twins would have gone to (had we not been Catholics), had 20% of kids leave with no GCSEs. Nothing to show for 11 years formal education. It still makes me mad, that's why I ended up as a school governor for a local comprehensive school, long after mine had moved onto university.

All you can do is make the best choice you can at the time, and try and have a plan to cover the eventualities you can think of. Everything that has ever gone up has come down again. If the US housing situation is anything to go by, we may reach the top very soon, and you will be happy not to have stretched yourself to buy somewhere which is depreciating before your eyes, trapping you there for a decade. Keep smiling, make your own decisions and ignore your relatives!

Mags

Mozette

The only other advice I can give is if you haven't done already, go and 'befriend' your local estate agents, let them know what you are looking for, and hope one of them will give you a bit of a heads up on something.
I don't think it's snobby to want the best for your kids btw, I think it's just called being a parent. Only other thing I can say is that when I first bought a house I was having a panic over a couple of thousand pounds - now I look back and wonder what the fuss was about! So really, don't stretch yourself too much, or you'll be over on the DFW board with me, but do realise that sensibly pushing yourself might be at least worth a thought. You could go on DFW anyway, find loads of tips to help you afford more!
Best of luck with your search - I'm sure the right thing will come along for you.

Doozergirl

Amitoocautious wrote: »

Its not being a snob, its just if you are a normal working couple it feels like you have to work so much harder when others who sometimes choose not to work are sitting pretty in lovely housing association or council properties . I know of one woman who works cash in hand and has a lovely 2 bed house inthe country which is all paid for by benefits etc and so i do sometimes think what is the point of trying.

I don't think its snobby wanting to bring your kids up in a nice area either

Shop the lady who works cash in hand! Regardless of that, she is not the reason you can't have what you want.

Many people manage to get on well in life without having to find other people to blame for situations they can rectify themselves.

I realised I could make a fantastic life for my children by moving away to the countryside. No fights to get them into a good school, no compromises on house size and no 'sitting pretty' social housing tenants or 'cushy' RTBers spoling my view :rolleyes:

Melissa177

If you want somewhere nice in the South East - and you can clearly afford it on your joint salary of 85K, then why not stretch yourself a bit more?

The market is dictated on what people are prepared to pay for property - I expect other people in a similar financial position have said to themselves that they are prepared to pay more in mortgage payments - thereby owning the type of property they "deserve".

In addition, I agree with Doozergirl that RTB scheme is inconsequential to your "plight". That scheme had massive savings for the taxpayer, as it meant the government (and thus the taxpayer), no longer had to foot the bill for increasingly expensive repairs to old council properties.

jaype

Melissa177 wrote: »

RTB scheme is inconsequential to your "plight". That scheme had massive savings for the taxpayer, as it meant the government (and thus the taxpayer), no longer had to foot the bill for increasingly expensive repairs to old council properties.

Really? What about the huge amounts the taxpayer now hands to B&B magnates who specialise in housing DSS, instead?

Melissa177

Hi Jaype,

I'm not sure I agree with that analysis - far better for the government to have a more flexible approach to council housing rather than sitting on a lot of stock they have to keep up, maintain etc.

In addition, when homes were sold under the RTB scheme, they didn't just "disappear" - ex-council tennants remained in them. So, there were the same number of houses, but fewer council tennants. This doesn't reduce the housing stock! What we are seeing at the moment is a chronic shortage of housing in the South East, as more of the population moves down from the North to seek better jobs.