1st time buying a flat - and so so sorry for this!!!

pinkteapot

You

Cannot

Cancel

The

Deal

Not sure how many more times we need to say it.

jumperabv3

Idiophreak wrote: »

I really think the OPs masochism and passion for working out meaningless numbers is more the issue here.

First time I hear something like that - thank you so much.
I think I need to go to therapy for that, I totally agree with what you've just said, this is a problem that requires as treatment.

I wonder if it ever happened to anyone you know including yourself?

jumperabv3

pinkteapot wrote: »

You

Cannot

Cancel

The

Deal

Not sure how many more times we need to say it.

Forget about cancelling it.
I have the money for the flat sitting in the bank now.
Should I convert the GBP to USD or buy an option to protect myself against further declines of the GBP - or like the guy above said I have issues with meaningless numbers?! (Perhaps $40,000 is meaningless because it's not really $40,000 but it's hard for me to understand it's not until I sell it back ...)

FlexDream

jumperabv3 - I have sympathy with your position. This stuff happens all the time. No one knows what will happen next. It's easy and tempting to regret the past, but you don't know if the GBP will appreciate against the USD. It doesn't seem that long ago it was around $2 to the £.
Property is a long term investment when you buy - typically you're thinking about years. So, what will matter is the value of the property in USD when you come to sell. That will depend on the exchange rate then, and UK property prices. If anyone knew what they would be they'd be rich.
The money you feel you have already 'lost' is gone. You have to accept that. You are not the only person caught out in the panic. You are taking a risk, and it might pay off.
I would say that whatever happens, if a property in a good part of London isn't still worth something in the future then we're all in trouble!
I've no real advice, but you have to accept if you invest in a foreign currency you'll get unforseen fluctuations - it will happen.
All the best whatever you decide to do.

SternMusik

jumperabv3 wrote: »

Forget about cancelling it.
I have the money for the flat sitting in the bank now.
Should I convert the GBP to USD or buy an option to protect myself against further declines of the GBP - or like the guy above said I have issues with meaningless numbers?! (Perhaps $40,000 is meaningless because it's not really $40,000 but it's hard for me to understand it's not until I sell it back ...)

But then I don't get it. You have the GBP sitting in the bank. Is it enough to cover the purchase price, stamp duty and legal costs? If so why do you want to exchange it back? Do you want to gamble on getting a better exchange rate three months down the line? All of this is going to cost you more money in comission (or bid/ask differential), option costs etc. You seem to be quite risk averse, so why risking even more? I hope your BGP bank account pays interest btw.

Chimpofdoom

jumperabv3 wrote: »

The governments don't rule the world, Goldman Sachs rules the world, and they do not care about the Euro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC19fEqR5bA

I agree with this video as I watched it 1000 of times and I believe what he said. He said within 12 months and we're exactly in this period of time and the savings of millions of people are going to vanish too.

Hmmm.. well if he's true... 3 months 26 days to see if he was right.. about millions of peoples savings vanishing.

The current problem with the market is... no one knows what's going to happen, for all we know.. this may end next week and profitability returns and everyone's making money again.

Risk is an essential yet precarious element of investing.

As it has been said.. you've exchanged, you've bought the property, you'll lose more if you pull out.

Rent it out for a few years, keep some cash aside incase it needs to be renovated, hopefully you can sell it on and make some cash back.

DRP

jumperabv3 wrote: »

The governments don't rule the world, Goldman Sachs rules the world, and they do not care about the Euro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC19fEqR5bA

I agree with this video as I watched it 1000 of times and I believe what he said. He said within 12 months and we're exactly in this period of time and the savings of millions of people are going to vanish too.

^^here's the problem

googler

So what happens if the OP doesn't proceed, having exchanged contracts?

Is the seller really going to sue someone in the USA for completion? How likely are they to succeed? Would their legal costs wipe out their profit margin, or even the whole purchase price?

Idiophreak

jumperabv3 wrote: »

First time I hear something like that - thank you so much.
I think I need to go to therapy for that, I totally agree with what you've just said, this is a problem that requires as treatment.

I wonder if it ever happened to anyone you know including yourself?

What? Making an investment? Or doing hypothetical sums to freak myself out about it? I've done the first one...

If every time someone bought a car they kept a spreadsheet and went "OMG! Today I've lost £500 on the value of my car!!". If every time someone bought a house they kept a daily check on the value and went "OMG! I'm £400 down today!". If every time someone invested in stocks they screamed and freaked out every time there was a drop in their portfolio - the world would just be madness.

You've paid your money, you've made your choice. Your buying point is now fixed...now you just need to wait to roll the dice again when you think it's the right selling point.

If I were you, I'd take an interest in how much the house is worth in GBP, as that will decide which other houses you can buy with it, how much rent you can earn from it and, ultimately, how good an investment it's been. Likewise, keep an eye on the fx rates and if they becomes particularly favourable to get you USD back, do it...but you're committed now, there's no sense in freaking out about it.

jumperabv3

FlexDream wrote: »

jumperabv3 - I have sympathy with your position. This stuff happens all the time. No one knows what will happen next. It's easy and tempting to regret the past, but you don't know if the GBP will appreciate against the USD. It doesn't seem that long ago it was around $2 to the £.
Property is a long term investment when you buy - typically you're thinking about years. So, what will matter is the value of the property in USD when you come to sell. That will depend on the exchange rate then, and UK property prices. If anyone knew what they would be they'd be rich.
The money you feel you have already 'lost' is gone. You have to accept that. You are not the only person caught out in the panic. You are taking a risk, and it might pay off.
I would say that whatever happens, if a property in a good part of London isn't still worth something in the future then we're all in trouble!
I've no real advice, but you have to accept if you invest in a foreign currency you'll get unforseen fluctuations - it will happen.
All the best whatever you decide to do.

Thank you.
It's very helpful what you've just said and I'm trying to accept that, you're right, what was a week ago is now lost, it happened in a matter of a week but that's part of life, gotta look forward and not backwards now ...