Shared Ownership on older properties, still such a bad idea?

C22DTJ

I think that's a little bit of a generalisation.

I'm an architecture graduate and my Father is RICS (albeit QS and not VS) so I like to think we have a good grasp of a lot of the issues that arise with house buying such as structural concerns, realistic valuation and how to spot which parts of the Estate Agent jargon are BS.

However, the mortgage process, appointing the solicitors, sending documents here, there and everywhere I think is really something you can only understand once you've gone through it.

hazyjo

The valuer might undervalue it. If the seller won't drop the price and you don't have the spare funds to make up the difference, you'll be at a stalemate and will probably have to drop out of the purchase.

The mortgage co can pull your mortgage at any time before exchange. Seen it several times on these forums.

You might decide to pull out after the survey.

The seller could change their minds.

I hope it's a 2 bed so at least you could stay if you had to (negative equity or the suchlike) if you do have kids there.

Nothing is certain until exchange. You may well incur costs (been there, done that). Am sure it's still something ridiculous like 1 in 3 chains collapsing or sales falling through or whatever.

Good luck!

Jx

C22DTJ

Ok thanks, Hazyjo.

It's only a 1 bedroom. We did consider a 2 bed for the exact reason you suggested, but in this case we made an exception. The property is just over 600 sq/ft which is actually bigger than a lot of the 2 beds we looked at.

It certainly wouldn't be ideal for children, well, not for very long anyway, so we would have to move but I'm pretty comfortable with that. We aren't planning to stay for much longer than a couple of years anyway.

Unless something disastrous happens (which I guess you can never disregard) I think it's unlikely we'd be in negative equity. We may or may not lose some of our initial deposit depending on how the housing market changes over the next couple of years but hopefully it won't drop so much that we are in negative equity.

hazyjo

Personally wouldn't touch a one bed anything - can be hard to shift. Obviously your choice, but plenty of previous comments re one beds on other threads (and expect a few might follow here too...).

Costs a fortune to buy. Wouldn't do it if only planned to stay put for a couple of years (have had to in the past, but never for nice reasons).

Jx

thegirlintheattic

I personally think you are making a mistake going with a 1 bed, especially as it's not like you have a really high deposit, you should really be looking at a longer game plan than the next 5 years. What if house prices continue to fall (as they are doing in some parts of the country)? 1 beds are hard to shift, as a small proportion of house buyers are looking for 1 beds. You've said yourself it's not suitable for children which your planning to have in the near future.

Would it not be best to wait until you can at least get a two bed?

Don't get me wrong, I can understand wanting to buy a house with aims of upgrading within a short-ish period of time. The OH and I are starting to look at buying and would ideally only be in the first property for 5-10 years, as we'd then be able to afford a significantly bigger and nicer house. However we are considering all eventualities and aiming to buy a 3/4 bed so room for any future kids if we have to stay put and much easier to sell.

C22DTJ

Ah you two have me worried now!

I think I'm just totally torn between finding a place that's ideal for us now, and one that's ideal from an investment point of view.

I mean, this place is fantastic in terms of accommodation for us now and the coming couple of years; it's a beautiful Regency conversion, location is great, the rooms are huge and there's no structural concerns.

However, as an investment, you're probably right. It would probably be perfect for renting tenants, but it might be difficult to sell to a prospective occupant.

We could probably find an adequate two bed, but it's unlikely it'll be as attractive, and it'll definitely be smaller, and certainly not as well located. So sure, it would be more saleable, and probably better value for money, but it wouldn't be as pretty, comfortable or enjoyable to live in for the next couple of years.

In terms of affordability and waiting, I don't know how much longer we can wait, we've got £30k, but I'm 27 and my partner is 25 and we're still living with family!

I suppose the question is do we buy a house we love, or do we buy a sensible investment, because I really don't think we're going to find both in one.