Housing situation opinions

cottonhead

I hope you guys dont mind me posting here. I have posted on the house buying board but this decision is more of how it impacts us as a family - not just about the finance part.

We have outgrown our house and need to move but we dont have enough for a deposit. If we saved like mad for 1 year - 18 months I think we could afford it if we looked at a cheaper house than we first planned.

However we have just be told we have the option of a shared ownership. It means we could move quickly. The house looks lovely. However I am still unsure if its a good idea - the max shares we can buy over time is 75%. I am worried about re selling etc - also worried about the area - its a new estate and I worry it might turn out to be awful like another new build one nearby did.

Its such an emotional thing. I love this area but the other area looks nice ( but could it change ? ) The shared ownership is bigger and more expensive than we could afford buying alone but is it best to have a smaller house but be the sole owner .... so confused !
Would you be patient and save or go for the shared option ?

Bufger

No matter how big or small the purchase I find the one value for me to work towards is living within my means.

If i were you I would be seeing if i can cope in my current situation for another year, save like mad and buy the one you can afford full ownership of. If you cant cope on your current situation i'd look into renting for a year and trying to save outside of that.

Shared ownership has mixed stories but its only ever been around in certain economical climates. Who knows what could happen with it

cottonhead

Thanks Bufger. Our current situation is quite stressful and I guess thats why we want to move asap. However what you said about renting for a year could have benefits I guess. We wouldnt have to sell our house at the same time as buying which could be a plus.

I am worried about the unknown I guess. At least if we save we can buy in an area we know well and will have 100% ownership. I guess we need to be looking at the impact for the future not just the next year.

Bufger

Having no chain in a sale could save/gain you thousands. I didnt have a house to sell for my last purchase so I put in an offer 5k lower than another offer they had in that wasnt immediately proceedable (had to sell). They accepted ours because they were worried they would lose the house they had found.

cottonhead

Thats a great point I hadnt even thought of that ! Serioulsy thanks for that. I can see how not having a chain could help lower the price, nobody wants to lose their dream home and actually thinking about it you always see on estate agents board ' chain free' etc so it must be an attractive position to be in. Slding towards the save up option.

DVardysShadow

cottonhead wrote: »

.... We have outgrown our house and need to move but we dont have enough for a deposit. If we saved like mad for 1 year - 18 months I think we could afford it if we looked at a cheaper house than we first planned.

However we have just be told we have the option of a shared ownership. It means we could move quickly. The house looks lovely. However I am still unsure if its a good idea - the max shares we can buy over time is 75%. I am worried about re selling etc - also worried about the area - its a new estate and I worry it might turn out to be awful like another new build one nearby did. ?

cottonhead wrote: »

Our current situation is quite stressful and I guess thats why we want to move asap.

The phase 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' comes to mind. Your current situation is stressful, but you are not certain that the new situation will not be stressful, added to which resale makes it look more difficult to move on if you do get it wrong.

cottonhead

Yes I agree. I think if I look at the present that accepting the shared offer gets us out of here and into a bigger place. However looking long term, I guess there is then the stress of the unknown in terms of how the area might turn out and also I would rather own 100% and not have to worry about the reselling aspect. On the other estate nearby that turned dodgy people cant sell their homes even for cheap prices. Id hate to be stuck. Thanks guys you are helping a lot in helping me explore the best option. I suppose in the scheme of things 18 months isnt that long if the outcome is a good one.

DVardysShadow

Anther way of putting it is that it is better to go to somewhere and something rather than away from somewhere and something.

cottonhead

Yeah I think I get what you mean. Our place it tiny so even a small house would seem huge in comparison and would mean we can stay in the area we like. Id rather know we have complete control over our home and its in a nice area than we have a bigger house than we actually need in an unkown area !

maman

It sounds as if you've almost made up your mind.

Personally I think it's a matter of controlling your surroundings. I know this may come across as snobbish and there are exceptions to every rule BUT....on average if you buy in an area with like minded neighbours then you'll feel happy and comfortable. If you risk going somewhere where you've bought and others have been given their (social) housing then the chances are they may not be like minded and make living there unhappy and put off prospective buyers.

Judith_W

Another point is a lot of the new builds lose 20% of their value on re-sale 2-3 years later. I would be very careful buying a new build as they are usually quite over priced