FTB - is this possible or should I wait?

lolypopcorn

I would like some opinions from others as I didn't think I could afford to buy yet but I have been thinking...

I have £11,000 saved and I earn £15,000 - so I could probably borrow up to £50k on just my income. I have a partner who is currently only in a part time temporary job (seeking fulltime) so his income wouldn't help boost the amount we could borrow.

I have seen a couple of properties in the area which I could probably afford to buy however I think they would need work doing on them and I don't know if it is feasible. (they are in the same street)

Both properties are on rightmove (can't post links so I will post their rightmove reference numbers which can be put into a google search to show the property)

Property 1 is 55k (35799787)
Property 2 is 57k (19009657)

Now for the questions..
1) How much would you suggest offering for houses at this price?

2) How much approx would fees cost? ie how much of my savings could I use as the deposit?

3) How much do you think it would cost to make the house habitable? (We have numerous family members who are tradesmen so hopefully they could do the bulk of the work.)

4) Do you think it is a good idea to buy a cheap house that needs some working doing to it that we would have to do over time whilst living there
OR
is it better to stay put and keep saving for another couple of years? when hopefully we would be in a better financial position and able to borrow more and could probably afford a house that doesn't need any work doing.

Any and all comments appreciated. I am currently living with parents and desperate to move out. I pay £200 rent a month to parents and I am saving as much as I can - but I figured if I got a house for 50k I would be paying anywhere from 200-300pcm on a mortgage which would be much more satisfying!

Yorkie1

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35799787.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19009657.html

dimbo61

If you have £11K saved then you have a 20% deposit for the £55K property which I prefer out of the two!
Why because it has upvc double glazing at the front including the front door.
It has a reasonable kitchen and I could live with the bathroom.
The other house has no carpet in the bedrooms :-( bit grim.
If you pay out for the fees and costs as the occur then you may still have that 20% deposit and Can get better mortgage deals on your income alone.
Once you have bought the place your B/F can become a lodger !!!! no need to tell the mortgage company and he can pay up to £4250 a year in rent to you tax free ( That,s £354 a month) Rent a door scheme.
See how you enjoy living together and do up the place together without spending a hugh amount on putting a £20K conservatory in the back yard or £10K bathroom.
Overpay the mortgage and build up savings so you can take the next step on the housing market once he is in full time employment and you have the gold ring on your finger?
Now with a 20% or even 15% YBS ( yorkshire building society) are offering a couple of 2/3/5 year fixed deals from 4.24%( 2 years) to 4.64%( 5 years) and even the most expensive one at 4.64% works out at £248 per month over 25 years.
Now dont forget the other costs of living away from Mum and Dad ie council tax ( Band A? ) gas/electric/water/broadband/insurance/TV licence/repairs the list goes on and on.
Its a buyers market so drive a hard bargain and good luck

dimbo61

I dont work for YBS but I do have an offset mortgage with them and its easy for me to look on there website ( its on my bookmark list HOW SAD!) So this is not advice to go to them as you may well get a better deal from the local bank you have your current account with or the local building society you have your savings with.
If you want help speak to a "Whole of Market mortgage adviser" and Good Luck

ijrwe

I'm impressed that those houses are so cheap. Where I live an equivalent property would be up for around 120k. Is there area "bad", would you say? No offence!

20400keith

Hi - just looked these up on Property Bee (sad that I've nothing better to do on a Sunday evening). The first one just says listed on 18 September (despite the EA blurb about reduced price). The second (more expensive) one has clearly been on the market some time so might be good for an offer. Property Bee has the following comments...

02 September 2012

• Brief Description changed: Extended Two Bedrooms. Part Bedroom Mid Terrace. Through Lounge. No Chain.Lounge/Dining Room. Partly Double Glazing , In Need Of Modernisation. Glazed, Rear Yard. Street Parking, NO CHAIN. ****IN NEED OF MODERNISATION****.
• Price changed: from '£62,000' to '£57,000'

02 April 2012

• Brief Description changed: Extended Mid Terrace• Terrace. Two Bedrooms• Bedrooms. Part Double Glazing , In Need Of Modernisation• Modernisation. Through Lounge• Lounge. No ChainChain.

05 August 2011

• Price changed: Offers in Region of £74,950£62,000

04 April 2011

• Brief Description changed: • Extended Mid Terrace• Two Bedrooms• Part Double Glazing• Glazing , In Need Of Modernisation• Through Lounge• No Chain

29 March 2011

• Price changed: £84,500Offers in Region of £74,950

17 February 2011

• Subtitle changed: 2 bedroom terraced house
• Title changed: Southgate Road Old Swan Liverpool

24 May 2009

• Price changed: Offers in Region of £94,950£84,500

12 February 2009

• Price changed: Offers in Region of £94,950
• Subtitle changed: 2 bedroom terraced house

01 November 2008

• Brief Description changed: • Extended Mid Terrace• Two Bedrooms• In Need Of Some Upgrading• Part Double Glazing• Through Lounge• No Chain

16 August 2008

• Initial entry found.

Fire_Fox

1. Depends on land registry sold prices in the street and area, all this info is online
2. Depends on the mortgage product you take on, how much conveyancers charge in your area
3. Depends on the results of the survey, how much you think needs doing, what deals your relatives will cut
4. Depends on the whole of your budget, likelihood of your partner getting a job, whether you run cars .... complete a Statement of Affairs and look at affordability.

Seriously you need to do your own research here, we can't see more than half of about three rooms of the houses so we can't tell what needs to be done. This is the biggest purchase of your life by a country mile and you should expect to spend a LOT of time researching, viewing plenty of properties and getting your eye in. I appreciate becoming a homeowner is scary but it is childish or lazy to delegate the most basic tasks to complete strangers on a forum. If you are thinking of buying a fixer upper PLEASE have a full structural survey NOT a Homebuyers Report, and have any other reports they recommend doing.

lolypopcorn

dimbo61 wrote: »

Once you have bought the place your B/F can become a lodger. See how you enjoy living together and do up the place together.
Overpay the mortgage and build up savings so you can take the next step on the housing market once he is in full time employment and you have the gold ring on your finger?
Now with a 20% or even 15% YBS ( yorkshire building society) are offering a couple of 2/3/5 year fixed deals from 4.24%( 2 years) to 4.64%( 5 years) and even the most expensive one at 4.64% works out at £248 per month over 25 years.
Its a buyers market so drive a hard bargain and good luck

Thanks for the very detailed reply, it was very helpful! BF and I have already lived together but had to move back in with parents when we finished uni and didn't have jobs so there are no issues on that front. As a result we also know all of the other costs involved in running a house.
Overpaying the mortgage is something I would definitely do on a mortgage of this size, but as I've been looking around I have noticed that a lot of places charge fees for overpaying.

lolypopcorn

ijrwe wrote: »

I'm impressed that those houses are so cheap. Where I live an equivalent property would be up for around 120k. Is there area "bad", would you say? No offence!

Haha erm I wouldn't say it's a particularly bad area, it's better than the area i currently live in and I know the area well so I would feel quite safe there. The houses in that road are all quite cheap, there a couple up for between £60k - 80k that don't need much doing to them.

They are very small houses though and I think the reason they are cheap is because the front door is directly on the pavement with no front 'garden' and also these roads are used for parking in by people shopping in the local area, but these houses are at the far end and so this wouldn't really be a problem.

lolypopcorn

20400keith wrote: »

Hi - just looked these up on Property Bee (sad that I've nothing better to do on a Sunday evening).

Thanks so much for researching that for me, it is very useful information to have and gives me some food for thought.

lolypopcorn

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Seriously you need to do your own research here, we can't see more than half of about three rooms of the houses so we can't tell what needs to be done. This is the biggest purchase of your life by a country mile and you should expect to spend a LOT of time researching, viewing plenty of properties and getting your eye in. I appreciate becoming a homeowner is scary but it is childish or lazy to delegate the most basic tasks to complete strangers on a forum.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not trying to get people to do all of the work for me but I just wanted to get some thoughts about whether or not this is feasible before I take it any further. If it not feasible and it is better for me to build up my savings some more then I will do that before going onto the next stages, I'm not going to go an view a property or find out about getting a mortgage if my idea is totally unrealistic. I don't know the first thing about buying, despite spending a lot of time reading up. I will be asking my dad for advice as he is good at this stuff but he is away at the moment.

Although I have got a decent amount of savings I know I probably couldn't use this all as a deposit as I would have to pay for fees etc. I would also need money for buying essentials like white goods, sofa etc. I have already got a lot of my own furniture and small appliances but would need to buy the big things.

I also don't know how much could be offered on such properties as they are already quite cheap. I've heard 10% is the rule of thumb but 10% makes a big difference on a house of £55k.