First time buyer with mortgage - but no house!

bindi_soup

Dear all

I'm just starting to panic. Help!

I'm a first time buyer, have got a mortgage in place (thank you very much newcastle building society!).
Now i'm house hunting, and I'm being told by all the estate agents and both mortgage advisors I've spoke to that time is of the eccense, it is swiftly turning into a sellers market, and that the house prices are going to go up very rapidly. It seems there's a lot of first time buyers like myself out there, and the properites that were round a year ago (would have been spoilt for choice this time last year) actually aren't there, so I don't have huge amounts to choose from. And there's only 1 at the minute slightly over budget, but scruffy so sould knock don a little.

I would like to hear from anyone (who isn't trying to sell me something like the estate agents!) if this information is correct? I've spend 10 years trying to get myself financially in a position to buy, and I'm TERRIFIED of missing the boat. I have a mortgage of 90K, plus 5K deposit, so total spend of 95K (plus about 3500 put aside for fees and any potentional re-decorating/renovating). I'm so worried that if I hang around too long, I'm going to get priced out the market, and only be able to get a flat where I really wanted a house (nothing posh - just a 2 bed terrace with side access!) - or my worst nightmare - having to join generation rent. 95K doesn't buy a huge amount, and if the market is strenthening that quickly, I'm in a sticky situation. I have to move fairly soon, as we're under pressure from the family to get out the house we're in (family owned and they want to sell up) - but there are very limited properties around.

I need to know - should I be putting everything into a quick move now? And is the time for cheeky offers on the way out, do we think? Or should I hold out to get the property I want.
I've just tried this on one property we offered and lost out by a considerable margin - despite it needing new electrics, new boiler system, kitchen, garden doing... it was a mess.

I'm in Northamptonshire area if that useful.

I would appreciate any help, as I'm panicking - quite a lot.

Thank you xxxx

kingstreet

Agents are talking rubbish. In most places, prices are flat or falling and there will be plenty for you to choose from.

Do not make bad choices out of irrational fear. Take your time.

motherofstudents

First thing, ignore what estate agents tell you. You are probably going to be spending the most money you have ever spent, you are buying a home so as far as possible it has got to be right. Take your time, get to know the market where you are and have a good look. I would think more properties will be coming onto the market soon so don't be panicked into doing anything.

RAS

ignore what estate agent tell you.

1. if you are outside London and the South-East, prices are falling.

2. Find an area you like, check likely prices and if it is within budget, mailshot the houses concerned.

Dukesy

Smaller houses are now definitely in shorter supply in my area than they were, and when we sold our last house, a one bed country cottage in 2011, it sold in six weeks, whereas my late grandfather's very desirable four bed took a year. I think it comes down to tighter lending and thus more people are looking to buy in the lower price brackets.

Basically, I would always say that getting on the property ladder is a good idea. Prices will go up, whether its sooner or later, and you don't want to be left behind.

HOWEVER!!! Do not rush into this - if you're not happy about a property, don't buy it as its likely you'll regret it. Maybe you need to expand your area slightly?

Edited to add: the time is never wrong for cheeky offers. Make one and you might be surprised. We bought our house, which was originally marketed at 125,000, for 95,000, having initially offered 92,000 and expecting much haggling.

Gromitt

One thing you learn quickly is to ignore estate agents - they want properties off their books and commission in their hands, so they are going to say whatever they can to get you to buy. They'll get much worse if they start showing you around houses, saying you can do anything and it will not cost much.

Having no chain and a mortgage in place definitely puts you in the driving seat.

DRP

kingstreet wrote: »

Agents are talking rubbish. In most places, prices are flat or falling and there will be plenty for you to choose from.

Do not make bad choices out of irrational fear. Take your time.

'most places' being the critical words here...

OP, you need to research the market where you wish to move and find out about recent sales in the relevant street/locale that you are interested in.

Rightmove and Zoopla both do sold prices so this is quite easy.

ps. My area is not in the SE or London yet house (sold) prices for my target streets have been rocketing since 2010... and asking prices reflect this

AlexMac

As Douglas Adams says 'DON'T PANIC'!

EAs speak with forked tongue (or is it 'stuff you with forked finger'?)

Look at any local home for sale on Zoopla, click on the tab across the top called 'Area stats', scroll down to 'property values/graphs' and click on the 'value trends' and 'home values' tabs; two of 4 in the middle of that page and you'll see local sale price trends against national averages. These show that for example in the NN1 postcode prices still well down on their 2007-8 peak, a blip of a recovery in 2010-12, but still flat or falling.

But in our experience, good places do go fast, so keep pally with the EAs and impress on them that you are a great, no-chain prospect. Drop in and eyeball 'em; much better than emails and web-alerts (as I've said in recent posts, our last sale and that of our kids house went in days before the property even hit the websites, both to someone already registered with the agent. Good luck

AlexTheBird

Hi Bindi Soup

Having just been in the same boat (and not that far from you - we're Bedfordshire) I'd give you the following advice:

* Be polite, but very calm and cool when dealing with estate agents. They all talk a load of guff. And as soon as you say you're a FTB, they look at you like you're lunch...

* I had to totally rein in my bubbly normal self as I get enthusiastic about EVERYTHING and just pretend I was at business meetings or in work mode all the time. I hope it helped to get us our house for under the asking price, but I don't think we were cheeky with our negotiating either.

* Buy or borrow lots of helpful books like Phil's (off Kirstie & Phil) 'How to buy (and sell) your first home' or the Which Guide to Buying a House - both have been invaluable to us.

* Look at as much property as you can - we thought we knew what we wanted but 10 houses later and it really narrowed things down further for us. Don't panic if there are lots of other people looking at the same time as you. The right property will be out there.

* Yes, the market is getting better (slightly), but that doesn't mean you have to rush into anything and it can also be a good thing for buyers - more property means more competition between sellers and you can still make an offer, regardless.

* We found it was helpful to be as polite and professional as possible and understand the strength in our position but not to be over-confident or cocky about it. People (even hungry estate agents) are inclined to be more useful if they like you and don't think you'll mess them around.

Get me, I'm being all preachy and I haven't even exchanged contracts yet - ignore all of the above and good luck!

Brallaqueen

95 k won't get much in Northampton proper - how picky are you about area? You'd be in range of an excouncil in the eastern district, briar hill or spring boroughs but repuations persist and they're cheap for a reason.

Wellingborough will give you a bit more bang for your buck and you would be looking at an old style victorian terrace (likely d/s bathroom) but side entrance may be pushing it. You might be able to get a shared side passageway in some of the e council houses. I think Rushden is a bit more expensive.

I don't know anything about Corby or Kettering, or the villages.