First Time Buyers - Enough is Enough!

Robin_Hood_7

from being very busy with work recently i have just popped back in to see what you guys and girls have all been saying regarding house buying/selling etc... tbh a lot of the posts have been very helpfull and its good to see this sort of forum, i agree with the property ladder program, and yes the relocation rubbish must end..

even though meanmachine is saying the right things regarding saving etc along with deemy2004 & slater14, i am now at the pulling my hair out stage again, me and my g/f almost broke up because of the trying to live with the parrents thing which can be a pain in the a**... but enough was enough and we booked into an advisor.. which we are speaking to a week monday.. we have now £12000 deposit and still saving £2000 per month but we need to get out... if we have to stay with parents another 5 months to get say a 10% deposit plus legal costs then so be it... but October might be the month to move for us.. the houses we are looking at are £180000 2 bedroom places near gatwick airport. yes i know its not cheap there and will be asking a lot for first time buyers but its what we feel we work for... me and my g/f both earn about £26k per year each which i suppose is the average and i know the house prices arnt average but we will prob stay there for a few years and with us both working we should survive like most other house buyers... the 80`s & 90`s will never come back into fashion just like there house prises i beleive which is why we feel we need to move asap for our own reasons... a crash may happen i agree but it could take ages, and all the time the dream is still alive for our own new house and the affordability is there then why not....

p.s. like i said though ppl, your posts have been most helpfull :T

Robin_Hood_7

AGENTS NOTES
MISDESCRIPTIONS ACT

a) No enquiries have been made, nor representation given, regarding planning consents or building regulation approval.

b) Burglar alarm systems, telephone, TV aerial and power points have not been tested, nor have plumbing, central heating systems, fires and fireplaces, wiring, services, appliances or white goods.

c) The structure of the property has not been investigated in any way, nor has any check on the boundaries, tenure or title been made.

d) If there is anything in these details of particular importance to you, please contact us and we will check the information. Otherwise, purchasers must make their own enquiries.

should i get the above checked before i was to move in.. is it normal to... and would i be able to get any money off the initial price if it wasnt done buy the seller`s ?

deemy2004

The aboves standard, thats why you need to get a survey done.

meanmachine_2

To Robin Hood,

My advice, for what it's worth, is that you've done the right thing. You've saved money, built up a deposit and feel that, for the sake of your mental and emotional health, you need to move out.

Good for you. I'd never suggest staying out of the property market if it's going to have a negative effect in other areas of your life.

However, if you can stand it, I would recommend holding on for another six months, say. Whatever happens in the market in the longer term, we do know that, in the shorter term, house prices are stagnating in the south, so it's no longer a case of you having to run after an express train.

In fact, today, the housing market is less of a train, more of a knackered donkey.

Actually, in my opinion wait until November, December - a time when there are very few buyers around and you're more likely to negotiate a better deal.

With a combined income of £50K, you should be able to ride out any storm. And even on a single wage (after all, who knows what's going to happen in your life or your g/fs), the mortgage repayments won't be too awful, even if you buy today.

slater14

Robin Hood,

I left home when I was 17 and could not imagine living at home again!!
I can sympathise with your position and your need for "personal space". Does it have to be ownership?

Lets look at it from this view -

1. Are prices still rising in that area? (anywhere South, probably not)
2. Spring bounce - fewer properties are selling compared to the last few years and there is still the idea of a spring bouce so there are lots more coming onto the market, in 6 months this situation will be double good for FTB'ers, property left over from last year plus that which hasnt sold in the spring bounce will mean more available to buy and more room for negotation on price.

What could be the worst that could happen if you rented for 6 months? A rise in house prices (very very doubtful).

What could be the best that could happen - a further 5% fall (correction) in value (on 180k thats £9,000. it more than covers the rent)...personally, I think this is a very modest amount one could expect to negotiate on prices in 6 months compared with today.

dougk_2

Just to back up what W_T said - house price changes are down to the locality. In some areas going up , in some areas going down in others staying the same ... no change it has always varied from region to region.

The areas I believe that are in for more of a risk of a sharper drop are those which have risen rapidly in the last two or three years (areas like derbyshire). I noticed from a visit this weekend that several places now have prices that match prices in the south. Being that wages are generally lower than in this area than those within commutable distance to London this is an area I would consider more at risk from price falls. In the south and london in areas where prices have been static for two years the risk of sharp drops is much less (and indeed some of these areas are now rising).

House prices are like the weather it can be sunshine in London, snowing in Birmingham and a virtual hurricane in Manchester.

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

The areas I believe that are in for more of a risk of a sharper drop are those which have risen rapidly in the last two or three years

Aah, something we agree on. That's every single area in the whole of the UK then, given that no region is affordable, and even London, which has seen falls for the past 9 months, is still 15% above even the most liberal multiplier estimates.

But you're right. London will always be less vulnerable to a house price crash than other areas, or at least more capable of recovering more quickly.

It's those areas with poor links to the major cities that will suffer most. Why, for example, have house prices soared in Norfolk or Lincolnshire? Madness.

dougk_2

I suggest that is because Linconshire and Norfolk are now commutable areas.
Via train from Norwich you can be in London within 1 hr 30 mins. (know several people who do this daily)
To drive from say Reading (less than 40 miles from london) it would take you 2 hours in the morning.
Its also probably cheaper to take the train than drive , when you take into account running costs,parking etc.

Pal

One of the main factors for house prices rising so rapidly in places like Derbyshire, Norfolk, Cornwall and even Spain are people buying second houses as holiday homes or to rent out to holiday makers.

Personally I think that, if interest rates rise, it is these areas that will suffer most as people sell their second houses in order to make sure they can afford their first one and keep their jobs.

While I agree that price rises and falls are regional, I think that a crash if/when it comes, will impact the entire country quite rapidly, much more so than in the past.

Pal

dougk wrote:

I suggest that is because Linconshire and Norfolk are now commutable areas.
Via train from Norwich you can be in London within 1 hr 30 mins. (know several people who do this daily)
To drive from say Reading (less than 40 miles from london) it would take you 2 hours in the morning.
Its also probably cheaper to take the train than drive , when you take into account running costs,parking etc.

A bit off topic but I am bored...

Personally I think that people commuting on that basis are insane.

To drive from Reading to London would probably take 2 hours as you say.

To get from Norwich to London takes 1 hr and 50 minutes on the train (according to Railtrack), but you have to get to the train station first and park - call it 15 minutes (could be longer, knowing Norwich). You are then at Liverpool Street. If you work in the city you need at least another 10 minutes to get to where you are going. Add on another 5 minutes at either end for train waiting times (i.e. you can't turn up at the last second) and you are talking a minimum total door to door journey time of about 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Compared to 2 hours driving door to door from reading, or more likely, 20 minutes to Reading station, half an hour on the train, 20 minutes at the other end = 1 hr 10 minutes.

Commuting from Norwich to London is something I have looked into in the past. For obvious reasons I rejected the idea, but then I don't live in Reading either!