First Time Buyers - Enough is Enough!

devlin_adl

meanmachine wrote:

Good for you.

You needed a property and you bought one. If the mortgage is affordable now and in the future you made the right choice for you.

These boards are designed to be positive, so I don't mean to frighten anyone. But as I say, I see the market as a falling one and am taking a gamble by staying well clear. I could be making the wrong choice, but I'm happy with that choice. Whatever feels right for you my friend.

By the way, have you checked nethouseprices to see how much the previous owner of your property paid? That's the really galling stat.

Checked nethouseprices, but their stats don't go far back enough. I do know that the price has tripled in value from the 1993 because I have the original lease. That's about 9.5% a year.

Of course, that wasn't the right time for me to buy and now is. The mortgage is affordable and I can still maintain my current lifestyle, so I haven't overstretched. Also, I plan to stay here for at least five years, so any short-term movement in the market is purely of academic interest. However, this is still the biggest purchase of my life by a factor of 100, so it is of interest, however academic.

bridiej

We live in Hythe, Kent, the market here is definitely picking up, lots of sold signs.

Our neighbour has been on the market for nearly 12 months, but then they were greedy and added £10K onto the top price quoted by the agents.

If you price realistically I cant see any reason why you'd be on the market for too long, trouble is people get greedy and think selling a house is a license to print money.

They are building affordable housing in Folkestone and Ashford but you have to wonder what restrictions there will be in place to ensure it remains affordable and that those who need it most get it, after all what's to stop someone buying it up and selling 6 or 12 months later for profit?

I do sympathise with FTBs to a degree but I do wonder how many of them own flashy mobile phones, go out on the beer every weekend etc.

wolfman

bridiej wrote:

I do sympathise with FTBs to a degree but I do wonder how many of them own flashy mobile phones, go out on the beer every weekend etc.

Very true. I am guilty of having a new phone, computer and going out at weekends. This however won't affect the mortgage I can afford. Ok, so I may be able to put down a slightly bigger first payment after having saved for a couple of years, it wouldn't make a huge difference though. The best way to save would be to move back in with the parents as you can save a lot of money from paying reduced rent, but then again you lose your independence, and it may be out of the way.

At the end of the day the ratio of house prices to salaries is very much unbalanced. I'm not asking for the market to crash, maybe just right itself a little so that the average joe can afford to buy.

meanmachine_2

wolfman wrote:

At the end of the day the ratio of house prices to salaries is very much unbalanced. I'm not asking for the market to crash, maybe just right itself a little so that the average joe can afford to buy.

Why shouldn't you want the market to crash? It's an emotive term. Maybe correction is better. There's nothing fair or logical about prices soaring by 20% a year, leaving the average wage to mortgage multiple at a ridiculous x5.5.

Personally I think it's wicked to encourage any FTB to take on a debt at that level. All FTBs should stay well clear of property until we're back to sustainable levels (x3.25 average incomes, in other words).

It's not true FTBs who have inflated the market anyway, but But-to-letters transferring cash out of their pensions and into property. Any short term "correction" will only affect them anyway, so why fear it?

slater14

Going back to the original poster for a moment,

1. If you had a bigger deposit/earned more would you buy a house at todays prices?
2. Would you be happy to buy today and live in negative equity for the next 5 - 7 years losing several thousands each year for the 'pleasure' of owning your home?
3. If house prices were to remain 'static for all' how could you ever progress up the property ladder or do you intend to live in the same 'first house' forever?

This is not a British thing thats happened, its been happening in the USA, South Africa, all of Europe and most of the developed world!

The comment about the Bentley may seem flippant at first glance, but he has a point. Prices are what prices are...If you dont like the price dont buy.

I'm sorry to say, but nowhere does it say it is your God given right to own your own home, indeed until Mrs Thatcher came along it was the minority that owned and the majority that rented.

House prices are heading for a massive "correction" (I prefer the word "crash") FTB are the fuel to the market, WAIT, it will all turn round soon enough....Believe me, you're not missing out on a magical pot of gold and in the next two years I doubt you'll want to buy a house if somebody held a gun to your head!

.....isnt it strange how these sorts of discussions only arise in a boom but not in a crash? when its crashing through the floor everyones saying how lucky they were to be renting but when theres a few quid to be made everyone gets all sulky because they didnt buy sooner.

deemy2004

slater14 wrote:

Believe me, you're not missing out on a magical pot of gold and in the next two years I doubt you'll want to buy a house if somebody held a gun to your head!

.....isnt it strange how these sorts of discussions only arise in a boom but not in a crash? when its crashing through the floor everyones saying how lucky they were to be renting .

But that is the best time to buy ...

All we have to do is bide our time, whilst the deposits / cash mountains continue to accrue interest.

zag2me

I'll take the Batman suit. CHARGE!!!!!

deemy2004

I'm batman :mad: .... yuo can be robin...

MoneyMonkey

dougk wrote:

No it would mean that rents would have to rise to cover the cost!
Which means all the people who could not afford to buy a house or do not want to (like nelly for instance!) would be spending even more.

Nelly,
I don't think anybody who buys a house is stupid - I think those who waste money or spend on overpriced holidays may need to rethink what is stupid.

A belated reply, I know...

The idea of ramping the tax paid would be an atempt to increase tax while maintaining a strong degree of competition from those people who only rent out one house. Keeps rent down, while making the purchase of housing for the purpose of renting out, less appealing. With any luck, this will put house prices on the straight and narrow!

slater14

"I would love to see the government put some kind of incrementing tax on owning multiple houses for the purposes of income. The more houses you own, the higher percentage you pay. This should prevent the costs being passed on to tennants.

Perhaps this would persuade investors into moving their money where it belongs (in the markets) and stop them from stealling our houses!!"

It would indeed Money monkey!

It would also create the biggest market 'correction' this country has ever seen. It wont be one or two people who have a BTL that run for the door EVERYONE will run at once....and oh my word! thats going to be ugly.

I said something similar a while back that Labour will start taxing BTL once they secure this election. And having house prices at 6 times national salary is just silly.

I think someone asked where I got that snippit from, heres the link -

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/index.php