first time buyer

kam_98

i have recently graduated university and am looking to get on the property ladder. i have researched a few options such as the new build homebuy / shared ownership/ shared equity scheme. does anybody have experience or information which the they would be relevant to me.

phlash

If you've just graduated then you are possibly in a similar position to myself. Although obviously of a different mindset. I would like to ask, where do you find the confidence to buy a house at the moment in the current climate?

I am not buying now, as I see too many uncertainties, but I am very interested in your reasoning as a counter weight to my own.

Thanks!

fistfullofdollars

I've waited 4 years nearly to the day of leaving uni to buy.

I have confidence to buy as our finances are in a much better shape than when I first left uni (yeah, ignore mu sig!). I have settled into a good job and..... there is never a perfect time to buy imo. I have waited and waited for a slowdown and it hasnt happened.

I dont know anything about shared ownerships. IMO I wouldnt bother, just wait till you can afford to do it all yourself. Whats the point in buying a house and still paying rent to someone? Yes, you are on the ladder but its still not the full cookie.

Again IMO if you want a shared ownership. You would be better off taking out an interest only portion of your mortgage and then you could take full advantage of any price increases.

Also, if you are a recent graduate I would have thought you are fairly mobile. Look around the country for jobs and you see how different house prices are and what you get for your money. Dont just go home to where you are from. Explore!

kam_98

well, i figure as opposed to renting, i might as well be paying a mortgage. and if i waited till the markets becomes "stable" or "certain" then i probably would not make a move. what do you consider to be uncertan. i have got a stable job and can afford the repayments.

BrandNewDay

How much can you afford? How much deposite do you have? Can you give us an idea of what properties are going for in your area?

$$$_12

kam_98 wrote: »

well, i figure as opposed to renting, i might as well be paying a mortgage. and if i waited till the markets becomes "stable" or "certain" then i probably would not make a move. what do you consider to be uncertan. i have got a stable job and can afford the repayments.

I would say a lot depends on what kind of work you do and where.

One thing I've noticed is that it's better to regularly move companies in your 20s if you want to increase your salary significantly. Sure you will get promoted (probably) - but you can often jump a few stages by changing company.

Buying also ties you down to one spot - I moved around the country a lot in my 20s - from Wales to the Midlands and finally to London. It would have been a lot more difficult if I'd been buying rather than renting.

Headintheclouds_3

fistfullofdollars wrote: »

Also, if you are a recent graduate I would have thought you are fairly mobile. Look around the country for jobs and you see how different house prices are and what you get for your money. Dont just go home to where you are from. Explore!

Good advice - you might want to get settled in a job first before you start thinking about buying anywhere! Good luck, anyway.

franklee

kam_98 wrote: »

well, i figure as opposed to renting, i might as well be paying a mortgage.

If you would rather buy, because you prefer to live that way, then fine, but this reason you give doesn't make any sense.

If the rent is less than the interest on the mortgage loan then you are financially better off renting. Now it depends where you are but round here rental yields are about 4% so the rent is far cheaper than the mortgage interest at more like 6% ...

So to rent a place worth 200K I'd expect to pay rent of about 670pcm.

To buy the place a 100% interest only mortgage would cost 1,000pcm. Remember none of that goes towards paying off the loan. To do that you would need a repayment mortgage costing 1,288.60pcm and you are only paying about 288 per month off the loan in the early years...

Now you may have a good sized deposit, if so don't forget that it is currently earning you interest so you need to factor the loss of that interest into your costings.

Also allow for interest rates to rise, they've gone up recently but are still pretty low...

Here's a link to check the figures:

http://www.fool.co.uk/mortgages/CalculatorRepay.aspx

Guy_Montag

I agree with $$$, much as I wish I'd bought a place when I left uni in 2000, by being mobile, I've doubled my salary in the last four years - mind you it started pretty low.

It's definately easier to climb the career ladder by jumping from one ladder to another than by staying in the same place.

Of course it depends on where you live & what you do.

ixwood

Unless I'm missing something, I'd say look at your finances. Being in a nagetive position before you even start isn't good. Suggests to me you can't afford it. Without a big lifestyle change anyway.

And I don't think there's much doubt now, that prices are on there way back down.

Rent a room all in for £200-300 a month, have fun and bank a lot a month.