When buying a house is it normal too....

Squid101

Worry that your doing the right thing?
Worry that your job isnt safe (potentially unjustified), and wanting to look for a new challenge elsewhere?
Worry that ill health might be a problem, and the insurance company wont cover it?
Worry that buying will tie us down when we feel like we dont know where we want to settle?

Theres a lot of worries there isnt there!!

We are expecting our mortgage decision this week. We have been renting for three and a half years. Previously owned a house but sold up and moved (because we needed a lifestyle change).

We dont like renting, and sensibly we know we need to buy.

I am on FT contract, i love my job, i am well educated, but its a "assistant" role in a relatively new field for me. My Manager is fab, but struggles with micro managing me, which leaves me feeling a little unsettled. I am more of a strategist than a hands on coal face type of person. I am thinking i need to move back into what i did before. BUT if i do then i think i might need to move 100 miles up country to justify such a change again (new job new location mentality).

My OH has a condition which is likely to change his life in the future.

Is this normal?!?!?

Tigsteroonie

Squid101 wrote: »

Worry that your doing the right thing?
Worry that your job isnt safe (potentially unjustified), and wanting to look for a new challenge elsewhere?
Worry that ill health might be a problem, and the insurance company wont cover it?
Worry that buying will tie us down when we feel like we dont know where we want to settle?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

moneyistooshorttomention

I would have thought its 100% normal these days.

I didn't worry in the slightest when I bought my starter house, because all mortgage interest got paid (as from Day 4 of unemployment) for however-much-it-was and however-long-it-needed to be paid.

My only concern would have been ensuring I had taken on the mortgage knowing my job was secure at the time I moved into the house. If my job had gone west a couple of months later, then I had a repayment mortgage (ie rather than an endowment mortgage) and so I would have just handed the "bill" over to the DHSS (as was at the time) on top of the "bill" for my own personal welfare payments and not concerned myself any further. My home would have been safe regardless - even if it had taken me literally years to get another job.

But, nowadays, and many changes to that later...yep...I'd worry. But you just have to do whatever you can to safeguard yourselves against problems and then carry on with "life as normal" (including getting mortgages).

Squid101

Thanks Both.

Its a pest feeling like this. Its actually impacting on the rest of my life, ie feeling worried about work. There is no need, and even so i have another 10 months on my contract, i can always find something else closer to the time if i need too.

Worry is absolutely contagious, its bad for your health!!

We havent asked for a top of our budget mortgage, its actually rather conservative, but even so, they might say no, they might say yes who knows anymore.

Right so i must try and wobble less for the next couple of days and just pretend its not worth worrying about.

EEEEKKKK!!! Its so hard

bexs2247

We should be moving next week and I'm worried,scared, nervous, excited etc. I've lived in my house for 9 years but my partner and I want to buy together and in the area where we grew up. Our jobs are as secure as jobs can be these days, we've budgeted etc but it's still scary.

We've conpromised on a few bits to get a house in the right area.

My current house feels "safe" at the moment but I guess once we've moved and settled in we will be fine!

Just have to ensure the doggy doesn't ever get out as we will be on a main ish road!

ruggedtoast

Completely normal. We have insurance that would pay our mortgage for a year of unemployment, and savings that would pay the mortgage for another year.

When you have just completed this doesn't seem like such a buffer, but once you've been paying down the mortgage for several years, and had several years of price increases and a good remortgage deal; you'll feel a lot more comfortable.

I was actually a lot more worried when I rented and had savings than I am now I bought and have nothing apart from a huge debt. If you lose your job as a renter the government will make you use most of your savings until you can claim benefits.

If you lose your job as a mortgage debtor the government will pay your mortgage interest for you and you still enjoy the capital appreciation of your home while you keep the plates spinning.

It make the people on the forum hpc.co.uk froth with rage, but it is the country we live in.

Squid101

I am so glad its not just me! I think once i get the decision on the mortgage this week i will stop worrying so much, but i cant count on it!

The house is no closer to work for either of us, its actually further away for DH. This will mean we will have to buy a second car (which we wont be able to buy cash at that point!). The house is in need of some renovation so that will cost us. BUT it will be ours and at least its not a rental.

Getting 6 monthly visits from the letting agency is darn right annoying. The house is spotless, and we have changed nothing. I think they should base their visits on risk rather than tick boxing, but thats just my personal gripe!! So at least we wont have the threat "we will let ourselves in if your out" twice a year!!!

When i get anxious i talk alot, be it verbally or virtually...so sorry for my jibbering !

Squid101

Ruggedtoast. Thats interesting.

We have insurance to be activated for unemployment, ill health etc. For some reason it rather high at £200 per month (might be because we had a good xmas!). As i say this insurance wont cover a certain condition which may be likely for DH in the future. This condition will mean he cant work, but thats just what we have to live with. On the whole the cover appears to be worth the cost.

Does the mortgage interest re-payment cover Scotland too do you know? *Fingers crossed*

ruggedtoast

Squid101 wrote: »

Ruggedtoast. Thats interesting.

We have insurance to be activated for unemployment, ill health etc. For some reason it rather high at £200 per month (might be because we had a good xmas!). As i say this insurance wont cover a certain condition which may be likely for DH in the future. This condition will mean he cant work, but thats just what we have to live with. On the whole the cover appears to be worth the cost.

Does the mortgage interest re-payment cover Scotland too do you know? *Fingers crossed*

I wouldnt pay £200 a month for insurance that won't cover the thing that you are likely to need to claim on.

Ill health insurance was too expensive for us, and it was nothing like that high!

Also bear in mind that your insurers definition of a condition that makes you too sick to work, and yours, may differ quite a bit. The policies I looked at would pay out if you suffer a catastrophic loss of function, but if they think you are well enough to work doing something, they won't pay. For example if I understood that if I were a brick layer and I had my leg chopped off, they would pay out for a bit and then say I needed to find a desk job, and stop paying.

For most people in reasonable health you just aren't that likely to claim on it, or need to, unless your employer really offers next to no sick pay.

moneyistooshorttomention

Actually, I think (even in this "day and age") I would worry more if I were in rented accommodation than mortgaged.

When I've had spells of unemployment before now, I was in rented accommodation, but it was public sector housing (so I wasn't bothered about my home in the slightest). Even if I had been living in private sector rented, I wouldn't have bothered myself in the slightest either. Reason being because, at that point in time, even private rented housing was pretty darn secure and you basically knew you had it however long you decided to have it.

Nowadays, I read about what its like in the private rented sector and think _pale_:eek: and I'd personally worry myself stiff about unemployment living in those circumstances, ie in case my landlord decided he didn't want unemployed people and/or now that DWP is pretty unlikely to pay all the rent (back in my day = they DID pay all the rent). I would have visions of maybe landing up homeless due to no fault of my own and wondering how to make it plain "I'm not a 'homeless person' - I just happen to be homeless due to etc etc that is nothing to do with me" and Get Back To Normal as fast as possible/worrying whether I would ever Get Back To Normal. All of which would lead me to try even harder to own a home of my own than I actually did "back in my day".

bexs2247

Do people still carry on looking on right move etc after finding the house they are going to buy?! I do that, and then see others I quite like and then worry I've made the wrong decision with the one we are buying!!!! Guess my answer should be to stop looking now!!!