Is it too late to sell a house in Northern Ireland???

ballyblack

However many people do not understand the concept of tightening their belts and consider the likes of Sky, mobile phones, holidays and meals/nights out as necessities ... a year or so of hardship and 'making do' is better than several years of repaying debt on something you no longer own

Hear! Hear! no truer words were ever spoken!

I have just rented out a house to a tenant after a long negotation on price. The tenant was pleading poverty. As soon as the tenant moved in, a largescreen TV was purchased and signed up to Sky package at over £80 a month. It looks like they will never save up for a deposit on a mortgage. Some people have different priorities??

tara747

Colin_Kee wrote: »

In reading through a lot of these comments I've come to the conclusion that people in UK/Ireland have some mad dillusion that they have some God given right to own their house. If you're on a low income or cant meet the 3.5 x Salary figure, rent.. Why do people in UK/Ireland see property as a way of making money.. IT'S A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD. OK if you can afford it, yes it is a way of making money but everyone, and I mean everyone has tried to jump on the bandwagon.. This whole situation we find ourselves in now is, at the end of the day, something we've brought on ourselves.. People were paying rediculous amounts of money for houses that were way over priced. To be honest I do feel some sympathy for those fining themselves in financial dificulty now but in another way I think, why should I, they made the decision to buy the house, you have to live with your decisions and suffer the consequences if they are wrong. THATS LIFE!!

And no I'm not being Heartless, I've had a house sale fall through also and have had to dramatically reduce the price to get another offer.. You have to live with it.. markets rise and fall...

Untill people start seeing houses as somewhere to live and not some sort of money spinner, this problem will never sort itself out... well thats my thoughts anyway..

Couldn't agree more.

championmongo1

Colin_Kee wrote: »

To be honest I do feel some sympathy for those fining themselves in financial dificulty now but in another way I think, why should I, they made the decision to buy the house, you have to live with your decisions and suffer the consequences if they are wrong. THATS LIFE!!

And no I'm not being Heartless, I've had a house sale fall through also and have had to dramatically reduce the price to get another offer.. You have to live with it.. markets rise and fall...
quote]

The financial implications aren't as important to me as the personal implications-I realise that buying a house was a huge decision that could make me a profit or a loss and was prepared for that. Time is the killer for me, a year apart from my fiancee, with our wedding this August isn't ideal but we are coping! I just want to move on, thus it's not achieving a great price that worries me, just achieving a completed sale at all in the current climate!

As for dramatically reducing the price I have done this (a further 30K this time on top of the previous 15K) and would consider further drops/lower offers although I'm being told by me EA not to, but I am constantly reassessing the situation!

A lot of OO's will be caught out not because they overstretched (the banks shouldn't have let this happen IMHO but anyway!) but beacuse current mortgage deals are so poor value and so hard to get as the banks are not that keen to lend out money to anyone anymore! It is those people I feel truly sorry for and that helps me keep perspective as I am in quite a 'fortunate' position compared to others as I can cover the cost of the two properties and the wedding-no holidays or honeymoon though! I do agree though that there are those who don't know what tightening the belt actually means and maybe they need to learn a lesson!?! MEW is possibly the worst financial product the banks have ever released and is partly the cause along with ridiculous multiplies, self certs and of course peoples greediness!

Thanks for the postive wishes Tara & LeftieM and I will keep you updated! And Ivan if you wanna buy a cheap house we should talk! lol!

IvanOpinion

championmongo1 wrote: »

And Ivan if you wanna buy a cheap house we should talk! lol!

Slip me a couple of grand and I will take it off your hands

Seriously, best wishes from me too but at the minute really is not the best time to sell ... but I accept there are many that have no choice and they will (rightly or wrongly) be taken advantage of. Is there no way that you could sit on the house and rent it out for a year or so, even enough to cover the worst of the mortgage?

ivan

tara747

championmongo1 wrote: »

Colin_Kee wrote: »

To be honest I do feel some sympathy for those fining themselves in financial dificulty now but in another way I think, why should I, they made the decision to buy the house, you have to live with your decisions and suffer the consequences if they are wrong. THATS LIFE!!

Colin_Kee wrote: »

And no I'm not being Heartless, I've had a house sale fall through also and have had to dramatically reduce the price to get another offer.. You have to live with it.. markets rise and fall...
quote]

The financial implications aren't as important to me as the personal implications-I realise that buying a house was a huge decision that could make me a profit or a loss and was prepared for that. Time is the killer for me, a year apart from my fiancee, with our wedding this August isn't ideal but we are coping! I just want to move on, thus it's not achieving a great price that worries me, just achieving a completed sale at all in the current climate!

As for dramatically reducing the price I have done this (a further 30K this time on top of the previous 15K) and would consider further drops/lower offers although I'm being told by me EA not to, but I am constantly reassessing the situation!

A lot of OO's will be caught out not because they overstretched (the banks shouldn't have let this happen IMHO but anyway!) but beacuse current mortgage deals are so poor value and so hard to get as the banks are not that keen to lend out money to anyone anymore! It is those people I feel truly sorry for and that helps me keep perspective as I am in quite a 'fortunate' position compared to others as I can cover the cost of the two properties and the wedding-no holidays or honeymoon though! I do agree though that there are those who don't know what tightening the belt actually means and maybe they need to learn a lesson!?! MEW is possibly the worst financial product the banks have ever released and is partly the cause along with ridiculous multiplies, self certs and of course peoples greediness!

Thanks for the postive wishes Tara & LeftieM and I will keep you updated! And Ivan if you wanna buy a cheap house we should talk! lol!

!!!! the EA, it's your house and don't be letting them dictate to you. Lower the price as much as you feel able to, it will find its market value and at least you'll know what you're dealing with.

Good luck.

tara747

OMG, is F-E-C-K a swear word now?

championmongo1

IvanOpinion wrote: »

Slip me a couple of grand and I will take it off your hands

Seriously, best wishes from me too but at the minute really is not the best time to sell ... but I accept there are many that have no choice and they will (rightly or wrongly) be taken advantage of. Is there no way that you could sit on the house and rent it out for a year or so, even enough to cover the worst of the mortgage?

ivan

Firstly thanks for the well wishing. Now...

Renting it out is no longer an option as it is nigh on impossible to switch to an 'investment' mortgage at present due to the prohibitive arrangement fees and ridiculous interest rates (some at BOE base rate + 2.49%) etc. Also whose to say how long it will be before the mortgage market returns to 'normal' never mind the housing market. I just want to cut my financial ties with N.I. however if I do end up in NE then I will be forced to look at the rental possibilites again...

tara747 wrote:

!!!! the EA, it's your house and don't be letting them dictate to you. Lower the price as much as you feel able to, it will find its market value and at least you'll know what you're dealing with.

Good luck.

tara747

I know what you are saying but I will take the EA's advice for now regarding the asking price (it is currently the cheapest house in my town, cheaper even than ex-council housing) as that will give me a little time to prepare the house for viewers again this weekend (it looks like a bachelor pad currently-lol!) and then my missus is home for a flying visit next weekend but I will review the situation again that Monday. Although hopefully I might get some interest before then but I'm not counting on it. With regards 'market value', what is that these days? Your house could be 90% cheaper than any competition and people would still make an offer 20K below that simply because they can! I am realistic though and will take any offer seriously from anyone who can prove their finances are in place and can complete quickly.

Now who else is skiving to enjoy this beautiful weather today???

tara747

championmongo1 wrote: »

Firstly thanks for the well wishing. Now...

I know what you are saying but I will take the EA's advice for now regarding the asking price (it is currently the cheapest house in my town, cheaper even than ex-council housing) as that will give me a little time to prepare the house for viewers again this weekend (it looks like a bachelor pad currently-lol!) and then my missus is home for a flying visit next weekend but I will review the situation again that Monday. Although hopefully I might get some interest before then but I'm not counting on it. With regards 'market value', what is that these days? Your house could be 90% cheaper than any competition and people would still make an offer 20K below that simply because they can! I am realistic though and will take any offer seriously from anyone who can prove their finances are in place and can complete quickly.

Now who else is skiving to enjoy this beautiful weather today???

Market value is what someone is prepared to pay (and can borrow) at the time you wish to sell. The timing is crucial - as we have seen, market value can change quite dramatically.

If your place is priced attractively to potential buyers, then you have a better chance of selling than your competition! :T

talksalot81

IvanOpinion wrote: »

But your definition of 'worse' is my definition of 'opportunity'. If people go into or are in negative equity then selling is not necessarily the best decision, prices will come back but they need to 'survive' the current downturn. That may mean a lot of tightening of the belts and maybe some renegotiation with the bank .. possibly deferring part of their mortgage (normally I would call that a bad choice but each person needs to look at their own financial situation and determine what is best).

In some cases 'selling' may be the only choice and in this market that is bad news for them but could be good news for somebody else. However many people do not understand the concept of tightening their belts and consider the likes of Sky, mobile phones, holidays and meals/nights out as necessities ... a year or so of hardship and 'making do' is better than several years of repaying debt on something you no longer own.

ivan

I don't know how someone struggling to meet their fixed rate deal (the media and anecdote will lead you to the conclusion that there are many) can possibly tighten the belt and survive if they are in negative equity. The whole problem is that they have absolutely NO ground to renegotiate. They cannot go elsewhere if in negative equity. There is not a provider in the country who will lend to them. They are forced to accept the jump to SVR or else sell up. If they can barely afford the fixed rate deal then they cannot begin to afford the SVR. They are forced to sell.

The only ones that is an opportuntity for are those with cash in hand and willing to gamble. Unfortunately for most bullish viewpoints, people in this position are more 'savvy' than the many amateur 'debt to let'ers and wont be so easily persuaded.

talksalot81

Colin_Kee wrote: »

Untill people start seeing houses as somewhere to live and not some sort of money spinner, this problem will never sort itself out... well thats my thoughts anyway..

I am inclined to think the problem is more fundamental. I think that the practice of lending money is at the source. Debt has simply become a substitute for hard work.