The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

I am beginning to think that "the one" doesn't have the precise rear orientation I demand. It's always hard to actually "trust" a map ... but it looks like it's South-East facing... and I want South-West.

South-East is good to a point, but once you've lost that sun it's gone .... which is a major thing that I can't compromise on.

My garden faces north-west and most of the patio by the house gets the sun most of the day.

You need to look at what may block the light.

LydiaJ

Sending thoughts, hugs and prayers for Sue, her parents, and her boys.

PasturesNew wrote: »

It doesn't work like that for a property I'm interested in

Of course not. All sorts of people might be reading the NPT. You don't want one of them to look at "your" house and take a shine to it.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Kind of.

I've shortlisted and am researching areas...

But ... if a house is new to market and I am not in a position to move (this only came on yesterday), then there's no point in me "creating a rush for it" .... as I can't offer anyway.

Yes you can. People put in offers on houses before their own has sold all the time. You won't "create a rush" for it. You'll make the sellers feel they're doing the right thing putting it with that agent etc, and decrease the chance they try other strategies to get more interest.

Masomnia wrote: »

On a similar topic I thought I'd say hello to you all as I've recently had an offer accepted on a 1 bed in inner Herts Just got the small matter of the mortgage to sort........... but getting there.

Congratulations! :beer:
Do keep us posted as to how it all goes from here.

michaels

silvercar wrote: »

Many, many blocks of small flats round my way. A lot bought under HTB; they may come unstuck in a few years as the 5 yr deal runs out and people look to remortgage.

Hmm, possibly not the most diplomatic way of responding to MAS's exciting news.....

The way I see it we all need a house,most of us will not buy at the ideal moment, but all of us will be better off in 30 years having paid off a mortgage than having rented.

Masomnia

Ha well I didn't buy with HTB, though I did consider it. At an absolute stretch I might be able to afford a studio round here with the 40% equity loan, but it feels like a massive gamble. I'd be facing very interest costs in five years and would probably be forced to sell. Though I would probably not want to be living in a studio flat in 5 years, I really wouldn't want to be forced to sell if there is a crash, and over that horizon you don't know.

A pal of mine has just to got to the end of his 5 year interest free period but outside London and used all his company shares (paying thousands in income tax to take them out of the scheme early) in order to pay it off. Didn't make sense to me, but what do I know?

So I've kept things straightforward. Unfortunately for a lot of people HTB is the only way they can do it.

LydiaJ

Masomnia wrote: »

Thanks, and yes that's exactly how I feel. Kept mulling it over in my mind and I'm still not 100% sure it's the right thing to do but like you say you've just got to make a decision sometimes and make the best of it

Sounds sensible. Because what feels like "not making a decision" is a de facto decision to keep renting indefinitely, and that's probably not the best strategy for most people who are able to buy.

Masomnia wrote: »

Thing is, I like where I live, I've been in the area 3 years and don't really want to move. But I think I'll like living in Inner Herts just as much if not more and my mortgage will be a lot less than my rent, I'll still be able to get into London easily etc. Still feels like a massive step.

If you can move to a cheaper area that's still as "nice" by whatever criteria you find important, then that's a great thing to do. I've become a big believer in trying (where possible, of course) to keep the "big ticket" items down, so that you can have some slack in your budget and don't have to keep watching every penny, and also you aren't thrown into crisis by every unexpected expense. Remember, however, that as an OO you will have maintenance costs that you haven't been having to pay as a tenant.

Masomnia wrote: »

Ha well I didn't buy with HTB, though I did consider it. At an absolute stretch I might be able to afford a studio round here with the 40% equity loan, but it feels like a massive gamble. I'd be facing very interest costs in five years and would probably be forced to sell. Though I would probably not want to be living in a studio flat in 5 years, I really wouldn't want to be forced to sell if there is a crash, and over that horizon you don't know.

A pal of mine has just to got to the end of his 5 year interest free period but outside London and used all his company shares (paying thousands in income tax to take them out of the scheme early) in order to pay it off. Didn't make sense to me, but what do I know?

So I've kept things straightforward. Unfortunately for a lot of people HTB is the only way they can do it.

You sound to have your head screwed on the right way round as far as I can see, but I'm no expert on that kind of thing. My own journey to home-ownership was so atypical that I'm a bit clueless about how these things go for people in more usual circumstances.

In other news...
1) Lots going on at work. There are going to be some staff changes over Christmas resulting in our office having to accommodate 2 more people than we've had until now. Quite what rearrangements are going to be necessary to fit in the extra desks is still unknown, but lots of people have opinions! It's even possible they might split us into two different rooms, which would have some really big advantages and also really big disadvantages.
2) I've been having some increasingly annoying shoulder pain over the last day or two, but the chiropractor can fit me in on Monday. Hoping she can nip it in the bud and prevent it getting painful enough to interfere with getting on with everything. As long as it doesn't get as bad as it did in the spring, I'll be happy.

PasturesNew

vivatifosi wrote: »

Have you tried suncalc.net? It works with Google maps and you can find the actual house and check the orientation.

Yes, maybe need to try another browser though.

That, too, indicates sun's lost early evening.

Bl00dy annoying, but that late sun is important, else we might as well all go to bed at 5pm peak summer

Nobody wants to invite people over in July/Aug "to sit in the dark ... even though we know others are out there enjoying sun this evening".

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

I am beginning to think that "the one" doesn't have the precise rear orientation I demand. It's always hard to actually "trust" a map ... but it looks like it's South-East facing... and I want South-West.

South-East is good to a point, but once you've lost that sun it's gone .... which is a major thing that I can't compromise on.

My garden faces NNW and gets lots of sun. It depends what's around you.

Admittedly, the sun does move around the garden, but that suits me, as it means there is always some shade to sit it. The front garden, which faces SSE, is always far too hot, except on sunny days in winter.

The bottom of the garden gets the late sun, so that's where I have a swing seat.

A south-facing garden might give no shade at all, unless you have trees (:D) or a close-by building.

If you want to be boiled and roasted, though, then a south-facing garden might suit you.

As regards the house.....if one end faces south, then the other end faces north, which means one side is a lot hotter/colder than the other. That, for me is the downside, except during a very hot summer such as we have just had, because then there is always a cooler room to sit in.

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

So .... in/out 8 minutes, it's not big, but he either loved it or hated it

Could still be the former - I wasn't much longer in this house, because I'd done most of my research beforehand so just needed to confirm my thoughts by having a look.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

The one I viewed and dismissed .... was on at £315k, then £307.5k when I saw it .... and now it's at £300k.

I just didn't like that little corner of the road

Right now I have £0 to buy anywhere with anyway ... until mine's sold I don't know at what price it'll sell... so I don't know how much I can spend. Certainly £315k was never on the radar....

Don't forget, they are only the asking prices.

You can make an offer at any level you like, however 'silly' you think it might be.

However, if that's the house with the 'neighbour', you won't want to anyway!

And I echo what others have said...... you don't have to have a buyer for your house in order to make an offer. Obviously, you wouldn't want to exchange contracts without having a buyer, though! :eek:

Masomnia

Got mine for £45k below what it was originally put on at so you never know