Cold feet when buying, help?

lilsweetie

No advice but I’m right there with ya, waiting for a pot to be released any day now and my anxiety is stopping me sleeping!! I know deep down it’s what I’ve wanted after years of renting, it’s the commitment and having such a debt that gives me anxiety.

lilsweetie

Plot* that’s meant to say, on a new build property

[Deleted User]

You keep talking about moving like you're planning on going somewhere. Are you waiting for a dream job opportunity to come up? Are you unhappy with where you're living now?

Forget about what your friends have done. What do YOU want to do?

alex_163163

My experience of HTB, new build 2-bed flat and selling within 2.5 years - my flat went up in value by £40k. Yes I had to pay back more equity loan went I sold it, but I still made a profit. Granted this was in 2017 and times are changing. But people were saying the same thing about new build depreciation then, but I didn’t see it.
So whilst I agree that some, maybe the majority of new builds can lose value in the first few years, it doesn’t mean they all will. Or maybe I was just the lucky exception.
I had moved away for work a couple of years after uni. House shared and rented and then bought my own place. I moved from Leeds, to a town in Northamptonshire. Moving around isn’t all fun and games though - I had no friends here, family 2 hours away, had to start from scratch. Luckily I like my own company and I don’t mind change so I made the most of it and threw myself into making friends. But it takes effort to make a whole new life somewhere new. If you’re happy in your home town, then stop living with the what-if and just embrace and enjoy your life. If in a couple years time, and you can afford it, you can always look to move If you want an adventure.

GDB2222

If you think you're likely to sell on fairly quickly, for goodness sake do NOT buy a new build property. There's a lot of depreciation in price, once it becomes secondhand, plus HTB properties are often overpriced to begin with.

Just buy a secondhand property.

GDB2222

alex_163163 wrote: »

My experience of HTB, new build 2-bed flat and selling within 2.5 years - my flat went up in value by £40k. Yes I had to pay back more equity loan went I sold it, but I still made a profit. Granted this was in 2017 and times are changing. But people were saying the same thing about new build depreciation then, but I didn’t see it.
So whilst I agree that some, maybe the majority of new builds can lose value in the first few years, it doesn’t mean they all will. Or maybe I was just the lucky exception.
I had moved away for work a couple of years after uni. House shared and rented and then bought my own place. I moved from Leeds, to a town in Northamptonshire. Moving around isn’t all fun and games though - I had no friends here, family 2 hours away, had to start from scratch. Luckily I like my own company and I don’t mind change so I made the most of it and threw myself into making friends. But it takes effort to make a whole new life somewhere new. If you’re happy in your home town, then stop living with the what-if and just embrace and enjoy your life. If in a couple years time, and you can afford it, you can always look to move If you want an adventure.

Your experience relates to Leeds, at that particular time. What you are saying is that property price inflation, in Leeds at that time, was more than the depreciation on the flat. You don't say how much you'd have made on a secondhand flat in Leeds at that time, either.

lloydb723

Thanks all, although some conflicting responses.

Esentially I have NO immediate plans to move cities. Reason being it took me an awful long time to get my job and my company took a gamble on me, I am now steady but my experience needs building up. However, it has always been a dream of mine to be able to move away and explore, like many others I know have done. I travel up and down the country regularly to counter-act this currently.

So overall my dilemna is this. Do I just return to rent after all the years spent here, keep the freedom I crave but lose money to it and put off the inevitable of having to buy in two-three years time.

Or, do I buy now, pay off a few thousand of the mortgage whilst there. Then sell it on and buy another similar flat in a new city in two years once I have more confidence in my job and my abilities to find a better paid one elsewhere. Thanks again for help with this. Estate agents are chasing me right now.

Amoux

Contrary to many peoples views here, I personally wouldn't rush into the biggest financial decision of my life unless I was fully committed to it for the long term. Equally I wouldn't make the decision primarily on the basis of what others are doing.

Home ownership can be great, but it's not suitable for everyone. Often I see people underestimate the cost and risk of homeownership. Ideally it's for people who have their lives sorted and want to settle down somewhere and can see themselves living there for some time. Once you've made this decision, moving house comes at much greater cost and time. The upfront costs and fees are minimised the longer you choose to stay. If there was a significant chance that I was to move in the next two to three years, I wouldn't buy.

Secondly I think renting is often wrongly treated as a "waste of money" when it's anything but. You get a flexible place to live with little to no financial responsibility for it. This is a blessing for anyone who wants to keep their options open and maximise their opportunities.

lloydb723

I have a meeting to do the new mortgage application tomorrow. I had made a decision to buy another flat in January but that fell through, hence the sudden rush with this one.

Actually feeling a little overwhelmed with it all now. I have been led down this path by friends and family who have all reassured me buying is the right thing to do, but having huge doubts about the implicated costs should I move and getting stuck with a millstone of a place. Thanks for your help, if anyone has good advice that would be great.

lloydb723

I would add to one person who said about house buying. This is just a one bed flat so not a whole house to worry about with moving.

I am by no means settled in my life or relationships at the moment to do house buying but figured a one bed flat for a reasonable amount would be ok. Is it not?