Buying a house without a mortgage

travelguide

insects I maen live ones which drink your blood---I mean bedbugs. they are quite common inthis side of the world.

Frugaldom

Oh bedbugs! I thought you meant something more sinister. Don't most houses have bedbugs and dustmites and tiny microscopic creatures? I'd be more worried about moving in and finding the place infested with fleas. Imagine the carry-on trying to sort that problem out if you moved in and had pets?! If you are worried about bedbugs, get an electric blanket. Apparently, they can't survive in dry heat. A dehumidifier can also maintain a dry enough atmosphere that makes it impossible for mites to survive - I think it needs to be less than 50% relative humidity. I'm learning all sorts of stuff since trying to build up my immunity against the 'recession bug'.

We have now spotted another house we really like, except it isn't for sale, it's a rental. However, with things the way they are going, living where we are is seriously interfering with the savings plans, what with the cost of rent and council tax plus the ever-increasing electricity (NIGHTMARE!) Hoping to hear on Friday about a far more secure rental than the one we are currently in, so everything that can be crossed is crossed. Living a lifestyle I am happy with is one of my top priorities, so a solid tenancy agreement would make a serious difference to how things are progressing here. That way, I can relax a little and concentrate on working harder to build the savings, rather than worrying on a daily basis that the next phone call isn't the current LL serving notice to quit because he's sold the house as part of a divorce settlement.

House prices still aren't dropping at any great rate to anywhere near within our range, other than the odd little plot with a roof that I believe has now been sold privately. The estate agents concerned haven't even informed our lawyers, so I'm not holding my breath and we certainly aren't going to get involved in a bidding war at this late stage in the year. I WILL learn patience, I WILL NOT be tempted to buy something cheap nowing I can borrow to fix it up... phew! That was a close call! I had almost lost sight of exactly what I'm trying to do here! :eek: Pavlov, I'll need you to yell at me if I even hint at buying something that would mean months of building and fixing up before being able to move into it. And please yell at me if it turns out that the little plot/house sale falls through so that I'm not tempted to get back on that same 'horse' and try again. :rotfl: Thankfully, we incurred absolutely no costs, only several hours of my time.

Back to the original savings plan - slowly but surely, penny by penny...

pavlovs_dog

nykmedia wrote: »

House prices still aren't dropping at any great rate to anywhere near within our range, other than the odd little plot with a roof that I believe has now been sold privately. The estate agents concerned haven't even informed our lawyers, so I'm not holding my breath and we certainly aren't going to get involved in a bidding war at this late stage in the year. I WILL learn patience, I WILL NOT be tempted to buy something cheap nowing I can borrow to fix it up... phew! That was a close call! I had almost lost sight of exactly what I'm trying to do here! :eek: Pavlov, I'll need you to yell at me if I even hint at buying something that would mean months of building and fixing up before being able to move into it. And please yell at me if it turns out that the little plot/house sale falls through so that I'm not tempted to get back on that same 'horse' and try again. :rotfl: Thankfully, we incurred absolutely no costs, only several hours of my time.
Back to the original savings plan - slowly but surely, penny by penny...

yes ma'am - consider it done

with so many banks wobbling at the moment im worried that there just isnt going to be mortgages available for us in 12 months, regardless of our deposit. time will tell i suppose, no point worrying about things beyond my control

LilacPixie

I am actually surprise HBOS are still lending. up to 95% as well. Scary think is the rates being offered.

IMO in 12 months time most of us will still be able to secure a Mortgage but the interest rate will be a killer. I really should get finger out my !!! and try harder. I will have a 4 bed detatched home sooner or later.

Frugaldom

LilacPixie wrote: »

I am actually surprise HBOS are still lending. up to 95% as well. Scary think is the rates being offered.

IMO in 12 months time most of us will still be able to secure a Mortgage but the interest rate will be a killer. I really should get finger out my !!! and try harder. I will have a 4 bed detatched home sooner or later.

I tend to agree with what you have just said! I've played about with several sites and spoken to a few mortgage dealers and, despite my being self employed, none of them have come straight out and said no. However, the interest rates and percentage deposits are both interesting and thought provoking. For a commercial mortgage, they asked for minimum 45% deposit and offered a rate of 1.5% over standard mortgage rate. To borrow on a personal loan, as opposed to a mortgage, they offered 10.18% interest or there abouts. That doesn't seem too bad when you think back 20 years ago or so to the 15% interest rates, and it's next to nothing when you consider 29.4% interest on a credit card loan or 182.3% APR on a Provident Personal Loan :eek:

If only we could have someone who would offer the perfect solution for us self-employed renters, like a rent to buy mortgage where you secure the loan against the property at a monthly repayment rate equivalent to your current rent, that would be a Godsend, but only if the property was priced by a quantity surveyor basing it on bricks & mortar, rather than by an estate agent surveyor basing it on location, popularity and desireability.

There HAS to be a faster and better way of buying a house and paying its true value rather than saying it's, for example, 25k deposit and then the 100k mortgage will cost you 125k in interest over 25 years and, by the way, you STILL owe the £100k at the end of that (at which point you find out the house is only worth what you paid for it, if you are lucky. Every £1000 of house now could cost at £2250 to pay it off! (and that's just at 5% interest rate). My first mortgage (£12,000) was taken out almost 25 years ago, so the house I bought then, had I kept it, could have cost me £28,500 had interest rates stayed as low as 5% (£1,500 deposit paid). However, that exact same house is NOWHERE NEAR £28,500 now. In fact, last time it sold, it made over double that amount! The system has gone badly wrong, it has completely collapsed under the pressure of demand outstripping supply... we don't need more money, we need more houses, and houses that are priced in accordance with the REAL cost of living and the TRUE rate of inflation. Peoples' homes should never have been allowed to become a commodity and I had better get off my soap box right now before I get mad at the prospect of never being able to afford a secure roof over my head to call home! :mad:
I'd be as well renting for the rest of my days! I may well do that, and just let the kids inherit the cash I'll have saved - if I don't have fun spending it.

cheekymonkey20

Ok look at it this way..
you could be paying £500 rent and £500 savings for a house, thats £1000 a month.
Over 10 years you will have saved up £60k, but spent £60k in rent.
If you put £1000 into a mortgage you would be spending that money each month to pay off your mortgage thats it, your not wasting £60k.

In my opinion renting is dead money unless you have a council place, where you could get a HUGE discount after 5 years due to the Council Right to Buy scheme.

Save up a deposit, goes without saying in todays market, plus less risk of negative equity and better deals.

Frugaldom

cheekymonkey20 wrote: »

In my opinion renting is dead money unless you have a council place, where you could get a HUGE discount after 5 years due to the Council Right to Buy scheme.

Save up a deposit, goes without saying in todays market, plus less risk of negative equity and better deals.

Some people don't have that choice and, in my opinion, renting is not dead money as everyone has to pay to live somewhere. I can afford to rent a 3 bedroom house but couldn't possibly afford to mortgage one. 'Circumstances' is the watchword here and, right now, they dictate that renting is the ONLY option. Council housing is not an option where I live.

cheekymonkey20

But if you had the choice between renting and buying, id always say it would be best to buy if you can afford it. Like the OP

Frugaldom

cheekymonkey20 wrote: »

But if you had the choice between renting and buying, id always say it would be best to buy if you can afford it. Like the OP

Circumstances dictated otherwise - if you are self-employed and going where the work is, buying and selling houses each time you need to relocate is a ludicrous idea, renting is far cheaper and means that every extra penny can be saved - no legal fees, no huge removal fees, no estate agent's percentage, no advertising, no survey fees, etc, etc, etc. I am saving to buy a house outright and do not intend taking 25 to 35 years to do it, I was thinking more along the lines of 5 to 10, then all the savings after that, which will increase by the equivalent of monthly rent, will be saved and I won't need to worry about relocating again.

Nubes

Hi there, been lurking and reading with avid interest for quite some time.
I too would love to save n buy with no mortgage, and am also self-employed.
Keep the good work up, and no I do not think you are crazy, you have certainly motivated me and the sharing of your knowledge has made me look hard at the way I treat my finances and given me the permision to "dream".:beer: