Having doubts after offer accepted

danlightbulb

The normal thing to do, as a single person with no family living with me. Would be to buy a nice, pretty, modern, 2 bed house for sensible money. Then later when I got a family I would trade up to a larger house.

And I would do this happily, IF they existed. The 2 beds are horrible little boxes crammed into crppy corners of streets, almost never have garages or hardly any outside space. And the ones that do exist are not that much cheaper than something bigger.

So that's a big part of the reason why Im having so much uncertainty. I don't really need a house like this one, and perhaps deep down I know this implicitly. But there is no point going smaller or cheaper because the value for money becomes disproportionate. So I am almost forced into going beyond what I really need or want by virtue of what I really would want not existing.

Once I am down that path, then it becomes more of a risk and more of a 'business' decision on possible future value and potential, precisely because I am stretching my budget to its maximum.

The property 'ladder' has rungs that are all messed up.

danlightbulb

When people are saying bungalows can be great family homes, perhaps they are thinking something like this:

https://www.self-build.co.uk/home/60s-bungalow-transformed-modern-open-plan-home/
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/ways-remodel-bungalow/

My house is far far removed from that ideal, it can never be anything like that. I would agree on that size of plot, there is no difference between a house and a bungalow.

When I look at bungalows in America or Australia, they are 400m2 floor area! It's a different world.

Are people thinking about 'family' bungalows with those ideals in mind?

[Deleted User]

danlightbulb wrote: »

... Once I am down that path, then it becomes more of a risk and more of a 'business' decision on possible future value and potential, precisely because I am stretching my budget to its maximum...

You seem to be only thinking of the house as some sort of investment and what the value will be in the future. However, it is a home you are buying which is worth zero whilst you are living in it. It is only worth something if you ever want to sell.

The other way of looking at things is rent versus mortgage. Let's make up some figures:

Age 40
If you live until the age of 80 (so 40 years of rent to pay at £500 a month) = £240,000.00 in rent paid over 40 years.

Compared to the same payments for a mortgage (you mentioned mortgage would be the same as rent if you bought). 25 years at £500 a month = £150,000.00. Also, your mortgage payments will reduce over time so in reality you would be paying much less than rent.

So, even if you buy the house and it does lose money over time when / if you come to sell it will still be cheaper to buy and renovate rather than paying rent over a period of time.

Also, at the age of 40 if you don't buy soon then mortgages are more difficult to obtain the older you get.

And if you never buy then I hope you have a nice big pension to keep paying lots of rent in retirement too. Roughly (depending on what type investment and how you take the money) you would need to have about and extra £200,000.00 in pension funds to just pay rent of £500 - £600 a month.

[Deleted User]

danlightbulb wrote: »

When people are saying bungalows can be great family homes, perhaps they are thinking something like this:

https://www.self-build.co.uk/home/60s-bungalow-transformed-modern-open-plan-home/
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/ways-remodel-bungalow/

My house is far far removed from that ideal, it can never be anything like that. I would agree on that size of plot, there is no difference between a house and a bungalow.

When I look at bungalows in America or Australia, they are 400m2 floor area! It's a different world.

Are people thinking about 'family' bungalows with those ideals in mind?

Me again.

We live in a bungalow and it looks noting like those. I would not buy either of those houses. I don't like modern, all white, high gloss, open plan, no proper garden which will look dated in no time.

I don't understand why you seem obsessed about potential sale value, or what is 'normal', or what other people think, or making it look like someone else's house, or how the bungalow should look according to some interiors magazine.

You are buying a home, not investing in a piece of art!

danlightbulb

Because being on my own I have too much time to over contemplate these things and no family or kids to distract me and make me focus on other more important priorities.


Do you mind if I ask how old you are, if you have a partner/family, and what your house is like?

Dancer11

I have followed both your threads regarding your search. I am also a FTB at the age of 44 (yesterday!) and have rented with my husband for 20 years.
We have gone from proceeding on a 3 bed new build detached with garage on at 350k (semi rural South East) with both our salaries over 17 years, husband is a lot older than me, but we pulled out as they then wanted us to reduce term to 14 years which we said was unaffordable.
We are now waiting to complete in March on a 2 bed mid terraced new build home with Garage at 260k in my name only over 29 years.
We will be saving £320 per month just on the difference between the rent where we are (3 bed end terrace town house) and the mortgage payment, which I intend to use on overpaying the mortgage to shorten the term.
My husband and I never intended to buy a 2 bed house, but there is only the two of us, no children, and he has the garage to dump the junk that normally fills a 3rd bedroom lol.
We also didn’t want a mid terrace, especially after falling in love with the 3 bed detached we had to pull out of.
We are having to downsize everything we have, but it is worth it to us, because it will be ours, and we will finally be able to pay our own mortgage instead of somebody else’s. The thought of paying rent in retirement was also one of my big worries, and the 6 monthly inspections (even after being here 5.5 years) along with 4% rent increases also becomes hard to bear!
What I’m trying to say is, there will always be a compromise in whatever you buy. Yes, according to the mortgage advisor, we could have afforded the 3 bed detached mortgage, but at over 2.5 times what we currently pay in rent, we wasn’t prepared to pay this, as we also enjoy holidays and we both like having nice cars A much smaller mortgage payment also gives the piece of mind its affordable should one of us be sick or out of work etc.
As long as you think you can live in the house and make it a home, don’t worry what the next prospective buyers think of it, there will always be someone who will fall in love with it.
I hope you soon are able to make a decision on whether you move forward with this. Good luck!

danlightbulb

I have often considered buying something for less money and I keep looking at the market, but the choice is so poor. Your £350k down to £260k is 25%, which would translate to a £125k house in my budget. You're still getting a new build for that money so maintenance not a major concern, I can't get hardly anything (even a 2 bed) for £125k here, even though the 3 bed detached is £170k.


Everything is really bunched up in terms of price here. There's no spread, which is really frustrating.

oldernonethewiser

How long are you hoping to keep the vendors dangling before you, hopefully, come to a decision?

KBNewby

danlightbulb wrote: »

The normal thing to do, as a single person with no family living with me. Would be to buy a nice, pretty, modern, 2 bed house for sensible money. Then later when I got a family I would trade up to a larger house.

And I would do this happily, IF they existed. The 2 beds are horrible little boxes crammed into crppy corners of streets, almost never have garages or hardly any outside space. And the ones that do exist are not that much cheaper than something bigger.

So that's a big part of the reason why Im having so much uncertainty. I don't really need a house like this one, and perhaps deep down I know this implicitly. But there is no point going smaller or cheaper because the value for money becomes disproportionate. So I am almost forced into going beyond what I really need or want by virtue of what I really would want not existing.

Once I am down that path, then it becomes more of a risk and more of a 'business' decision on possible future value and potential, precisely because I am stretching my budget to its maximum.

The property 'ladder' has rungs that are all messed up.

OK, being single is great when buying!! You can be completely selfish in your needs. Ultimately you need somewhere in an area you like, that is affordable enough for you to still be able to live and will cater for your hobbies (which again comes down to location and a bit of space to store stuff!) You can be completely selfish, and as long as it fulfils this criteria the resell value etc is negligible anyway, as anything could happen in the next 5 years.

I cycle a lot, and have 5 bikes. I live in a one bedroom tiny top floor flat at the moment which actually works fine for me. I like it because it's low maintenance, cheap and in a good location.

I am now buying a house around the corner cos my flat is a squeeze with two of us now with 9 bikes, and the house is very affordable and in the location we want.

It's all about balancing what you want. If that house fits the space criteria and location you have and is affordable, you could create a drive on that plot and you have off road parking. If you want to make it more accessible, you can build a ramp to the front door It needs updating so should have scope to make money as long as it's not already the most expensive house on the street!

JGB1955

Dan.... just stop now....and buy the ****** place. You are SO over-thinking the whole process. You need somewhere to live. The house suits your needs... end of...