FTB Questions

braken2000

FTB here looking for some advice. This is all quite new to me so please bear with me

After renting all my life and saving I am now in a position with my partner to buy a house. We have managed to get a mortgage in principle up to approximately £275k as long as we have a 10% deposit on our offer so gives us up to £290-300k to look at. 

After looking online at pretty much everything we have got the list down to two properties that seem to fit the bill. We have viewed them both but are now left with more questions than we had hoped! 

The properties are:

House 1 - A large Victorian semi in a peaceful town in a good location for both our jobs, although a lot of people describe it as an area for older people. It is big, no denying it. It is on for £290k but has been on the market a while (around a year I think). It would need some work doing to it in terms of decorating and modernising but nothing structural that we have spotted so far. The vendor has stated he wants a quick sale which is also a good sign!

House 2 - An end of terrace Victorian house. Also large but smaller than house 1. Would not need as much work doing to it and is on for £250k. It has been on for two years now. It is in a good area however, it has no parking. This is why it has struggled to sell according to the EA. There is a garage with the sale but is a short walk away and there is also permit parking close by at £20 per month which is reasonable. 

It is just the two of us at the moment but we are wanting somewhere we can grow into as a family .

So my questions are really this:

1. Is it a bad idea to buy a house with no parking? Considering it has struggled to sell so far. Not keen on ending up with a problem in the future. 

2. Is going top end of our MIP also a bad decision? Whilst we like the house, and plan on being there a long time, is it going to end up consuming us to "get it how we want it"? I know that is a vague question I am just not sure how to word it.

3. When is it wise to get a solicitor instructed? Is it only after we have an offer accepted? Also, do we have to pay the full amount for the conveyancing upfront or after it has been sorted?

Sorry for all the questions and thank you for taking the time to read through this

SameOldRoundabout

1. What is parking like in the area? Do most houses have off street? If it’s the only one with no parking it will be an issue, if it’s common in the area it’ll be fine. Round by us it’s mostly Victorian and Edwardian and off street is rare, so parking is generally a bit sh*t and just one of those things. 

2. Only you can answer that. Personally I’ve always stayed under my AIP limit by some margin, but only because I’m a worrier and want to ensure we can make the payments even with big interest rises. The more pressing issue is, how much spare cash will you have if you buy at the top? Enough to renovate in one go? Enough to do bit by bit? If bit by bit, can you live in it as it is for however long it takes you to renovate? If the figure you’re left with after bills makes you uncomfortable don’t go that high. 

3. Instruct a solicitor once you have an offer accepted. Tell them not to do any work until they have your mortgage offer in hand. As a general rule you pay for searches up front (around £400) and the rest, along with stamp duty, on completion. 

braken2000

Thanks SameOldRoundabout

The parking is mostly off road. The front garden goes straight onto the road with no pavement. I am just awfully worried that we will be in the same position trying to sell it in the future and end up losing money on it! My only other plan was that there is some land behind, so maybe in the future trying to buy it and give it some off-road parking, but that is a big if. 

I would prefer to spend less (wouldn't we all) to give us more money to do it up. We would never be able to do it all up in one go unfortunately, but both are certainly habitable whilst we get going on it. 

Solicitor I found a local one that is competitive and think we will go with them. Will get onto them post offer . 

Offer wise do you think it is worth putting in an offer of say £240k for House 2 considering how long it has been on for?

SameOldRoundabout

If it’s been on 2 years I’d go in at £230 with an email justifying why, renovations needed etc etc while also mentioning things you love about the house. However....houses on for that long usually have a reason more serious than parking. Overpriced, warring vendors, survey issue etc. Be careful. 

For me personally if I were looking for a long term buy I’d buy the bigger one. I’d offer at least 5% under unless it’s already priced to sell....which it won’t be if it’s been on a year! 

braken2000

Thank you once again

I had concerns about the reason it had been on for 2 years. It had originally been on for £288k but had to do digging and it was with a different EA. So not really sure how to go about that really. 

House 1 I think is priced to sell. The vendor is doing most of it directly so finding it difficult to ask questions as would rather go through an EA. Have booked a viewing on Monday so can aks him questions then. I want to ask him what is his bottom line but feel cheeky in asking that. He has also said there are other interested parties and not really sure how quick we need to act really. 

All very new to this! 

SameOldRoundabout

It doesn’t matter so much what his bottom line is, it matters what you’re willing to pay. What would you be happy paying for that house? Usual form is to start a few grand under what you actually want to pay them negotiate up. If you have a ceiling price don’t be pressured into going above it. It’s hard! The other parties might be real or they might be made up, you just don’t know. The house we are buying had been on the market a year, and been reduced 50k in that time, had a sale fall through and not much interest apart from that. However we offered on the Monday and were accepted, only for other new people to offer higher on the Wednesday! They were real people who coincidentally found it at the same time as us in barren viewing ground. Luckily vendor stuck with us and we are almost at exchange, but you can’t predict other people. 

For either house, just remember that a low (but not low enough to be insulting) offer is often the first step to negotiating a realistic price. It can’t hurt. Pick a house and take a punt ☺️ 

Ps, sadly it doesn’t get any less stressful now until you’ve moved in! 

warby68

If you are really just comparing these two properties then try it this way. Think about the value (or cost) to you of the price difference which looks like being about £40k.
Work out what that £40k gives you in terms of parking, extra space, location, not having to move again for ages, a semi not a terrace, resale, garden, family friendly,  and your actual preferred house type  AND then what it will cost you in terms of extra payments and inability to save etc.
You can do it the other way too, what you would lose or save by not paying £40k more.
I'd hazard a guess that the pros might outweigh the cons on this one of going bigger.
Sometimes the old fashioned way of sitting down with a pen and paper and making lists helps focus your mind, especially when faced with what seems like endless choice.
In practical terms, if you know now you'd have to upsize within say 5 years it might be better going bigger now and saving the costs and uncertainty of moving.
I've always gone with the most you can reasonably afford and fewer stages but it isn't the same for everyone. 

Skiddaw1

OP, any chance of links to the two houses? Would love to have a butchers....

fullofcold

Honestly, I would go with the one with parking and the bigger space.  I am in the opposite situation to you now (although we need parking) and If you have more space and parking it'll probably save you moving again when you start a family which will save you a few thousand.

kdotdotdotdot

Tricky one to answer, and it depends on your finances, I'd say.  For £50k less, and if the garage is really only a short walk away, it may not be a problem, but only you know your lifestyle.  If you're planning to start a family, will you have to move again or is it big enough?