Should I buy the house?

Crashy_Time

steampowered said:

It depends on your situation really. 

If you have a decent deposit and are intending to stay in the property for some time - those would all be good reasons to go ahead. Over the long term with a decent deposit it shouldn't matter if there is a drop then a recovery in house prices.

If you have a wafer thin deposit, or are intending to move on in say 2-3 years - I'd be tempted to wait.

Say there is just a drop?

Crashy_Time

MysteryMe said:

No one knows enough about the property you have offered on or your personal circumstances or the circumstances of the vendor to be able to give any kind of meaningful advice.
If you pull out or the vendor takes the property off the market you need to be aware that there are always more circumstances at play than just price in a falling market. Too many posts on here are implying that house prices will dramatically fall but everything else remains the same as now. It wont. Interest rates and lending criteria will change as will the availability of housing stock. There may be a plentiful supply of former BTL flats or similar low cost housing but you will not be seeing a glut of desirable housing in desirable locations. People ride out the storm, unless you are the bottom of the ladder most people buy houses for the long term. You can't stop making decisions because of what ifs however if you are in less secure employment or already stretching finances you need to think things through. Buying may still be a better option than paying rent. Uncertainty over employment applies just as much to renters as it does to home owners BTW.

We are in uncharted waters, you have no real idea what might happen. 2008 was a straightforward bank bailout and interest rate cut, those tools don`t work in this situation. Banks won`t stop lending, and obviously if they are lending less house values will adjust to take account of this.

RelievedSheff

Crashy_Time said:

MysteryMe said:

No one knows enough about the property you have offered on or your personal circumstances or the circumstances of the vendor to be able to give any kind of meaningful advice.
If you pull out or the vendor takes the property off the market you need to be aware that there are always more circumstances at play than just price in a falling market. Too many posts on here are implying that house prices will dramatically fall but everything else remains the same as now. It wont. Interest rates and lending criteria will change as will the availability of housing stock. There may be a plentiful supply of former BTL flats or similar low cost housing but you will not be seeing a glut of desirable housing in desirable locations. People ride out the storm, unless you are the bottom of the ladder most people buy houses for the long term. You can't stop making decisions because of what ifs however if you are in less secure employment or already stretching finances you need to think things through. Buying may still be a better option than paying rent. Uncertainty over employment applies just as much to renters as it does to home owners BTW.

We are in uncharted waters, you have no real idea what might happen. 2008 was a straightforward bank bailout and interest rate cut, those tools don`t work in this situation. Banks won`t stop lending, and obviously if they are lending less house values will adjust to take account of this.

Equally you also have no real idea of what might happen so your continued bleating on about huge house price drops are just pie in the sky.

You are right on one score though. This current situation is nothing like 2008. Lenders are still lending in the current climate rather then shutting up shop almost completely.

Crashy_Time

RelievedSheff said:

Crashy_Time said:

MysteryMe said:

No one knows enough about the property you have offered on or your personal circumstances or the circumstances of the vendor to be able to give any kind of meaningful advice.
If you pull out or the vendor takes the property off the market you need to be aware that there are always more circumstances at play than just price in a falling market. Too many posts on here are implying that house prices will dramatically fall but everything else remains the same as now. It wont. Interest rates and lending criteria will change as will the availability of housing stock. There may be a plentiful supply of former BTL flats or similar low cost housing but you will not be seeing a glut of desirable housing in desirable locations. People ride out the storm, unless you are the bottom of the ladder most people buy houses for the long term. You can't stop making decisions because of what ifs however if you are in less secure employment or already stretching finances you need to think things through. Buying may still be a better option than paying rent. Uncertainty over employment applies just as much to renters as it does to home owners BTW.

We are in uncharted waters, you have no real idea what might happen. 2008 was a straightforward bank bailout and interest rate cut, those tools don`t work in this situation. Banks won`t stop lending, and obviously if they are lending less house values will adjust to take account of this.

Equally you also have no real idea of what might happen so your continued bleating on about huge house price drops are just pie in the sky.

You are right on one score though. This current situation is nothing like 2008. Lenders are still lending in the current climate rather then shutting up shop almost completely.

Yes, this isn`t a credit crunch yet, more like a consumer/demand crunch at the moment.