Is it stupid to buy a house right now?

daveyjp

If OP doesn't buy it someone else will.

I have never met anyone who is mortgage free who regrets now owning their property. 

Jeepers_Creepers

Renonewbie, in what part of the country is this house, may I ask? I suspect some counties will have more stable house prices than others. 

jonnimant

People usually plan holidays this time of year. Since this no longer is a possibility, all the savings can go towards a house move instead, and all that freed-up time to get involved with the buying/mortgage process.

That's the motivation from the demand side (at least that's what drives in my case), added that it's also pent-up from couple of months of inactivity.

The supply side is significantly weakened by the furloughs, so expecting long delays due to short-staffed bankers, mortgage advisers, and solicitors.

I think time to completion will be significantly longer than the 3 months average in these times. That is if one manages to snap up a high LTV mortgage product in the first place...

Crashy_Time

Scotbot said:

Crashy_Time said:

Looks like there will be less places to spend money after today`s news?

There's  a company called Amazon that is open 24/7 sells stuff from all over the world and you don't  have to leave your bedroom to shop there. No petrol costs, no parking fees, and cheaper prices thanks to no physical stores to pay for. You should try it. Of course it's  really bad news if you manage a retail mall.

Really bad news if you manage a retail mall....and pay taxes in this country....and employ a lot of people in this country........you nearly got there in your last sentence!

Crashy_Time

Davesnave said:

jimbog said:

Not 'stupid' if it is the right decision for you in your circumstances at this moment

This is it in a nutshell. You know your circumstances, so ought to be able to judge the suitability of the house for long term occupation and your likely ability to pay for it. None of us can do that for you. Everyone's life includes an element of uncertainty, but that's not necessarily a reason for following 'jam tomorrow' doctrines. For some, tomorrow never comes.

Sounds like you really don`t want hard working people to get their Jam as far as decently priced property goes? 

illbeurhuckleberry

Mortgage and questions.
I am taking the plunge to buy a property with a 15% deposit.

I have a mortgage broker and he informed me as I owned my last property 3 yrs ago I would be considered a first time buyer.? Anyone heard of this- not me.

is there any value in putting an additional£1,500 onto my deposit to get the LTR value from 85% to 84%? Looking into the I would only save myself  £240 over 5 years.

The best interest rate my mortgage broker could find was 2.04% for 5 years on a 20 yr mortgage. I’m wanting a 24 yr mortgage ( I get to retire @69) and wondered is this rate good.? I don’t see interest rates dropping  but I’m no expert either.
really appreciate comments.
😁

Davesnave

Crashy_Time said:

Davesnave said:

jimbog said:

Not 'stupid' if it is the right decision for you in your circumstances at this moment

This is it in a nutshell. You know your circumstances, so ought to be able to judge the suitability of the house for long term occupation and your likely ability to pay for it. None of us can do that for you. Everyone's life includes an element of uncertainty, but that's not necessarily a reason for following 'jam tomorrow' doctrines. For some, tomorrow never comes.

Sounds like you really don`t want hard working people to get their Jam as far as decently priced property goes? 

No, they can speculate on the right place being available at any point in the future, and in the current economic climate they might well save money. What I want is for people to recognise the subtleties of markets, which may stymie their plans if there are specific kinds of price movements

This isn't based on theory, but what happened when the affordability of a certain type of property altered while we planned ahead. Two years from when we decided in principle to make a move, we returned to view the market and found ourselves priced-out.

It's quite possible property won't fall uniformly, or that it will  hold its price, or even increase in certain places, but I don't know what type of house the OP wants, or where it is.

."Hard working people" ? Nice sound bite phrase, generally much disliked by...um.. hard working people!

Renonewbie

Hi everyone, 
Thanks so much for your replies so far. In answer to some of your questions, the house is is Oxfordshire, about an hour north of Oxford itself. It's on the market for £285,000 and we have a deposit of £70,000. We are also planning to offer less than the asking price and hope to end up somewhere around the £270,000 mark. 
It's really reassuring to hear some of you say go for it! Buying a house, especially for the first time is scary and I've got a million 'What if's?' running around in my head. 

MysteryMe

It's natural to be anxious but as long as you do your sums and research it's a process that millions of people have gone through and most are happy they did. If they weren't they'd all go back to renting but very few do by choice. 

Crashy_Time

daveyjp said:

If OP doesn't buy it someone else will.

I have never met anyone who is mortgage free who regrets now owning their property. 

There will be a fair few not mortgage free, especially recent buyers, with regrets I suspect.