Has anyone used HomeNow?

steampowered

When I look at the "case study" on their website, it says that they would buy a property for £300,000 and charge you £1,430 per month rent.

That sounds like a bad deal. I charge about that much for a property worth £500k.

Not to mention that you would be relying on a long term contract with an unknown company that could go under at any point.

I think you are going to be far better off renting for a few years. You can put aside the money you save each month by not using this company to save up a deposit. Preferably using a Lifetime ISA so that the government tops up an extra £1,000 for each £4,000 you save.

Stardustjunkie

steampowered said:

When I look at the "case study" on their website, it says that they would buy a property for £300,000 and charge you £1,430 per month rent.

That sounds like a bad deal. I charge about that much for a property worth £500k.

Not to mention that you would be relying on a long term contract with an unknown company that could go under at any point.

I think you are going to be far better off renting for a few years. You can put aside the money you save each month by not using this company to save up a deposit. Preferably using a Lifetime ISA so that the government tops up an extra £1,000 for each £4,000 you save.

Thank you. We have help to buy ISAs but very few properties in our area that are family sized fall below the £250k threshold. A few lovely ones do pop up occasionally so we are keeping an eye out but we’re way off a deposit at the moment. We also look out for new build for the 20% government scheme but there’s been hardly any new builds for years. There’s a few nearby to us but they shared ownership only and the cost is more than a mortgage would be without the shared ownership.

So difficult to get on the property ladder! Appreciate your time and advice, thank you.

Alana1987

It can be hard to retain privacy and authority over your life, and both children and parents can find themselves reverting to old habits scolding for an unmade bed or arguing over petty differences.So you’re renting, but you still want to save as much as you can. You’ve tightened the belt, you’re forgoing the takeaways and holidays, but rent is always going to be your biggest outgoing.

Smodlet

I stand by my first post.  This BS sounds like a rent version of LAMB (Look After My Bills) where you spend the same amount of time and a whole lot more money (as opposed to none) on scammers to switch your energy suppliers.

Go ahead, get yourself shafted if that is what you want.  If you want a clue, read. 

GDB2222

Smodlet said:

I stand by my first post.  This BS sounds like a rent version of LAMB (Look After My Bills) where you spend the same amount of time and a whole lot more money (as opposed to none) on scammers to switch your energy suppliers.

Go ahead, get yourself shafted if that is what you want.  If you want a clue, read. 

I’m not sure that your post adds a lot to this ‘discussion'. According to you, it’s a scam, and the reason is that you were disappointed with an energy switching service which has nothing to do with it. 

There are clearly new products coming to the market all the time. Some of them work out well, and others fail to deliver the goods. Very few of them deliberately set out to defraud their customers, though.

Jadek

Stardustjunkie said:

steampowered said:

When I look at the "case study" on their website, it says that they would buy a property for £300,000 and charge you £1,430 per month rent.

That sounds like a bad deal. I charge about that much for a property worth £500k.

Not to mention that you would be relying on a long term contract with an unknown company that could go under at any point.

I think you are going to be far better off renting for a few years. You can put aside the money you save each month by not using this company to save up a deposit. Preferably using a Lifetime ISA so that the government tops up an extra £1,000 for each £4,000 you save.

Thank you. We have help to buy ISAs but very few properties in our area that are family sized fall below the £250k threshold. A few lovely ones do pop up occasionally so we are keeping an eye out but we’re way off a deposit at the moment. We also look out for new build for the 20% government scheme but there’s been hardly any new builds for years. There’s a few nearby to us but they shared ownership only and the cost is more than a mortgage would be without the shared ownership.

So difficult to get on the property ladder! Appreciate your time and advice, thank you.

Hi OP, I would recommend switching to a LISA from your current HTB ISA. The limit on the LISA for a property is £450k as opposed to £250k and my understanding is that you can withdraw the money currently in your HTB without penalty. The only stipulation with the LISA is that you have to have it open for 12 months before you can use it to buy, but it sounds like you aren’t looking to buy in the next 12 months anyway? Also with the LISA you can put it lump sums as opposed to a fixed monthly amount as per the HTB. 

Smodlet

GDB2222 said:

Smodlet said:

I stand by my first post.  This BS sounds like a rent version of LAMB (Look After My Bills) where you spend the same amount of time and a whole lot more money (as opposed to none) on scammers to switch your energy suppliers.

Go ahead, get yourself shafted if that is what you want.  If you want a clue, read. 

I’m not sure that your post adds a lot to this ‘discussion'. According to you, it’s a scam, and the reason is that you were disappointed with an energy switching service which has nothing to do with it. 

There are clearly new products coming to the market all the time. Some of them work out well, and others fail to deliver the goods. Very few of them deliberately set out to defraud their customers, though.

Your post is erroneous:  I have never and would never use a switching service for anything and how on earth do you know what these so-called services intend?  That's right, you don't.

Mabs42

Hi,
 I saw the comments on here and thought I'd let you know how my dealings with HomeNow went for me. I was about to be kicked out of my house because my landlord wanted to sell. I really wanted to stay because I was well within the catchment area for the school I want for my younger son (although he'll probably get in on sibling rule, but not a risk I want to take). HomeNow bought the house, and I get to stay here knowing my rent is fixed for 5 years. Tim at HomeNow was really great and always available to speak to when I had questions. They were a bit slow but that might have been due to some hold-ups due to covid. Other than that... all good. 

Nebulous2

Mabs42 said:

Hi,
 I saw the comments on here and thought I'd let you know how my dealings with HomeNow went for me. I was about to be kicked out of my house because my landlord wanted to sell. I really wanted to stay because I was well within the catchment area for the school I want for my younger son (although he'll probably get in on sibling rule, but not a risk I want to take). HomeNow bought the house, and I get to stay here knowing my rent is fixed for 5 years. Tim at HomeNow was really great and always available to speak to when I had questions. They were a bit slow but that might have been due to some hold-ups due to covid. Other than that... all good. 

Thanks for letting us know. 

What was your rent? Before and after?

SmoggyGoose

Reminds me a lot of some very questionable services that are being marketed on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at the moment. All targeting younger first time buyers and a perceived lack of knowledge of buying a property and low amount of savings.