First time buyer- to look now or to wait?

Megancomping

Hi,

My partner and I are looking to buy a house, we are both first time buyers. We are lucky that our deposit will be gifted. I’ve seen conflicting stuff about whether it’s a good time to buy now with the absence of stamp duty, but other resources have said due to this it is hard to get a good mortgage rate. 

We are also interested in the new proposed “first homes scheme” which states it will prioritise first time buyers and keyworkers (I am both) and offer 30% off the market value of new builds, but there has still been no further announcement on when this is due to start and I’ve also contacted developers and none of them seem to know either. 

We had discussed waiting until after Christmas but i’m worried the mortgage rates will get worse and I don’t know whether to hold out for the first homes scheme or not. We saw a mortgage advisor but that was before the pandemic so I’m guessing a few things might have changed since then.

Is it best to look now or wait? 

Thanks 

sweetsand

Hi
Look now and get a good idea of what to look out for and areas of interest, sleep on it.
timiming, not stamp duty up to 500k ends sometime next year. Big savings if you are pay close to 500k.
We are considering buying a rental aprtmnt but the service charges can shoot up - considring this as there is no stamp duty up to 500k.
I'm not sure what price range you are looking it and it could be over that but judging by what you have posted it may not be
For that reason you may be paying below 125k and i think no stamp duty on that anyway.
Diffuclt to predict prices as gov intervenes as well.
The only other thing I'd say to you, have  several k's if possibly for rainny days IE intrest rates could go up, lose you job, injury/sickness long term, etc - and if you have several k's saved back up, gives you quite a while to gets things sorted as best as possible.
Not telling you what to do but when but we have never paid interest on anything other than a mortgage as that was more than enough for us and last 12 yesrs plus not mortgages just buy for cash.
Money makes money as they say.
Good luck.

sweetsand

Btw - the choice will have to be yors. It's always nice to buy at the bottom and sell at the top but rarely possible - but you are looking to buy a place to live in possibly for 7/10 years so look long ter,

Always try to get the worse house on the best street as you can add value.

ATB

theoretica

Look out for schemes that seem to offer big discounts just inflating the price of what you buy - what position will your potential buyers be in when you come to want to sell? 

I would suggest you start looking, but don't put pressure or deadlines on yourself to buy - it is frustrating to see something perfect that you just missed because you hadn't started looking when you could have and also it often takes a while of looking to decide exactly what you do want out of what you can afford.

NinjaTune

The First Homes scheme seems great at first glance. 

For me, the issues would be that you will have a reduced pool of properties/locations to choose from.  When you sell you have to offer the same discount on the market value to the buyer so will you be able to afford to move up the ladder?  Not an issue if you are looking for your first home to also be your 'forever home', or you anticipate your income will increase considerably by the time you move on.  Your pool of buyers will also be reduced as they will need to meet certain criteria re: income and profession.

ETA:  I also suspect that developers will pick the least desirable plots for this housing scheme, e.g. the one closest to the busy A road or motorway, the one with the smallest garden etc.  I doubt any developer with be philanthropic enough to offer a home on a prime corner plot.

NameUnavailable

Where there's a scheme there's usually a schemer!