Is it worth buying now if I can?

arrows123

If I was you I’d look a bit further afield to try and find a house or keep looking and see if you can find one that needs some work. I came out of a relationship just over two years ago and went into rental. The house sold in jan this year, my intention was always to rent for just six months before buying. However the house sale took longer and in the meantime since jan prices soared. I’m hopefully completing this week.

I know I have overpaid and it’s towards the top of my budget, but I’ve done it in the knowledge that there are several things that have value to me where a price cannot be put on it easily. Examples are security, I’m back on the housing ladder, I’m in an area I want to be in, the space I want and as I’m self employed I’m coming off a bumper year last year, in another years time it may be harder for me to get a mortgage (affordability is 100% fine). Don’t forget to factor in the things that don’t hold monetary value but are valuable to you. 

DisablednProud

When furlough ends people will lose their jobs and others will have to move to fill up other job openings. 1.5 million people are still on furlough since March. Most of these jobs are likely redundant now if they are still on furlough since this started.

So my prediction is that this will cause a small drop in house prices.

grumiofoundation

[Deleted User] said:

Don't rent. Property is always a good investment.

What a nuanced and well-thought out post....

This is a far to sweeping a statement, ridiculously so. (Generally it is useful if posters try to be at least vaguely helpful)
Even if property prices only ever rose there are still many people for whom buying is not the best decision.

No-one knows when price will drop/slow, and if they do what impact this will have.  Or even will prices ever be lower than they are today. Not much use to a FTB with a 5% deposit if house prices plummet and banks suddenly decide they want a 15% deposit minimum and will only lend 3x a salary. 


If you are 'ready' to buy and know you will/can live there for say 5 years minimum - buy.
If you aren't and can't promise this - rent.
Not much point buying a cheaper flat you will want to/need to sell within a year or so. Even if property prices have risen you will probably be down when factoring in SDLT, legal costs etc.

[Deleted User]

nicknameless said:

[Deleted User] said:

Don't rent. Property is always a good investment.

What absolute nonsense.

Renting is just throwing money away. Paying someone else's mortgage.

If you buy you can always sell, and at the worst you might have to wait a year or two before you make a hefty profit. Even if the market crashes you won't lose more than you would have paid in rent.

Gavin83

I wouldn’t buy a flat at the moment, they’re extremely risky. Personally if you couldn’t buy a house I’d look to rent until you could.

I’m another that isn’t convinced house prices will drop by much, if at all. The prices will stop climbing as sharply as they have been but I’d be shocked to see a proper crash. There are just too many factors that’ll prevent it.

lookstraightahead

[Deleted User] said:

Don't rent. Property is always a good investment.

It isn't I'm afraid.

Sistergold

Yes buying is always a good idea but it’s not to be done in a rush. Buying straight after divorce I think it’s is a bad idea as emotionally you are going through so much and buying is so nerve racking too. It is better to suffer the loss of rental and calm down look at your options then buy. Rental is the best option rather than buying a flat. I also think if you can really look into it later to see if you can buy even a mid terrace and avoid buying a flat. 

On the bright side you at least managed to come out of relationship breakup with some money to plan on. Why not see if you can be a lodger/house share instead of renting whole flat? Will that help you save more to get a bigger deposit for a house, unless there is children then house share might not be an option. It’s stressful now but it will get better. Good luck OP. 

MaryNB

[Deleted User] said:

nicknameless said:

[Deleted User] said:

Don't rent. Property is always a good investment.

What absolute nonsense.

Renting is just throwing money away. Paying someone else's mortgage.

If you buy you can always sell, and at the worst you might have to wait a year or two before you make a hefty profit. Even if the market crashes you won't lose more than you would have paid in rent.

Renting is paying money for a roof over your head. 

If you dont know what the plan is for the next year or so buying is a bad idea. Whatever profit you make will be eaten up by solicitor fees, EA fees and SDLT when you have to buy again.

If the market crashes you might not even be able to sell at all if in negative equity. Even if you can sell if you need to relocate for work or anything else not everyone can wait a year or two to sell if they want to make their money back.

lookstraightahead

[Deleted User] said:

nicknameless said:

[Deleted User] said:

Don't rent. Property is always a good investment.

What absolute nonsense.

Renting is just throwing money away. Paying someone else's mortgage.

If you buy you can always sell, and at the worst you might have to wait a year or two before you make a hefty profit. Even if the market crashes you won't lose more than you would have paid in rent.

Whatever you do in life is lining someone else's pockets. Otherwise we would have no businesses.
Some people buy houses but spend 40 years of their lives in extremely stressful jobs that harm their health. 

And I wish I had your crystal ball as well. No purchase comes without risk. 

[Deleted User]

MaryNB said:

[Deleted User] said:

nicknameless said:

[Deleted User] said:

Don't rent. Property is always a good investment.

What absolute nonsense.

Renting is just throwing money away. Paying someone else's mortgage.

If you buy you can always sell, and at the worst you might have to wait a year or two before you make a hefty profit. Even if the market crashes you won't lose more than you would have paid in rent.

Renting is paying money for a roof over your head. 

If you dont know what the plan is for the next year or so buying is a bad idea. Whatever profit you make will be eaten up by solicitor fees, EA fees and SDLT when you have to buy again.

If the market crashes you might not even be able to sell at all if in negative equity. Even if you can sell if you need to relocate for work or anything else not everyone can wait a year or two to sell if they want to make their money back.

If the market crashes you just hold on. It always recovers. Chances are you will be able to sell and move if that's what you need to do.