Buying my council house

breconcarreg

Afternoon,
I am stuck on what to do:-
We have the opportunity to purchase our council place for £151.000. The council have valued it at £185.000, so we are being offering £34,000 discount.
I earn £37700 (2334 take home) with a possible £4000 in bonus', achived all last year..
I have approached Nwide and they can offer we around £147000, we have £8k in liquid cash we can use..
Solicitors and stamp duty is around £2644, leaving the rest for a desposit.
BUT, we owe £34,000 in two loans...£519 per month
So my issue is really, should we buy it? my wifes worry is the housing market going to crash big time, and then it comes down to our monthly operating money...for insurance and stuff...the list is long...
HELP !!

dolce_vita

Leaving aside the moral arguments of RTB for the moment, think of it this way.......

If you buy this house, your debt will rise from £37,000 to £184,000

A repayment mortgage of 147k over 25 years @ 6% would cost you about £950 per month

Insurance, maintenance and other costs of owning a house will add about another £100 per month

And for what?

You will be buying a depreciating asset and be paying out a lot more per month than you are now.

If I were you I would spend that money on paying off your debts.

PasturesNew

A council house is yours for as long as you want it.
The council maintain and upgrade it.
You can further do what you want to it with their OK
But why buy it?

I wouldn't.

Most people buy a house just so they can feel they can put down roots and enjoy their home without being moved on at some random point and without some unreasonable landlord making things tough for them. These things don't apply to you.

You earn a lot of money. Buy a holiday caravan, a jet-ski, a boat or go on more holidays. Enjoy it!

Running_Horse

Can I ask why someone earning over £40,000 would need to borrow £34,000?

poppy10_2

Running_Horse wrote: »

Can I ask why someone earning over £40,000 would need to borrow £34,000?

And why are they entitled to a council house?

breconcarreg

To respond : this sudden wage increase, plus a lot of this is commisions it is also to help me possibly to purchase a house somewhere like this one or another, I have a good agreement with my boss etc..
It is very easy to spend and have debts, I would guess high earners earning ££££ would still have some eliment of debt, even £50k footballers per week? - who knows... i have known some -, you could say what is £34k if you have a 10k car, and live a bit....

Also in my defence, I would my back side off for my family. and work over 50+ hours per week, home and at the office.

Running_Horse

Fair enough, just being nosey. I also work hard for my family, but for a lot less money, and hate the idea of any debt. But each to their own.

PasturesNew

poppy10 wrote: »

And why are they entitled to a council house?

You are entitled when you get one.
After that if you become a millionaire it isn't taken off you.

Houses for as long as you want them.

Swift1_3

I'd be tempted to pay off some of those debts and wait a few months until you are more confident in your own and the country's financial position. Theres nothing to stop you applying again in the future and getting a similar or better deal.
Is it a standard family house you are in and what sort of price are they to buy on the open market (does the £185K seem reasonable as a value)?

ianian99

i'd wait a year or 2 til the prices drop.

breconcarreg

Swift1 wrote: »

I'd be tempted to pay off some of those debts and wait a few months until you are more confident in your own and the country's financial position. Theres nothing to stop you applying again in the future and getting a similar or better deal.
Is it a standard family house you are in and what sort of price are they to buy on the open market (does the £185K seem reasonable as a value)?

Morning, The value seems okay for where we are..in the South East...as we are getting £34,000 off, but i guess it all comes down to what it will be worth next year and the future years..Personally this is a wonderful place, perfect in everyway..not the biggest place mind..but a normal family house in this area starts at £250k upwards...
I think, I will pay some more debts off then worry about it the future, and you never know they may beg me to buy it for £50k if all goes belly up...
Have a good day...